Everyday Science Basics Quiz

Everyday science is all around us. It involves understanding how things work and interacting with our environment. Here we'll explore some everyday examples of some fundamental scientific principles related to sound, light, gravity, magnets, and electricity.

Sound

Sound is a vibration that travels through the air or another medium and can be heard when it reaches a person’s or animal’s ear. We experience sounds every day; they help alert us to danger like fire alarms or sirens warning about emergencies. Different pitches make different notes and tones; low frequencies have longer wavelengths while higher ones have shorter waves. Sounds travel faster in hard materials than soft ones because harder surfaces bounce back more energy. Loudness relates to the energy carried by the wave so louder sounds have more energy and carry further. When two people talk, their voices reach each other after traveling certain distances depending on how loud they speak. When waves combine, they sometimes get stronger and sometimes cancel out, which leads to a phenomenon called interference. Some basic sounds you hear daily include waves breaking on the shore, birds chirping, cars honking, and music playing.

Light

Light is electromagnetic radiation emitted from a source such as a bulb or the sun. Our eyes see visible light between 400 nanometers and 700 nanometers. There are many types of light, including ultraviolet rays, gamma rays, x-rays, radio waves, microwaves, infrared waves, and radar waves. Each type has its own frequency and color. For instance, violet has high frequency and blue light has lower frequency, making them appear more spread out. Sunlight contains all colors, but streetlights only contain one color (yellow). If light hits something, it reflects off into your eye, allowing you to see what's there. Reflection makes mirrors useful since they reflect sunlight onto your face or objects behind you to let you see without turning around. All animals except insects rely solely on sight to find food and avoid predators.

Gravity

Gravity is a force pulling anything with mass towards any other thing with mass. Earth's gravitational pull keeps objects on the ground. Without this force, everything would fly away into space. On a smaller scale, if you throw a ball upwards, it will slow down until it stops moving forward - this shows us that gravity works even though we don't feel it directly. As you walk across the floor, your body moves backwards slightly due to friction against the floor. This causes tiny bits of skin to rub off! A satellite orbiting the earth has just enough push backwards to keep going at exactly the right speed forever.

Magnets

Magnets attract or repel metal. They also affect small pieces of plastic, wood, paper, rubber, glass, water, air, and cloth. Magnets stick together when opposite poles touch but separate when same poles touch. They weigh less than most rocks. But they still have weight because they take up volume, like all matter does. In everyday life, magnets are used in toys, refrigerator doors, speakers, headphones, microphones, cameras, computers, washing machines, dishwashers, vacuum cleaners, electric shavers, hairbrushes, toothbrushes, dentures, compasses, heart pacemakers, credit cards, door locks, car engines, security systems, and telecommunications equipment.

Electricity

Electricity runs on energy created inside atoms. It comes straight from chemicals inside living cells that convert chemical energy stored in sugar molecules into electrical energy. Powerful electrical currents flow through millions of miles of copper wire underground. They power homes, schools, hospitals, stores, offices, banks, post offices, libraries, police stations, train stations, bus depots, railroads, ships, planes, boats, trains, trucks, military bases, airports, seaports, harbors, wharfs, piers, docks, marinas, boat slips, marina basins, anchored barges, buoys, floats, boatsheds, boat decks, diving boards, swimming pools, saunas, hot tubs, spa baths, fountains, statues, benches, tables, chairs, desks, windowsills, bookshelves, stools, armchairs, couches, futons, beanbag chairs, ottomans, pillows, cushions, rugs, mats, blankets, bedcovers, quilts, duvets, curtains, draperies, curtained walls, blinds, shades, screens, and window treatments.