Are you scientifically literate?

DaveC426913

Ah! Well in that case, I scored 131%.

Evo

wow!!

jhae2.718

88%. Apparently I don't remember some astronomical facts and other boring stuff.

flatmaster

Looks like I'm winning with 96%. Missed the trans-pluto object and -nimbus.
I think my Jepordy skills helped. They gave you several contextual clues in each question just like Jepordy.

KrisOhn

84%, I got only two wrong answers until the last few questions. I got a little cocky.

AnTiFreeze3

Just like Vladimir Putin's approval rating!!

Curious3141

90%, and an agreeable amount of time wasted.

MathematicalPhysicist

68%

I guessed quite a lot, except for stuff in physics and astronomy.

OmCheeto

90%, and an even greater amount of time wasted.

I transcribed the entire quiz(cut and paste of course).

When they listed choices for the age of the earth, I had to laugh:
There should be more humor in quizzes.

ps. I found and took the quiz on July 8th, while looking for information on the Higgs boson.

PAllen

I got 94%, taken very quickly.

Jonathan Scott

I got 98%. Knowing Greek terms helped, as well as having done meteorology and general science courses in the past! I was hesitant about only one answer, which was mu for coefficient of friction.

The one I got wrong was when I apparently clicked "oblong" (!) instead of "scalene" for an unequal-sided triangle. I was surprised when I saw which answer was highlighted, as I was unaware of clicking the wrong one.

lisab

84%. I got really impatient towards the end - I didn't like the format!

I wish they had it all on one page. Also would be better if they didn't show if you're right or wrong after every answer. That could discourage a lot of people who aren't "scientifically literate", and make them give up only a few questions into the test.

Dembadon

74% -- I haven't taken a course in chemistry or biology, so I guessed on most of the questions related to those fields.

I don't like multiple choice tests; knowing which answers are wrong does not make me feel literate in a given area. It makes me feel like an impostor because if anyone were to ask me how I knew my answers were correct, I'd have to admit to heavy use of deductive reasoning rather than my knowledge and application of the theory behind whatever principle is being asked about.

M Quack

Using deductive reasoning is much more scientific than just memorizing a lot of random stuff.

Infinitum

96%, I blame Biology.


Also, I want to strangle someone.

Ryan_m_b

82%, got wrong the following:

- In 1989, the US postal service drew criticism from paleontologists for releasing a stamp with what obsolete genus name, which translates from Greek as "Thunder Lizard"?
- What is the heaviest noble gas?
- What moon, the largest moon orbiting Saturn, is the only known object in the solar system other than Earth that is known to have liquid on its surface?
- The 2006 demotion of Pluto to the status of dwarf planet was precipitated by the discovery of what object orbiting beyond Pluto, believed to be 27 percent more massive than Pluto and named for the Greek goddess of strife and discord?
- In classical mechanics, what is defined as the product of an object's mass and velocity?
- The mathematical constant e is defined as the base of the natural system of logarithms, having a numerical value of approximately what?
- What word, which derives from a Greek term meaning "unequal" or "bent," describes a triangle whose three sides are of unequal length?
- Over half of the world's supply of what element, which gets its name from the epithet of the Greek goddess Athena, is used in catalytic converters?
- In meteorology, what does the suffix -nimbus added to the name of a cloud indicate?

A few of them I kicked myself over upon seeing the answer. IMO not much of this quiz is about science literacy. I'd say questions concerning what is science, how does the scientific method work, what is peer review etc a long with a few basic questions from each field (rather than random trivia questions) would be a far better test.

DaveC426913

In Hero Games RPG, that would be the difference between
- a Knowledge Skill (do you know lots about something), and
- a Professional Skill (do you know how to make a living doing something).

Oops. My freak flag slipped out. I'll just tuck that back in...