Pub Trivia

Every Tuesday night at Pole there's Pub Trivia.  We missed a few at the beginning of the season, but for the most part we've been able to partake in the trivia awesomeness.  A couple weeks ago the team I was on won, and generally the winners host the following week and write the questions.  (We acutually won this week too, but half of our team - including myself - leaves the Pole this Saturday so they'll have to find some other people to write questions).  I was lucky enough to be able to write a round.  People were concerned I'd write one about Lord of the Rings or Dune, and rightly so as I'd probably (but accidentally) make the questions too obscure and ridiculous.  So, to give everyone a better chance I wrote a round about human anatomy and physiology.  Turns out it was still pretty obscure and ridiculous, but at least just about all the questions came from high school biology and/or anatomy classes, so I thought people had some chance to answer them.  And despite some groaning and disbelief that the questions came from my head (What can I say?  I had an awesome biology teacher in high school  - thanks Mrs. Iler! - and I studied a lot...) the teams did fairly well, averaging over 50% of the total number of points.

I thought it'd be fun to post my round and see if anyone wanted to give it a shot.  I'll send a sticker straight from the South Pole store to the winner. It's the honor system here, folks. No using the internet or text books, and you have to answer the questions within 30 minutes.  But I trust you all not to cheat! :)  I leave the Pole in a couple days, so this might be my last post for a while (I'll do at least one follow up post about my adventures in New Zealand after I leave), so let's say you have until Feb 10th to submit answers.  If you want to play, send me your answers to jathaniminium @ gmail.com .

So without anymore delay here are the questions.  Good luck and have fun!  (I'm giving you all the questions.  I skipped a few during the actual Pub Trivia round since there was so much groaning). :

Pub Trivia - 1/24/2012 : Human Anatomy and Physiology

Jason W. Henning

• 1. Most bones in the human body directly connect to or touch other bones at articulating (moving) joints. How many bones are not directly connected to at least one other bone? a) 1 point for the correct number, b) 1 additional point for each correctly named bone.

• 2. Kidneys regulate the levels of certain chemicals and compounds, like salts, in blood. a) 1 point: name the basic structure in kidneys that filters unwanted compounds from blood. b) 1 point: name the particular type of this structure that allows us to produce concentrated urine.

• 3. 1 point: Spermatogensis is the process of producing new sperm cells. In humans, how long does spermatogenesis take? Hint: you'll get a point if you're within 10 days.

• 4. 3 points: In the very early embryo, there are three layers of germ cells that eventually differentiate to form all the various structures and organs of the body. Name each of the three germ cell layers, 1 point each.

• 5. The spine is composed of three regions of articulating vertebrae (and two regions of fused vertebrae named the sacrum and coccyx). a) 3 points: Name the three regions (1 point each), b) 3 points: name the correct number of vertebrae in each region (an additional 3 points).

• 6. Neurons, or nerve cells, control the body with electrical signals. Like everyday wires, neurons need insulation. a) 1 point: Name the layer (or sheath) that insulates the axons of neural cells. b) 1 point: Insulation isn’t the main function of this sheath, however. What is the primary roll of this insulating layer?

• 7. Human cells have individualized structures with specific tasks called organelles, much like organs have specific tasks to perform for the body as a whole. One point each, name as many human cell organelles as you can.

• 8. The retina of the human eye consists of two types of sensory cells, called rods and cones. a) 1 point: What is the functional difference between rod cells and cone cells? b) 1(2) point: Where on the retina are cones most highly concentrated (You get two bonus points if you give me the specific name of this region of the retina, not just the general location).

• 9. Hiccups are caused by involuntary twitches of what muscle?

• 10. What structure in the brain is responsible for fine motor control, among other things?

• 11. What structure in the brain helps maintain homeostasis? That is, it regulates such things as thirst, hunger, body temperature, fatigue, etc.

• 12. a) How many pairs of chromosomes do humans have? b) Downe Syndrome is caused by having an extra copy of which chromosome? c) Which has more chromosomes - a human or a chimpanzee?

• 13. There are two types of cellular division. a) 2 points: name the two processes. b) 2 points: What is the difference between these processes? (You get only one bonus point if you know the difference but can’t say which is which) .

• 14. Digestion is the complex process of breaking down food by mechanical and chemical means into constituent molecules that the body then uses for food and energy. It starts mechanically with chewing, but saliva also begins chemical digestion. For one point each, what two food compounds does saliva start to chemically break down?

• 15. Your metabolism, the sum total of all chemical reactions in your body, continuously requires energy in order to keep breaking down and making new molecules. A particular molecule in our cells acts as an energy currency, providing energy to chemical reaction sites allowing reactions to trigger. For one point, what is the name of this molecule?

• 16. Proteins are molecules with complex three dimensional forms that often act as catalyst points for important chemical reactions throughout the body. a) For one point, name the basic building block of a protein. b) 1 point: How many nucleic acid bases (or nucleotides) in a string of tRNA are needed to encode one of these protein building blocks? Hint, there are 4 different nucleotides in DNA, and there are 20 standard protein building blocks they need to encode for). c) 1point: The dinosaurs in the book and movie Jurassic Park were genetically engineered to be lacking in one essential type of these building blocks which had to be purposely fed to them in order for them to survive. Name it. d)Two more bonus points: what are the nucleic acid base pairs (in order) that code for this protein building block?

• TIE BREAKER QUESTIONS

• 17. What is the anatomical name for the outer ear?

• 18. What is the name for the outer most layer of the protective casing around your brain?

• 19. The two hemispheres of the brain are connected to each other by what structure?

• 20. What is the full name of a blood pressure meter or cuff?

• 21. Cell membranes are made up of a double layer of a special type of molecule with hydrophilic and hydrophobic ends. What is the molecule?

• 22. The snail shell-like coiled cavity that contains hairs in your inner ear that allow us to hear is called what?

• 23. Your brain interprets acceleration and orientation by sensing the motion of fluid in what structures of your inner ear?