WINDOW OF KNOWLEDGE: 08/01/2012

Friday, August 31, 2012

EARTHQUAKE OF 7.6 MAGNITUDES IN PHILIPPINES

An earthquake of 7.6 magnitude struck off the Philippines on Friday,31^st August,2012, destroying roads and bridges and sending people fleeing to higher grounds in fear of a tsunami. The quake was centred off the east coast, 91 miles (146 km) off the town of Guiuan in Samar province at a depth of about 20 miles (32 km), the US Geological Survey said.

The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center issued aTsunami warning for much of the region, but later scaled it back leaving it in place for the Philippines and Indonesia. "People are fleeing to higher ground," Samar congressman, Ben Evardone, told local radio. A disaster agency official said residents in the area should get to higher ground immediately.

"Strong earthquake here in Taft, Eastern Samar! And it lasted very long too!" Evardone said by text message earlier. He said the quake had destroyed some roads and bridges. There were no immediate reports of casualties. A radio reporter in Leyte province, near Samar, said people had run out of their homes when the quake struck. "It felt like we were being rocked," he said. The tsunami warning was initially issued for the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia, Taiwan, Papua New Guinea and other islands in the Pacific including the US state of Hawaii. The region has been hit by devastating quakes in the past decade. At least 230,000 people in 13Indian Ocean countries were killed in a quake and tsunami off Indonesia in 2004. Last year, an earthquake and tsunami off Japan's northeastern coast killed about 20,000 people and triggered the world's worst nuclear crisis in 25 years after waves battered a nuclear power station.

Prof. John Kurakar

K.R MEERA BAGS TAMIL NADU MALAYALEE ASSOCIATION AWARD-2012

K.R MEERA BAGS TAMIL NADU MALAYALEE ASSOCIATION AWARD-2012

Novelist K R Meera has been chosen for the literature award instituted by the Confederation of Tamil Nadu Malayalee Associations (ATMA).The award, carrying a purse of Rs 25,000, citation and plaque, will be presented by Kerala Rural Development Minister K C Joseph at a function in Chennai, said a release on 31^st August,2012..Writers Subhash Chandran, Veeran Kutty and T P Rajeevan had won the award earlier, it added.

Prof. John Kurakar

GUJARAT MASSACRE

GUJARAT MASSACRE

(Maya Kodnani gets 28 years for 2002 Gujarat massacre)

Former Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani was sentenced to 28 years in jail on Friday,31^st August,2012, for murder and conspiracy during one of the country's worst religious riots, when up to 2,500 people, most of them Muslim, were hunted down and hacked, beaten or burnt to death in 2002. Hundreds of friends and relatives of the 32 people found guilty gathered outside a court in Ahmedabad to hear the sentences, the final step in a years-long case that cast a spotlight on still simmering communal tension in the world's biggest democracy.Most relatives of the victims of the riots in Gujarat stayed away from the court, a sign that 10 years on, memories of the bloodletting by Hindu mobs still cast a pall of fear over the state's Muslim community. There were unconfirmed reports that some Muslim shopkeepers had shut their establishments and families had fled the city, fearing retaliatory attacks over the sentences.

Maya Kodnani, an MLA from the state's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Gujarat minister for women and child development between 2007-2009, was the highest-profile conviction to date in connection with the riots. The state prosecutor had called for all 32 convicted to face the death penalty, even though India rarely carries out the sentence. All 32 were sentenced to jail, for terms ranging from 14 years to life.Kodnani's conviction is an embarrassment for both the BJP and Gujarat's high-flying chief minister, Narendra Modi, who is lauded by foreign companies for his business-friendly polices and is often touted as the country's next prime minister. (Mathrubhumi)

Prof. John Kurakar

SCIENCE QUIZ-213

1. What is the chemical symbol of gold?

2. True or false? Steel is a chemical element.

3. What is the most common metal found on Earth?

4. True or False? Sodium is a very reactive metal.

5. What three kinds of medals are awarded at the Olympic Games?

6. True or false? Metal bonding with metal is known as a metallic bond.

7. Bronze is made from what two metals?

8. What is the only metal that is liquid at room temperature?

9. True or false? Sterling silver is made up of less than 50% silver by weight.

10.What metal has the chemical symbol Pb?

SCIENCE QUIZ-213 Answers

1. Au	2. False - Alloy
3. Iron	4. True
5. Gold, silver and bronze	6. True
7. Copper and tin	8. Mercury
9. False - Over 92%	10. Lead

Prof. John Kurakar

SCIENCE QUIZ-212

1. What is the name of the world’s largest reef system?

2. Do male or female mosquitoes bite people?

3. True or false? Earth Day is held on June 18.

4. What state of the USA is the Grand Canyon located in?

5. True or false? The Dead Sea is 8.6 times more salty than the ocean.

6. What are the 3 R’s of recycling?

7. True or false? The horn of a rhinoceros is made from bone.

8. What famous islands west of Ecuador were extensively studied by Charles Darwin?

9. Ayers Rock in Australia is also know as what?

10. True or false? Burning or logging naturally occurring forests is known as deforestation.

SCIENCE QUIZ-212 Answers

1. Great Barrier Reef	2. Female
3. False (April 22)	4. Arizona
5. True	6. Reduce, reuse and recycle
7. False (keratin)	8. Galapagos Islands
9. Uluru	10. True

Prof. John Kurakar

SCIENCE QUIZ-211

1. The scientific study of plant life is known as what?

2. The process of plants using energy from sunlight to turn carbon dioxide into food is known as what?

3. True or false? In the right conditions bamboo can grow over 60cm (24in) in just one day.

4. The movement of pollen from the anthers to the stigma of a flower is known as what?

5. Amber is made from fossilized tree _____?

6. True or false? Humans were on Earth before plants.

7. What grain has the highest level of worldwide production? (Hint: Rice is second)

8. A trailing or climbing plant is also known as a _____?

9. True or false? Pitcher plants are carnivorous.

10. The Japanese word “sakura” means the blossoming of what kind of tree?

SCIENCE QUIZ-211Answers

1. Botany	2. Photosynthesis
3. True	4. Pollination
5. Resin	6. False
7. Maize (corn)	8. Vine
9. True	10. Cherry tree

Prof. John Kurakar

SCIENCE QUIZ-210

1. True or false? Protons have a negative charge.

2. True or false? Atoms are bigger than neutrons.

3. True or false? Protons and neutrons are part of the nucleus.

4. True or false? Electrons have a positive charge.

5. True or false? Electrons are not part of the nucleus.

6. True or false? Protons are bigger than atoms.

7. True or false? Subatomic particles are found inside atoms.

8. True or false? Nucleon is a collective name for two particles, the neutron and proton.

9. True or false? Neutrons have a negative charge.

10.True or false? An electron has a greater mass than a proton.

SCIENCE QUIZ-210 Answers

1. False	2. True
3. True	4. False
5. True	6. False
7. True	8. True
9. False	10. False

Prof. John Kurakar

SCIENCE QUIZ-209

1. A thermometer is a device used to measure what?

2. Stratus, cirrus, cumulus and nimbus are types of what?

3. What country experiences the most tornadoes?

4. True or false? A rainbow is a spectrum of light that appears when the Sun shines onto water droplets in the air.

5. Blizzards feature low temperatures, strong winds and heavy _______?

6. Breeze and gale are common terms used to describe the speed of what?

7. Earth’s recent temperature rises which have been linked to human activity is known as global _______?

8. True or false? The highest recorded temperature on Earth of 57.8 °C (136 °F) was recorded in Tirat Tsvi, Israel.

9. What is the name of a scientist who studies weather?

10. What is the driest desert on Earth, the Sahara, the Kalahari or the Atacama?

11. True or false? The lowest recorded temperature on Earth of 89.2 °C (−128.6 °F) was recorded at Vostok Station, Antarctica.

12. Balls or irregular lumps of ice that fall from clouds (often during thunderstorms) are known as what?

13. An avalanche features the rapid descent of _______?

14. True of false? The most rain fall ever recorded in one year (Cherrapunji, India) is more than 30 meters.

15. What is the name of a weather instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure?

16. An anemometer is used to measure what?

17. At what temperature is Centigrade equal to Fahrenheit?

18. Trying to predict the weather is known as weather _______?

19. The area of central USA that features many tornadoes is known as Tornado _______?

20. True or false? You see lightning and hear thunder.

SCIENCE QUIZ-209 Answers

1. Temperature	2. Clouds	3. USA	4. True
5. Snow	6. Wind	7. Warming	8. False (Al 'Aziziyah, Libya)
9. A meteorologist	10. The Atacama Desert	11. True	12. Hail stones
13. Snow	14. False (25.4 meters)	15. A barometer	16. Wind speed
17. -40 degrees	18. Forecasting	19. Alley	20. True

Prof. John Kurakar

SCIENCE QUIZ-208

1. What is the name of the largest ocean on earth?

2. What are the two main metals in the earth’s core?

3. Which is hotter, the center of the earth or surface of the sun?

4. What do you call molten rock before it has erupted?

5. What do you call it after it has erupted?

6. True or false? You can see the Great Wall of China from space.

7. What do you call a person who studies rocks?

8. Name the three time periods of the dinosaurs.

9. True or false? The Grand Canyon is around 10000 feet (3000 meters) deep.

10. What is the name of the deepest location in the world’s oceans?

11. Over a long period of time while under extreme heat and pressure, graphite turns into which precious mineral?

12. Outside of Antarctica, what is the largest desert in the world?

13. The gemstone ruby is typically what color?

14. What is the name of the highest mountain on earth?

15. Do stalactites rise from the floor or hang from the ceiling of limestone caves?

16. 'Cascade', 'horsetail', 'plunge' and 'tiered' are types of what?

17. Someone who studies earthquakes is known as a what?

18. What is the name of the layer of earth’s atmosphere that absorbs the majority of the potentially damaging ultraviolet light from the sun?

19. The mass of the earth is made up mostly of which two elements?

20. What is the second most common gas found in the air we breathe?

SCIENCE QUIZ-208 Answers

1. The Pacific Ocean	2. Iron and nickel	3. The center of the earth	4. Magma
5. Lava	6. True	7. A geologist	8. Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous
9. False - 5000 feet (1500 meters)	10. Mariana Trench	11. Diamond	12. The Sahara Desert in Africa
13. Red	14. Mount Everest	15. Hang from the ceiling	16. Waterfall
17. Seismologist	18. The ozone layer	19. Iron (32%) and oxygen (30%)	20. Oxygen (21%)

Prof.John Kurakar

SCIENCE QUIZ-207

1. Solar power generates electricity from what source?

2. Did the Apple iPhone first become available in 2005, 2006 or 2007?

3. In terms of computing, what does CPU stand for?

4. True or false? Nintendo was founded after the year 1900.

5. The Hubble Space Telescope is named after which American astronomer?

6. Is the wavelength of infrared light too long or short to be seen by humans?

7. Firefox, Opera, Chrome, Safari and Explorer are types of what?

8. True or false? Gold is not a good conductor of electricity?

9. The technologically advanced humanoid robot ASIMO is made by which car company?

10. True or false? Atomic bombs work by atomic fission.

11. In terms of computing, what does ROM stand for?

12. Did the original Sony Playstation use CDs or cartridges to play games?

13. What is the Earth’s primary source of energy?

14. IBM is a well known computer and information technology company, what does IBM stand for?

15. Along with whom did Bill Gates found Microsoft?

16. What science fiction writer wrote the three laws of robotics?

17. True or false? In computing, keyboards are used as input devices.

18. What does the abbreviation WWW stand for?

19. Nano, Shuffle, Classic and Touch are variations of what?

20. True or false? DNA is an abbreviation for ‘Deoxyribonucleic acid’.

SCIENCE QUIZ-207 Answers

1. The Sun	2. 2007	3. Central Processing Unit	4. False - 1889
5. Edwin Hubble	6. Long	7. Web browsers	8. False
9. Honda	10. True	11. Read Only Memory	12. CDs
13. The Sun	14. International Business Machines	15. Paul Allen	16. Isaac Asimov
17. True	18. World Wide Web	19. The Apple iPod	20. True

Prof. John Kurakar

SCIENCE QUIZ-206

1. What is the first element on the periodic table?

2. What is the centre of an atom called?

3. True or false? Acids have a pH level below 7.

4. What is the main gas found in the air we breathe?

5. True or false? An electron carries a positive charge.

6. Famous New Zealand scientist Ernest Rutherford was awarded a Nobel Prize in which field?

7. What is the chemical symbol for gold?

8. K is the chemical symbol for which element?

9. What orbits the nucleus of an atom?

10. At room temperature, what is the only metal that is in liquid form?

11. True or false? A neutron has no net electric charge.

12. A nuclear reaction where the nucleus of an atom splits into smaller parts is known as nuclear fission or nuclear fusion?

13. What is H₂0 more commonly known as?

14. What is the third most common gas found in the air we breathe?

15. What is the name given to substances that are initially involved in a chemical reaction?

16. True or false? Bases have a pH level below 7.

17. Is sodium hydroxide (NaOH) an acid or base?

18. Atoms of the same chemical element that have different atomic mass are known as?

19. True or false? A proton carries a positive charge.

20. What is the fourth most abundant element in the universe in terms of mass?

SCIENCE QUIZ-206 Answers

1. Hydrogen	2. A nucleus	3. True	4. Nitrogen (around 78%)
5. False	6. Chemistry	7. Au	8. Potassium
9. Electrons	10. Mercury	11. True	12. Nuclear fission
13. Water	14. Argon (around 1%)	15. Reactants	16. False
17. Base	18. Isotopes	19. True	20. Carbon

Prof. John Kurakar

SCIENCE QUIZ-205

1. What food makes up nearly all (around 99%) of a Giant Panda’s diet?

2. True or false? Mice live for up to 10 years.

3. What is the name of the phobia that involves an abnormal fear of spiders?

4. What is the largest type of ‘big cat’ in the world?

5. True or false? Crocodiles have no sweat glands so they use their mouths to release heat.

6. Eagles are very good at spotting potential prey from a long distance, why?

7. What are female elephants called?

8. True or false? Bats are mammals.

9. Bees are found on every continent of earth except for one, which is it?

10. True or false? Cats spend an average of 13 to 14 hours a day sleeping.

11. What is the fastest land animal in the world?

12. A ‘doe’ is what kind of animal?

13. True or false? Cougar’s are herbivores.

14. Groups of lions are known as what?

15. Is a dolphin a mammal?

16. What is the largest land animal in the world?

17. True of false? Snakes have slimy skin.

18. What is the only continent on earth where Giraffes live in the wild?

19. How many pairs of wings does a bee have?

20. What type of animal is the largest primate in the world?

21. Is a shark a fish or a mammal?

22. What is the most recognizable feature of a hedgehog’s appearance?

23. True or false? Owls are far-sighted, meaning that anything within a few inches of their eyes can’t be seen properly.

24. What is the name of an adult female horse?

25. What are baby goats called?

26. What is the tallest animal in the world?

27. True or false? Rabbits are born blind.

28. What is the most recognizable physical feature of the male lion?

29. How many legs does a spider have?

30. The crocodile species is believed to have been around for how long? 2 million years or 200 million years?

SCIENCE QUIZ-205 Answers

1. Bamboo

2. False - Captive mice live for up to 2 and a half years while wild mice only live for an average of around 4 months.

3. Arachnophobia

4. The tiger, weighing up to 300 kilograms (660 pounds).

5. True - They often sleep with their mouth open to cool down.

6. Because they have excellent eyesight.

7. Cows

8. True

9. Antarctica

10. True

11. The cheetah (it can reach speeds of up to 120kph – 75mph).

12. A female deer.

13. False - They are carnivores.

14. Prides

15. Yes

16. The elephant - The largest on record weighed around 12,000 kilograms! (26,000 lb).

17. False - Snakeskin is smooth and dry.

18. Africa

19. 2

20. The Gorilla

21. A fish

22. Their spines of spiky hair.

23. True

24. A mare

25. Kids

26. The giraffe - The average height is around 5 metres (16ft) and the tallest on record stood nearly 6 metres (20 ft) tall.

27. True

28. Its mane

29. 8

30. 200 million years

Prof. John Kurakar

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Friday, August 31, 2012