Q1 The term for a basic unit of information, the bit, was coined by Claude Shannon in 1948. It is a contraction of what phrase?
a) basic iteration
b) binary information
c) binary digit
d) binary unit
Q2 Eight bits make up one standard byte, spelled with a "y" to make it look more computery. What term (also featuring a computery "y") is sometimes used for four bits, or half a byte?
a) by
b) nybble
c) morsyl
d) mouthfyl
Q3 Unsurprisingly, the quantum unit of information is more ambiguous than the classical bit, encompassing not only definite ones and zeros but all possible superpositions in between. Its name is phonetically identical to:
a) an ancient Roman unit of weight
b) an ancient Babylonian unit of time
c) an ancient Assyrian unit of fluid volume
d) an ancient Egyptian unit of distance
Q4 What thermodynamic quantity is proportional to the logarithm of the number of possible arrangements of the interior state of a system, and so can be thought of as measuring an absence of information, or the logarithm of ignorance?
a) energy
b) enthalpy
c) emmetropy
d) entropy
Round 2: Name that moon
Q5 Named after a character in Shakespeare, the innermost of the five major moons of Uranus is approximately 470 kilometres across and bears a tortured surface showing signs of intense ancient geological activity. It shares its name with an ill-fated planet in the science fiction film Serenity. It is called:
a) Oberon
b) Ariel
c) Umbriel
d) Miranda
Q6 In 1993, astronomers discovered a moon orbiting the asteroid Ida, the first satellite of its kind. It shares its name with which meter of poetic rhythm?
a) anapest
b) bacchius
c) cretic
d) dactyl
Q7 Pluto's large moon, Charon, was briefly considered for planetary status in 2006, before Pluto itself was relegated to dwarf planet. Pluto is now known to have two much smaller moons, discovered in 2005 by the Hubble Space Telescope. They are:
a) Cheryl and Tracey
b) Hydra and Nix
c) Stygia and Acheron
d) Cerberus and Persephone
Q8 Rhea is the second largest of Saturn's many moons. What is unique about it?
a) It's the largest irregularly shaped moon in the solar system
b) It's the only moon in the solar system that astronomers think may have its own moon
c) It bears an uncanny resemblance to the Death Star before Luke Skywalker blew it up
d) It was the first moon to be discovered by an interplanetary spacecraft
Round 3: Alphabet of science
Q9 Which upper-case letter, when placed underneath a small circle, represents a distance of one hundred-thousandth of one hundred-thousandth of a metre?
a) A
b) B
c) C
d) D
Q10 In cosmology, which lower-case letter represents the dimensionless scale factor of the universe, which measures the expansion of space?
a) c
b) a
c) d
d) b
Q11 ABCD together have many uses in science and medicine. Which of these is genuine?
a) ABCD - a computing acronym to do with processing
b) The ABCD score - a mnemonic to help assess the risk of someone having a stroke
c) ABCD syndrome - a rare multiple personality disorder
d) All of the above
