Science news

DIRECTIONS: Read the Science News section on pages 4 to 6. Then, test your knowledge by filling in the letter of the correct answer below.

1. To leap across the Great Wall of China, skateboarder Danny Way started high up on a J-shaped ramp to build up

(A) drag.

(B) gravitational potential energy.

(C) kinetic energy.

(D) vertical speed.

2. Because Way had a lot of --, it helped him fight gravity's tug and stay in the air for a longer period of time.

(A) drag

(B) gravitational potential energy

(C) friction

(D) upward speed

3. Which of the following do scientists NOT know about the newly discovered planet?

(A) It has three "suns."

(B) It is a gas giant.

(C) It is outside the solar system.

It has minerals similar to the ones found on Earth.

4. Life as we know it would be impossible on the new planet because it's too

(A) far from our solar system.

(B) cold for organisms to grow.

(C) far from its nearest star to obtain energy for photosynthesis.

(D) hot for life to survive.

5. Normally, baseball players have a hard time seeing a fastball because

(A) an oncoming speeding object tends to trigger a person's reflexes to blink.

(B) the white ball blurs against other distracting colors in the stadium.

(C) the brain cannot signal a player's visual functions fast enough.

(D) the white ball reflects too much sunlight.

6. MaxSight contact lenses help a baseball player see a fastball better because the lenses

(A) enlarge the eye pupils, helping the player see the while color more intensely.

(B) help keep the player's eyeballs front moving around.

(C) filter out visible light waves with short wavelengths.

(D) block out visible light waves with long wavelengths.

7. When wearing the "Square Eyes" shoe insert, every--steps you take earn you--of TV-watching time.

(A) 50, 1 minute

(B) 85, 3 minutes

(C) 100, 1 minute

(D) 100, 5 minutes

8. Which of the following activities burns the most calories per hour?

(A) walking

(B) swimming

(C) biking

(D) jogging

9. Global warming has caused glaciers in Switzerland to lose about--of their surface area in the last--years.

(A) one fifth, 15

(B) one quarter, 10

(C) one third, 15

(D) two thirds, 5

10. A plastic wrap used to cover parts of the Gurschen glacier kept the ice underneath cold by

(A) reflecting the sun's rays.

(B) absorbing the sun's rays.

(C) spreading a chemical antifreeze.

(D) keeping the meltwater from leaking out.

ANSWERS

1. b 2. d 3. d 4. d 5. b 6. c 7. c 8. c 9. a 10. a

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