Do you agree with their list of basic questions?

[Martin]

http://www.startribune.com/389/story/369290.html

 

" Recently, several science gurus -- Nobel Prize winners, institute heads, teachers and others who spend most of their time thinking about science -- were asked, 'What is one science question every high school graduate should be able to answer?'"

 

 

Why is the sky blue? Facts you should know

article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune

[ecoli]

those were some pretty easy questions... if high school graduates couldn't get at least 8 of those, this country is not in good shape: but then, we already knew that.

[YT2095]

should the question be "What is Science?" ?

[RyanJ]

should the question be "What is Science?" ?

 

It should - thats a very important question. I think most of those questions there are general knowledge though

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones

[[Tycho?]]

The oldest fossils thing is a little odd, since its constantly changing. When my parents were in high school, were the oldest fossils almost 4 billion years old? I also dont think that memorization of such a number is particularly useful (although my guess of 4 billion years was close enough to be correct).

 

The extra credit question should be on the list itself.

 

Some other good general science questions:

 

What causes earthquakes? (tectonic plates suddenly shifting with respect to one another)

 

What is the difference between nuclear fusion and nuclear fission? (fusion is the process of atoms of light elements joining together, fission if the process of heavy elements splitting apart)

 

What is nuclear radiation? (alpha, beta and gamma rays. I suppose high energy neutrons as well)

 

What is the most common element in the universe? (Hydrogen)

 

What is cancer? (the result of damage to DNA; cells in the body which no longer perform their regular functions and instead multiply very quickly)

 

 

Of course all these questions and answers are quite simplified.

[RyanJ]

OK guys how about we make our own list and compare it to theirs? I'm shure we'll get some interesting questions on the list

 

Cheers,

 

Ryan Jones

[daneeka]

Perhaps a nice question could be: "What percentage of your high school education do you think you can remember?"

 

Hmmm that might make a good thread...

[Martin]

OK guys how about we make our own list and compare it to theirs? I'm shure we'll get some interesting questions on the list

 

Cheers' date='

 

Ryan Jones[/quote']

 

Go for it! Why not?

 

I dont remember anybody at SFN doing that-----they may have, I guess one could check with the search engine but I wouldnt be sure how to do the seach.

 

"Basic science questions any HS graduate should know the answer to"

 

I'll leave it up to you or [TYCHO] if either of you want to.

Start a thread here in General Science if you want---questions will likely involve several different kinds of science

 

I'd say whoever starts the thread gets to edit whatever is proposed, and gets to compile the final list of ten.