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How Much Do You Know About Science?

SCIENCE

A new report found some surprises when it looked at the state of scientific knowledge amongst Americans. (Nat Geo News)

How do you measure up? Quiz yourself with our resources below.

Teachers, scroll down for a quick list of key resources.

Yes, that is my score. :-) Take the easy 12-question quiz here. — Yes, that is my score. 🙂 Take the easy 12-question quiz here.

Discussion Ideas: Quiz Yourself!

Photograph by NASA, courtesy National Science Foundation

This picture shows an object in space that has an icy core with a tail of gas and dust that extends millions of miles. What is it?
- 78% of Americans surveyed knew. Do you?

The electromagnetic (EM) spectrum ranges from low-frequency “red” radio waves to high-frequency “blue” gamma rays. A tiny sliver of the EM spectrum is visible light. Illustration courtesy NASA — The electromagnetic (EM) spectrum ranges from low-frequency “red” radio waves to high-frequency “blue” gamma rays. A tiny sliver of the EM spectrum is visible light.
Illustration courtesy NASA

Which kind of waves are used to make and receive cell phone calls?
- 72% of Americans surveyed knew. Do you?

The Earth is divided into three main layers: the dense, hot inner core (yellow), the molten outer core (orange), the mantle (red), and the thin crust (brown), which supports all life in the known universe. Download a PDF version this poster here! Illustration by Mary Crooks, National Geographic — The Earth is divided into three main layers: the dense, hot inner core (yellow), the molten outer core (orange), the mantle (red), and the thin crust (brown), which supports all life in the known universe.
Illustration by Mary Crooks, National Geographic

This picture shows three layers of the Earth. Which layer is the hottest?
- 86% of Americans surveyed knew this answer. Do you? (More people got this answer right than any other on the quiz.)

CLICK TO ENLARGE!! Illustrations by Mary Crooks, National Geographic Education — Illustrations by Mary Crooks, National Geographic Education

What is the main way that ocean tides are created?
- 76% of Americans surveyed knew. Do you?

Kepler is our first real search for planets orbiting other stars. The sun is just one out of more than 200 billion stars in our galaxy, the Milky Way. Kepler will be examining more than 100,000 stars in our galactic neighborhood. Most of these stars will be at least 500 light years from our solar system. (That's 2,939,312,686,591,803 (almost three quadrillion) miles. And those are our neighbors.) Illustration by Jon Lomberg, www.jonlomberg.com, courtesy NASA — Illustration by Jon Lomberg, http://www.jonlomberg.com, courtesy NASA

What does a light-year measure?
- 72% of Americans surveyed knew. Do you?

The surface elevation layer of our MapMaker Interactive shows the altitude difference between Los Angeles (left) and Denver (right). Map by National Geographic — The surface elevation layer of our MapMaker Interactive shows the altitude difference between Los Angeles (left) and Denver (right).
Map by National Geographic

Denver, Colorado, is at a higher altitude than Los Angeles, California. Does water boil at a higher, lower, or the same temperature in Denver?
- 34% of Americans surveyed knew this answer. Do you? (More people got this answer wrong than any other on the quiz.)

Photograph by Fir0002, courtesy Wikimedia. CC-BY-SA-3.0

How does pass through a magnifying glass—straight ahead or at an angle?
- 46% of Americans surveyed knew this answer. Do you?

The loudness of a sound is determined by what property of a sound wave?
- 35% of Americans surveyed knew this answer. Do you?

This lovely scatterplot graph is just one of the features of FieldScope. Acquaint yourself with the others here! Graph by FieldScope — This lovely scatterplot graph is just one of the features of FieldScope. Acquaint yourself with the others here!
Graph by FieldScope

What is the relationship between dissolved oxygen and water temperature in this graph?
- 63% of Americans surveyed knew this answer. Do you?

Which elements are needed to make nuclear energy and nuclear weapons?
- 82% of Americans surveyed knew this answer. Do you?

It’s the guy in the middle. Photograph by Bates Littlehales, National Geographic — It’s the guy in the middle.
Photograph by Bates Littlehales, National Geographic

Who developed the polio vaccine?
- 74% of Americans surveyed knew this answer. Do you?

This gorgeous image shows some of ALMA's telescopes, hard at work. Those two dusty smudges in the starry sky are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds—dwarf galaxies we can't see here at Nat Geo headquarters in the Northern Hemisphere. Photograph by Christoph Malin, ESO Photo Ambassador — This gorgeous image shows some of ALMA’s telescopes, hard at work. Those two dusty smudges in the starry sky are the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds—dwarf galaxies we can’t see here at Nat Geo headquarters in the Northern Hemisphere.
Photograph by Christoph Malin, ESO Photo Ambassador

Which term describes the study of how the positions of stars and planets can influence human behavior?
- 73% of Americans surveyed knew this answer. Do you?

TEACHERS’ TOOLKIT

Nat Geo: How Much Does The Public Know About Science?

Nat Geo: STEM Education

Pew Research Center: Science Knowledge Quiz

Pew Research Center: A Look at What the Public Knows and Does Not Know About Science

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