Old Science Questions of the Week
5th March 2012
A frightening, disturbing discovery was made by me last week: my first grey hair. I thought about pulling it out, and pretending it never existed. But by the weekend, two more had joined the first.
I thought I was too young for grey hair!
This week’s question: What causes our hair to grey, and eventually whiten? And how come some people turn grey at a younger age than most?
27th February 2012
For a quadrilateral, all angles MUST be a square number. What combination can you have?
View this weeks answer
5th December 2011
I’m not much of a cat person, but the biology background in me has always made me wonder:
Whether it’s a trip to the vet, or a content feline being scratched behind the ears, cats will make that rumbling sound we know as purring.
How do cats make the purring sound, and why do they purr in the first place?
28th November 2011
Harry and Sally live 21 miles apart. One day they leave their houses at noon. Harry walks towards Sally’s at 4mph and Sally cycles towards Harry’s at 10mph. At what time do they meet?
10th October
Using any of the four arithmetic symbols (+, -, x, ÷) and the numbers 1, 3, 4 and 6, make 24.
You must use all the numbers, but you can only use each number ONCE.
3rd October
I was teaching my Year 10’s the other week, and during a quiet working stretch, something embarassing happened to me. My stomach didn’t just growl, it roared like a furious lion.
I thought, surely, there must be a good reason besides “I’m hungry.”
What physiological effects are happening to the body when the stomach growls?
26th September 2011
At a famous fast food restaurant you can order Chicken McNuggets in boxes of 6, 9, and 20. What is the largest number such that you cannot order any combination of the above to achieve exactly the number you want?
12th September 2011
This weeks question is about half-life. Half of a radioactive element breaks up in a given time called a half-life, for example, if the half life of element X was 13 hours and I had 40g of it to start with, in 13 hours I would have 20g and in 26 hours I would have 10g etc.
Strontium 90 has a half-life of 28 years. If I found 2.5g of Strontium 90, that had been breaking up for the last 224 years, how much Strontium 90 was there to start with? Show your workings to ensure your answer is the best one.
We had no correct answers from last weeks question and a prize is still available for anyone who successfully attempts it.
4th July 2011
In 1905 a worker in a pressurised chamber was digging a tunnel under a river in New York. Suddenly the tunnel collapsed. What happened to the worker? Why didn’t he drown?
27th June 2011
Last weekend Mr Slater sent me a message asking whether ice was heavier than water. I want to know what you think. If I weighed some water, froze it and weighed it again, what would I find out? Also explain the changes that happen to the water as it freezes in as much detail as you can.
Mr Slater is not allowed to answer the question, as I did tell him what I thought (though I am sure one of the pupils will have a better answer).
20th June 2011
While listening to the radio, I started wondering why some sounds and music are more appealing than others. So the question for this week is to explain why this is.
13th June 2011
While dissecting eyes with the year 9s and 10s the other day, it got me thinking about how sight can be treated or possibly cured. There are two common conditions known as myopia (nearsighted) and Hyperopia (farsighted), both can be fixed with an operation. However one of these conditions can actually “fix itself” so it may be best to leave it alone. Which condition is it and how can it “fix itself”?
6th June 2011
Why is it that someone with asthma can have a better set of lungs than someone without?
23rd May 2011
It is well known that once an organ stops functioning, that’s it, you either need to get a new one from someone else or you’ll die. However there is one organ in the body that is able to regenerate itself (to an extent).
Which organ is this and why is it able to do so?
16th May 2011
When looking at some old photographs
from home, I noticed that in all the ones with waterfalls or just after a rainfall there were rainbows. How are rainbows formed and why is it that they only appear when water droplets are in the air? Why not all the time?
9th May 2011
Looking outside the other day I noticed how nice and green everything is looking. Why is it that leaves, etc are green in the spring and summer and change in the autumn?
3rd May 2011
While watching the Royal Wedding on Friday, I over-heard a discussion 
about speed and distance that interested me. Jose wanted to know how long it would take Kate to walk down the isle, and Michael told him she would never get there – he said that the distance is, say 80 meters, but she has to do half that distance first (40m) and that will take a certain amount of time. But to get to 40m she has to walk 20m – which will take a certain amount of time. As no matter what number you choose, there is always a half of it, she can never get there because it will take a certain amount of time to walk half of the distance.
Though it is obvious that this is wrong (she did get married and in splendid fashion) it does make sense.
1. Calculate the halves of: a. 67, b. 16.8, c. 0.32 and d. -0.024
2. List the numbers in 8 numbers above from highest to lowest
3. Try to explain how Kate managed to get to the alter (for Michael).
26th April 2011
We are all born with reflexes that help us to survive. These reflexes are then replaced by ones we learn as we grow.
Why do we need to replace the original reflexes?
4th April 2011
As we know from Earthquakes, the core of the Earth is extremely hot. But it is not the heat from the core that keeps us alive. It’s the heat from the Sun that does this. Why do we feel the heat from the Sun and not the core?
28th March 2011
You will all have of heard about the devastating earthquake that hit Japan last week. It measures 8.9 on the Richter scale and caused lots of damage. My science and maths question of the week is why do earthquakes happen and can you explain the Richter scale to me.21st March 2011
The moon was the closest it has been to the earth in a very long time this weekend. I saw it on Saturday night and it was very big and bright, but why does it not fall out of the sky or fly off into space? If gravity was strong enough it should pull it down, and if not, it should fly off – so why does it not do either of these things?
14th March 2011
Two squares are beside each other. One square has 6 times the length of the other square, how many times greater is the area of the larger square (do a few examples – this will help)?
How do you know (try using algebra)?
7th March 2011
I went to London over the half term to plan a science trip to Queen Mary University. The train was packed and I could only find a seat facing backwards, away from where the train was going. On the way I felt ill, as if I was going to be sick and I would have done if the journey had been any longer.
This weeks question is:
Why does moving backwards make you feel ill?
28th February 2011
Competition is heating up with lots of great answers to last weeks question. Speaking of heat, this weeks question is about the sun.
1. Why does it look bigger and less bright in the mornings and evening times (sometimes looking like a massive red ball in the sky), where as in the middle of the day it looks like a smaller, brighter orb.
2. Why is it hotter in summer than in winter?
14th February 2011
While browsing the television this weekend, wondering about what pupils should be watching and 
considering whether television is educational or limiting for young people, I came across a program called ‘The Big Bang’ on ITV. The program started at 12:30 and ended at 12:50, but had a break of 4 minutes in the middle. The show was very good, but the advertisements were mind-numbing rubbish! Determine the percentage of time the actual show lasted. What is the fraction of commercials? What percentage of my time has
Do you think television is good or bad for young people today?
7th February 2011
Here is a nice easy one – why is it that when you look at a tank of water (or a glass for that matter) it looks transparent, but when you look at the sea, it looks blue?
Sometimes it looks a bit greenish, why is this?
31st January 2011
This weeks question involves a bit of thought, though everyone has the grey matter to be able to work it out!
A: Why do all large items in space (stars, planets and moons) appear to be global in shape, where as smaller bodies like comets and asteroids can be any shape?
B: How come the earth look like a globe from space even though it has huge mountain ranges and low valleys?
24th January 2011
There are two questions this week and you have to answer both to stand a chance of winning this weeks title:
The First is to warm your brain up:
1. Sam bought 8 caps, one for each of her eight friends, for £8.95 each. The cashier charged her an additional £12.07 in sales tax. She left the store with a measly £6.28. How much money did Sam start with?
2. You are in a classroom with 30 people of varying heights. The teacher/instructor of the room has asked you to exchange papers for the purpose of marking them. However, nobody is allowed to change papers with anyone that is shorter than themselves, what is the most and least amount of changes that could occur? Explain your answer.
17th January 2011
The q
uestion of the week this week is:
Why do humans kiss? What are the pros and cons of having a big wet snog?
Is there an evolutionary advantage to kissing?
10th January 2011
On a game show on some obscure, second-rate channel, I saw a game where a prize was hidden in one of three boxes, the other two of which were empty. Then the contestant was asked to choose a box.
Regardless of which box the contestant chose, one of the two remaining empty boxes were removed, leaving the box the contestant had chosen, and another box.
The contestant was then asked if he or she wanted to swap their chosen box for the remaining box…
Should the contestant swap boxes? Explain why as best as you can.
What are the chances of picking the correct box first off?
What are the chances of the box you swap for containing the prize?
4th January 2011
Welcome back to a new term and a new year, I am hoping your answers this year are as clever as they were last year, Here is the first question of the new year:
I read an article that described the first moon walkers not being able to hear each other when on the moon, they had to wear microphones and send messages by radio waves. When one of their radios broke, they could communicate by pressing their helmets together and shouting.
Why could they not hear each other? Why did touching helmets and using radio waves work?
View this weeks answer13th December 2010
I w
as standing at the school gate on Thursday when a pupil asked me the most interesting question.
They asked me if wearing sand paper on the bottom of their shoes would stop them slipping in the snow. I am not sure!
What are the best types of footwear for walking in the snow? Explain the reasoning behind your answer.
For Key Stage 4 pupils (or anyone brave enough): If a 780N man was to walk on snow (which has a resistance of 7N/CM²), how big a surface area would his shoes have to be in order to stop him sinking? Would I sink (I am 780Ns or there about) considering the bottoms of my feet have a surface area of 30cm² each?
View this weeks answer
6th December 2010
Miss Sheridan came up with a great Science Question for this week:
During a discussion with her year 7 class, a pupil told the class a story about how he and his familybought some chestnuts and having never bought them before, asked how to cook them. He was told tomake small holes in them and roast them in the oven.
He followed these directions, took the chestnuts out of the oven and left them to cool on the side on a baking tray.
One by one these chestnuts exploded.
The question could be, why?
This is related to the reason why glasses crack when you pour boiling water in to them and why bottles burst when you put them in the freezer. The idea of particles will help you and you get extra points for explaining these added ideas.
29th November 2010
When I was in secondary school, I used to watch a program called ‘Baywatch’ on the television. One week a swimmer was drowning and the lifeguard had to save them. We know that the lifeguard can run about 15Km per hour on the sand and swim about 6km per hour in the sea. Given that lifeguard starts at the point X below and the swimmer is at the point Y, at what point should the lifeguard go into the water and how long will it take her to get to the swimmer (if she sat down to work it out, the swimmer would surely have drowned).
*There was no winner last week so there are two prizes on offer this week.
22nd November 2010
Can we tell whether a human skeleton was male or female and if so, how? What else can we tell about someone from their skeleton – their race; age when died; what they died of; where they lived; or anything else? The most detailed answer will WIN!
15th November 2010
I visited Mr Shacklady while he was demonstrating the numbers part of ‘Countdown’ for some year 7 pupils. Being a Scientist, I thought I would be well able for the challenge. He gave me the numbers: 1, 2, 2, 3 and 4 and asked me to make 52. The best I could do is to make 49. Try to show how to make 52 and find the closest you can to 952 using:
25, 50, 75, 100, 3 and 6.
You are allowed to multiply, divide, add and subtract.
You must show your workings clearly. The closest answer wins.
8th November 2010
Why is it that when it is very cold out we can see our breath as if we are smoking?
1st November 2010
When someone gets an electric shock their hair stands on end – you can make this happen also by using a Van Der Graaf generator which pours electricity into the person, but why does it happen?
18th October 2010
‘How Many Ways Would You Like Your Ice Cream?’ By Mr Wilson
Scenario: Today is your lucky day, an ice cream truck pulls up to you and the vendor leans out and says, ‘you can have one free ice cream. I have six toppings: Chocolate sauce, Strawberry sauce, Peanuts, Sprinkles, cherries and bananas.’ This sounds good, and as you agree, the vendor says: ‘You can have any combination (as many different types) of toppings that you want.’ It is time to analyse your choices.
Question: Right, so you have lots of potential toppings combinations, ‘Chocolate sauce’ is one choice, ‘Chocolate sauce and Peanuts’ is another; ‘Strawberry sauce, peanuts and sprinkles’ is another choice.
HOW MANY DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS OF ICE CREAM TOPPINGS EXIST?
Hint: There is a long and fast method! The slow one involves grouping and counting (use letters to represent toppings).
The fast method involves using Pascal’s Triangle, a famous algorithm where a number on the next lowest tier of a triangle is equal to the sum of the two numbers in the preceding row. Consider Row ‘0’, it represents all the possible ways to choose nothing. Row 1 shows all the ways to choose one thing and row two shows how we can choose two things (You can have one thing, the other thing, or both) etc. (look at the numbers for 6 toppings.
11th October 2010
I was watching the Ice Skating on television the other day and I noticed that when a skater spins; they spin faster when their arms and backsides are tucked in and slower when they stick them out. Why is this?
View this weeks answer4th October 2010
Animals adapt to their environments because the most suitable ones get to have babies – the prettiest male pea-cock gets to mate and the Polar bear that is most camouflage gets the most food (or the stick insect does not get eaten).
So why, on the brown and green plains of Africa did the Zebra evolve to have stripes?
27th September 2010
Driving to Dover Ferry Port (on her way to buying Mr Fanning and Mr Bangs new ties), Ms Monk cruised at 55 miles per hour for the first two hours and then flew along at 70 miles per hour for the remainder of the journey.
Her average speed for the entire journey was 60 miles per hour.
How long did Ms Monk’s journey to Dover take?
And
Why does blowing on a match put it out, but blowing on a big fire make it get bigger?
17th September 2010
If we send a satellite into space and put it one light-year from the earth, does that mean that we can see things that happened one year earlier? Does this mean that we can put different satellites at different distances from the earth and record this history of the earth even before we arrived on it? Does this mean we can look back in time?
13th September 2010
This week’s question is a mathematical one:
If I take three consecutive numbers like 3, 4 and 5, and I multiply the smaller with the larger (3X5 = 15) and also multiply the middle one by itself (4X4 =16), is the result of the middle one multiplied by itself (squared) always one more than the result of the big and small one (16 is one bigger than 15)?
Can you prove your answer?
A clue is to look at the two American flags and think about the shape that the stars make if you take one row and put it in as a column instead!
Maybe draw a 2X4 rectangle and try to change it into a 3X3 using a scissors.
Try a few examples and write what you think to stand a chance of winning this week’s prize!
6th September 2010
Why do all objects free fall at the same rate of acceleration regardless of their mass? Is it because they all weigh the same?
...because they all have the same gravity?
…or because the air resistance is the same for each?
Explain your answer in detail.
