Trivia Time 10 *Evolution of Humans*

Hello my trivia-buddies! Welcome back to another post exploring the mysteries of the universe! Hope you like diving deep into such mysteries along with me in my posts. And one more thing, considering your suggestions, we will stick to the old method of trivia, where in you guys will share your answers in the comments! So now, without any further ado, let's dive into the evolution of us!- Human beings!...

 Evolution of Human Beings

You might not believe it but, all of us are originally from Africa! Yup, Human beings - the culture-bearing upright-walking species first evolved in Africa about 2 million years ago. Then, as time passed some of our ancestors started migrating to other places. A couple thousand years ago, some of our ancestors left Africa, while others stayed back. The residents spread across Africa and the migrants spread across the planet from Africa to West Asia, Central Asia, Eurasia, South Asia, East Asia, Indonesia, Philippines, Australia and America.

But wait! What is the scientific name of this species that first appeared in Africa and is considered the first member of the human lineage? Well, that's today's first trivia question for you!... Do let me know your answers in the comments!

Let's move further now! Well however, what is evolution? The long term accumulation of variations lead to evolve a new species and the process is called evolution. It is a complex process and occurs over a long period of time. So, human evolution is the process by which human beings developed on Earth from now-extinct primates.

So, What is the scientific name of our (modern-day) human species? That's your second trivia question of the day!

Let's carry on now! You must know that some species share similar features as they evolved from a common ancestor. You might have also heard from people that humans have evolved from chimpanzees. 

Consequently, here's your third trivia question: Did human beings really evolve from chimpanzees? State true or false.

So, here is the list of all of today's trivia questions together... Do comment your answers! And as always, I'll be posting the answers on Wednesday (2nd June).
All the best!

1. What is the scientific name of the species that first appeared in Africa and is considered the first member of the human lineage?

2. What is the scientific name of our (modern-day) human species?

3. Did human beings really evolve from chimpanzees? State true or false.

Answers:

1. The homo genus (humans) diversified from Homo Australopithecus 2 million years ago in Africa.

Then, many species of Homo evolved. Homo erectus reached to West Asia and Central Asia. Then they migrated to Eurasia, South Asia and East Asia.

Homo neanderthalensis got spread to Europe.

Replacing populations of these two species, modern Homo sapiens evolved around 4,00,000 to 2,50,000 years ago.

2. The scientific name of the modern day human species is Homo sapiens.

3. False. 

Human beings have not directly descended from chimpanzees. Rather, both these species have descended from a common very different primate, which is proposed to be the ape and is also called CHLCA - Chimpanzee Human Last Common Ancestor.

Hey there! Hope you liked the post and learned how our modern-day species came into being!

Will now see you guys on Sunday with a new topic...

So, I'll leave you with this quote:
'Learning, just like evolution is a slow process but it definitely brings out good end results!'

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Trivia Time 9 *What are Mirages?*

 

What are Mirages?

You might have seen in movies, that a pond or lake is perceived by the characters in the middle of a desert, but when they actually reach the place, there's no water but just sand! Maybe, in your childhood you might have wondered what kind of magic it is! But let me guarantee you, it is just one of the wonders of nature or more specifically I think I should say, obviously - Science!

I'm not telling you how mirages are formed, just yet!

Answer the below quiz, and find out all about Mirages! 

Wait a second, have you ever seen a mirage in real life? Let me know about it in the comments section below! And, do also comment on how you feel about this new way I'm starting for the trivia questions! And also, comment your views about mirages...

Answers:

1. Mirages are formed due to refraction of light.

Normally, light waves from the sun travel straight through the atmosphere to your eye. But, light travels at different speeds through hot air and cold air.

Mirages happen when the ground is very hot and the air is cool. The hot ground warms a layer of air just above the ground. When the light moves through the cold air and into the layer of hot air it is refracted (bent).

A layer of very warm air near the ground refracts the light from the sky nearly into a U-shaped bend. Our brain thinks the light has traveled in a straight line.

Our brain doesn’t see the image as bent light from the sky. Instead, our brain thinks the light must have come from something on the ground.

Because of this, we follow the light back to the source, which appears to be the ground. Combining all of this together, refracted light from the sky is interpreted as straight, letting us see an image of the sky on the ground.

This is why many mirages appear as blue water. We think we have stumbled on an oasis when in reality we are seeing a shimmering image of the blue sky. Since our brains don’t recognize the sky as being on the ground, we imagine the image to be shining blue water.

2. Can a mirage be photographed?

-Yes

First thing to know is that mirages are not hallucinations, or inventions of our brain; it is just a misinterpretation of reality. Proof of this is that, unlike ghosts, pink elephants or sasquatchs, mirages can be photographed and even searched. The key is how light travels and how the heat affects the air molecules.

In contrast to a hallucination, a mirage is a real optical phenomenon that can be captured on camera, since light rays are actually refracted to form the false image at the observer's location.

3. Are mirages seen only in deserts?

-No

There’s no need to trek to the desert to see a mirage: they are very common on roadways, airport tarmacs and even on the hot sand at the beach. Mirages can be spotted anywhere where the ground can absorb a lot of heat. 

Here is an image👇 of a mirage viewed on a road...

Hi there! I hope you like viewing my posts and understood the science behind mirages!

'A man who questions the existence of the phenomena around turns out to justify his own existence!'

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Trivia Time 8 *What makes you Unique?*

What makes you Unique?

'God designed you the way you are for a purpose. Everything about you is UNIQUE!'

'You are UNIQUE and beautiful in your own way. Believe it!'

You might heard such quotes several times. They might have helped motivate you to keep going in life and feel better about yourself. Well however, they aren't just limited to that! The UNIQUENESS of each organism can also be proved by our good-old friend - Science!

Entire branches of biology - Genetics and Genomics are dedicated towards research in the uniqueness of individuals - i.e the DNA structure and sequencing. 

Let me give you a brief intro of the topic:

DNA - Deoxyribonucleic Acid is a molecule of the shape of a double helix made of four nitrogenous bases is found in cells of living organisms. It carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of the organism. DNA is known as the blueprint or code of life.

Gene - A gene is the basic unit of heredity (inheritance of characteristics from parents to offspring). It is a segment of DNA that directs the synthesis of a particular protein that controls specific characteristics of the organism like eye colour and height.

Genome - A genome is all the genetic material of an organism. It basically consists of the DNA. 

To make it simpler for you:

'A genome is like a whole cookbook which contains information of all the recipes, ingredients, and how to cook it.

Whereas, the gene is a specific recipe whose information by reading, we can cook a specific dish (protein/characteristic).'

➪It is said that 99.9% of all human beings' DNA are identical. That's the reason why we all share the basic features like each one of us has two hands, two legs, two eyes, one nose etc.

➪However, the 0.1% of the genetic variations among us is all what it takes to make each one of us UNIQUE and give varied traits in terms of appearance and behaviour!

Genomics - It is the study of all the genomes (genetic information) of all the cells of the organism's body.

Genetics - It is the study of the genes of the sex cells of an organism's body that determine the characteristics to be passed on to the next generation.

So now, as might have understood a bit about these two branches of biology, lets answer some trivia questions on them...

Here are this week's three questions on genetics and genomics. Do not forget to comment your answers! I'll be posting the answers on 19th May (Wednesday).
All the best!👍

1. The DNA in the skin cells of your hand is significantly different from the DNA in your liver cells. True or False?

2. _______________ chromosomes are present in a human somatic cell.

3. _______________ genes are present in the human body.

Answers:

1. False.

All cells of our body apart from the sex cells/gametes (sperm cells and egg cells) are called somatic cells. All somatic cells have two full sets i.e. 23 pairs of chromosomes i.e. in total 46 chromosomes. They are thus called diploid cells. Gametes on the other hand have only one full set i.e. 23 chromosomes making them haploid cells.

So, skin cells and liver cells are also somatic cells. All somatic cells have the same DNA. Hence, the DNA in the skin cells is not significantly different from the DNA in the liver cells.

2. 46 chromosomes are present in a human somatic cell. 

(or it can also be written like 23 pairs of chromosomes are present in a human somatic cell)

3. 20,000 to 25,000 genes are present in the human body.

Hi! I hope you liked my post!

Do remember: 

'It's better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation!

So, always cherish and be proud of your unique personality!'

So, wasn't it fun learning about what makes each one of us unique? Well, that's it from me for this week. I'll be back on Sunday with a new topic and new trivia questions!

Stay tuned...

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COMMENT->

Trivia Time 7 *TECHNOLOGY DAY SPECIAL*

 

HAPPY NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY DAY!

(in advance!)

11th May is observed as India's national technology day every year. It marks the anniversary of the successful Pokhran nuclear tests of 1998 and India's technological advancements into space. 

Well, I don't think I need to inform you about the Pokhran nuclear tests as I am quite sure that most of you must have seen the movie 'Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran'. And, if you haven't, what are you waiting for?! Its available on Netflix and is aired several times on Zee Cinema as well.

Still, just for a briefing, the Pokhran nuclear tests were a series of five nuclear bomb test explosions conducted by India at the Indian Army's Pokhran Test Range on 11th May 1998. The tests achieved their main objective of giving India the capability to build fission and thermonuclear weapons with yields up to 200 Kilotons. Later, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee declared India a nuclear state, making it the sixth country to join the ‘nuclear club’ of nations. Hence, since 1999, May 11 is celebrated as 'National Technology Day'.

However, this wasn't India's first nuclear test. India's first nuclear test was conducted on 18th May 1974. It was said to be a "peaceful nuclear test" in Pokhran and is commonly called "the smiling Buddha".

Well, as we now know about the history behind Technology Day, let's celebrate it by solving trivia questions related to nuclear chemistry! Here are three questions related to nuclear chemistry for you to solve... And as always, do comment your answers! I'll be posting the answers on 12th May (Wednesday).

All the best!👍

1. The source of energy produced by the sun is _____________.

2. The energy produced by splitting of uranium atoms is _______.

3. Which is more stronger/dangerous? Hydrogen bomb or atomic bomb?

“Above all, don't fear difficult moments. The best comes from them.”

Answers

1. The source of energy produced by the sun is nuclear fusion.

➪The sun (and all the stars) is a gigantic ball of hydrogen gas. Also, the centre of the sun experiences the highest amount of gravity. Here, both the conditions required for nuclear fusion are present - High Temperature and High Pressure. Hence, hydrogen gas present in the centre of the sun gets squeezed (due to gravitational force). It gets squeezed together so tightly that hydrogen nuclei separate from their electrons and four hydrogen nuclei combine to form one helium atom. This is called nuclear fusion. In the process, some of the mass of the hydrogen atoms gets converted into energy in the form of light and heat. 

  

Hydrogen Atom                 Helium Atom           

2. The energy produced by splitting of uranium atoms is nuclear energy.

➪The energy contained in the nucleus of atom is called nuclear energy. It is released during nuclear fission. In nuclear fission, a heavy nucleus splits into two or more smaller nuclei. It is bombarded with slow moving neutrons due to which large amount of energy (nuclear energy) is released.

The fission of an atom of uranium produces 10 million times the energy produced by the combustion of an atom of carbon from coal. Also, in all fission reactions, a small quantity of matter gets lost to get converted to energy. The amount of energy produced during nuclear fission is given by Einstein's famous equation :

*where E is the energy produced

m is the mass of matter lost

c is the velocity of light = 3 x 10^8 m/s

Uranium is used to produce nuclear energy as its atoms easily split apart.

3. A hydrogen bomb has the potential to be 1000 times more powerful than an atomic bomb.

➪No hydrogen bombs have ever been used in war till now. If used, it has the power to wipe out entire cities and kill significantly more people than the atom bomb did in 1945 on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Only two atomic bombs have been used in war till now, both the times by the United States of America in the Second World War on Japan. 

Hydrogen bombs are based on nuclear fusion while atomic bombs are based on nuclear fission. Nuclear fusion is said to be more powerful (i.e. generates more energy) as it is the source of energy in all the stars which produce significant amount of energy.

As a hydrogen bomb is based on nuclear fusion, it requires high temperature to explode. So, a nuclear bomb based on fission of uranium or plutonium is placed at the core of the hydrogen bomb first. So, when the bomb based on fission detonates, the temperature of the hydrogen bomb (based on fusion) raises to 10^7 K in just a few microseconds. As a result, nuclear fusion takes place and a devastating amount of energy is released.

Remember, 'Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere!'

So that's it from me for this week! See ya'll on Sunday!

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Trivia Time 6

 

 “Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow.”

– Anthony J. D’Angelo

Learning is not just about passing a test. Learning is the process from birth to death which ultimately uplifts the understanding of all the things around of mankind as a whole!

So I welcome back you all back to my blog, hoping that together You and I - would too be able to contribute to the understanding of mankind. Here are today's trivia questions for you... Do comment the answers! I'll be uploading the answers on 5th May (Wednesday). 

All the best!👍

And remember, if you want the world to progress and change for the better, the change always starts with you!

1. What would happen if you fell into a black hole?

2. Which organ in your body uses the most chemical energy?

3. What is the hardest substance in the human body?

Answers:

1. A black hole is a region of spacetime where gravity is so strong that nothing - not even electromagnetic waves (RMIVUXG - Radio, Microwave, Infrared, Visible, Ultraviolet, Xrays, Gamma) can escape from it.

➪Also, gravitational force is directly proportional to the mass of a body (product of the masses of the two bodies) and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between them.

                                               

*where F is the Gravitational Force

G is the Universal Gravitational Constant

m1 and m2 are the masses of the two bodies

d is the distance between the two bodies

➪So if we even go near a black hole, we would experience a lot of gravitational pull, as the black hole is very very dense! The black hole of a size of a city packs 3 times more mass than the sun inside it!

➪So, when near a black hole, our feet would experience stronger gravitational force than our head as our feet would be closer to the black hole.

➪So, according to theory, a process called 'spaghettification' would take place! Because of different magnitudes of forces acting on our body, we would stretch until shredded and would become looking something like - spaghetti until ripped off and would die!

➪However, good news! We might not die! We might just stretch a bit and pass into the black hole! (according to another theory) However, bad news! We would not be able to escape from the black hole nor report our experience! And, then we might just die in the black hole out of hunger or thirst or what not! Who even knows what a black hole leads to! According to some theories black holes lead to nowhere and to some, black holes are portals to another universe!

-So, which theory do you like? Do let me know in the comments below...

2. Our brain uses the most chemical energy. Our brain uses about 20% of the chemical energy produced in our body and 2/3rd of it is utilised in firing and receiving signals through the neurons and nerves. 

➪The nerve cells (or neurons) convert this chemical energy to electrical energy. The electrical impulses are transmitted from one neuron to another through the synapse region. (Synapse region is the bright spots you can see in the picture below. It is the region between two nerve cells)

3. The tooth enamel is the hardest substance in the human body! The tooth enamel has more minerals (especially calcium) than even our bones which makes it the hardest substance of our body!

Hope you learned something new! Do view my blog again on Sunday!

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Trivia Time 5!!

 'Great success is built on failure, frustration, even catastrophe!'

Take the great inventor of the light bulb - Thomas Edison for example:

When a reporter asked him, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?"

To this, Edison replied, "I didn't fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."

Welcome back to my blog my trivia-buddies! Here are today's three trivia questions for you to reason on... And, as mentioned - Success is built on failures! So, do comment your answers too!

All the best!👍

1. What is the largest desert on earth?

2. Our bodies need iron! Where in the body is most of the iron found?

3. Which is the strongest fundamental force in the universe?

Answers

1. The Antarctic Desert is the largest desert on earth spread over 14 million square kilometres (5.4 million square miles)! 98% of Antarctica is covered in ice!

➪Deserts aren't always those with really high temperatures. Deserts are characterised by aridity, extremes of temperature (either very high or very low), and high wind velocity.

2. Most of the iron in our body is present in the Red Blood Cells (RBCs) of our blood! A pigment called haemoglobin is mainly responsible for giving our blood the red colour and this haemoglobin constitutes most of the iron of our body! This iron-constituting pigment is responsible to the transport of oxygen from the lungs to all the tissues of the body.

➪Myoglobin is one more iron-and-oxygen binding protein found in the skeletal muscular tissue of our body and is distantly related to haemoglobin. It functions as an oxygen-storage unit, providing oxygen to the working muscles.

➪Small amounts of iron are also present in the immunocytes that are essential for the activation and proliferation of the immune cells.

➪Iron is also found in the liver as it performs a major role in iron homeostasis. It is the main organ for the production of the iron regulatory hormone hepcidin.

➪Iron is also stored in the form of ferritin and hemosiderin in the bone marrow, spleen, deodenum and other anatomic areas of the body.

3. Strong Nuclear Force is the strongest fundamental force in nature. It is the force that binds the fundamental particles of matter together to form larger particles. It holds together the quarks that make up protons and neutrons, and part of the strong force also keeps the protons and neutrons of an atom's nucleus together. The strong nuclear force is 6 x 10^39 times stronger than the gravitational force of the earth!

The strongest power of mankind is knowledge!

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Trivia Time 4!!

"The way of success is the way of continuous pursuit of knowledge."

Hello my fellow inquisitive learners! Hope you're doing great on your staircase to Success. Here are today's three trivia questions for you to crack...

1. What is the highest mountain in the universe?

2. How much air does an average adult breathe in a day?

3. What is the coldest temperature possible in the universe?

"Letting others light their candles from your candle of knowledge doesn't make your candle less brighter!"

So, do comment the answers to the trivia questions too!

I'll post the answers on 27th April (Tuesday).. So till then, wishing you Best of Luck!👍

 

Answers:

1. Scientists have observed that the galaxies other than ours are moving away from us, day by day! This clearly proves that our universe is expanding! And, believe it or not, astronomers estimate there to be billions of planets in the universe, most of which we haven't explored yet!

➪So, we could never know what the highest mountain in the universe is for the universe is changing every second holding millions of possibilities!

➪If the question had been - 'What is the highest mountain in our solar system?', the answer would be 'Olympus Mons - a large volcano on Mars with its height as 22km'.

➪Whereas if the question had been - 'What is the highest mountain on earth?', the answer would be '8.849 km high Mount Everest located on the Nepal-China border'.

➪But, the tallest mountain on earth is Mauna Kea! Taking its height from the base is 10.21 km but only 4.207 km of it is visible above sea.

2. An average adult breathes about 11,000 litres of air per day!

*Note that its about an average adult, so the number for any individual might be a bit up or down*

3. The coldest temperature possible in the universe is -273 degree Celsius / -459.4 degree Fahrenheit / 0 Kelvin. This is called the 'Absolute Zero'.

➪Temperature and heat are a measure of how much energy a particle has to jiggle with. And since, you cannot move any less than not moving at all which requires the lowest energy and temperature, the Absolute Zero is the lowest temperature anything can be!

➪The place with the lowest temperature yet discovered is Boomerang Nebula of the Centaurus constellation with its temperature equal to 1K which is very close to the absolute zero.

And remember:

'Curiosity is the mother of invention'

So, always be curious!:)

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