Advertisement

Menu
  • Home
  • What We Do
Photo courtesy of CERN.
The Large Hadron Collider at CERN in Switzerland—the world's largest, and my personal favorite, science experiment.
  • June 20, 2013

How Much Do You Really Know About Science?

by Dan Stone

Sometimes when we’re on the road for Change Reaction, photographer Spencer Millsap and I can get pretty nerdy. Actually, it’s more just me. Often when Spencer is setting up our cameras to film an interview, I’ll chat with the subject about about his or her research. Fairly quickly, we get to things like pH balance or the structure of molecules. Chemistry, one of my old teachers used to say, can be pretty chool.

I had a lot of good science teachers back in high school and college—teachers who knew how to use a little liquid nitrogen or a beaker on fire to fascinate a room full of teenagers. It’s probably why I chose a career where I can get my hands dirty for the sake of a story.

I was thinking about this recently when I saw the results of a survey about science, and specifically about how much the U.S. public understands some core concepts. The answer: not as much as you’d think. We’re by no means in last place, but when it comes to debating things like climate change, pharmaceutical testing, and nanotechnology, what seems clear is that our foundation of understanding these ideas isn’t that firm, which obviously impacts the solutions we can come up with for hard problems.

Here are a few questions from the survey. If you promise not to cheat, I’ll post the answers at the bottom.

Photo by zhouxuan / Flickr

Photo by zhouxuan / Flickr

1) Electrons are smaller than atoms. Is this statement…
a) True
b) False

2) Lasers work by focusing sound waves. Is this statement…
a) True
b) False

3) Which one of the following types of solar radiation does sunscreen protect the skin from?
a) X-Rays
b) Infrared
c) Ultraviolet
d) Microwaves

4) Which gas makes up most of the Earth’s atmosphere?
a) Hydrogen
b) Oxygen
c) Carbon dioxide
d) Nitrogen

5) Which is an example of a chemical reaction?
a) Water boiling
b) Sugar dissolving
c) Nails rusting

Most people (83%) answered the sunscreen question correctly. Very few (20%) got the one about Earth’s atmosphere. The rest were somewhere in the middle. You can take the entire quiz here, and read the report that breaks it all down here.

So whose fault is it that a large chunk of adults don’t understand some basic science concepts? Pew did the study (along with Smithsonian Magazine) to shine focus on STEM education. States and local governments investing more into classroom activities that make science fun seems to be one answer. Or maybe it’s a communication issue, demanding we simply find more compelling ways to talk about the world around us, and the science in it.

That’s our challenge here at National Geographic, to inspire people to care about the planet. But more than that, the fundamental ways it works. It’s a thrilling goal. If you think you have an idea for how to do it—or simply just want to gloat about your score on the quiz—join the discussion in the comments below.

 

 

 

Answers:
1. a) True
2. b) False
3. c) Ultraviolet
4. d) Nitrogen
5. c) Nails rusting

 

  • More »

There are 5 Comments. Add Yours.

  1. Colin chambers
    June 21, 2013

    A black hole…… Is a massless Plasma With time non-existent.
    The event Horizon Is where Particles and matter = time are Dissolved ???
    Jacktar

  2. D. J. Hawkins
    June 26, 2013

    The preview might have given me a small leg up taking the quiz, but I finished in about 60 seconds with a perfect score. This isn’t bragging; the bar was ridiculously low. If you missed more than 2 of these questions you should stay home on election day. Seriously. You don’t have the fundamental knowledge necessary to make informed decisions in a modern, technical democracy.

  3. canali
    July 3, 2013

    hopefully you’ll explain some of these answers in more detail ie, the nail rusting. btw I got a perfect score…and I”m no science buff either: I majored in lit ! 🙂

  4. Jeff fletcher
    August 13, 2013

    What are you talking about, ” massless black holes”? Where do u think the gravity comes from? It’s collapsed mass (neutron star). Very dense.

  5. george
    August 17, 2013

    After practice a few of the blog posts on your website now, i truly like your way of running a blog. I book marked it in order to my book mark website listing and will be examining back before long. Pls look at my web site as well and also let me know what you believe.

Add Your Comments

All fields required.

Related Posts

  • April 25, 2015

How Korea Found the American Dream

Readers of this blog know we love a good story about how the world works. ...

Read more 0
  • March 31, 2015

Would You Drive From London to Alaska?

The longest road trip I ever drove was across the United States, 2,600 miles in all, ...

Read more 1
  • March 19, 2015

Start Planning Now for America’s 2017 Eclipse

Pick your spot now to see America's top eclipse this century. …

Read more 0
Photograph by ILRI
  • March 7, 2015

Chinese Pigs are Changing the World

Pigs in China are stressing the environment in countries far away from China. …

Read more 0
Photograph by Trey Ratcliff
  • February 24, 2015

Will You Live in a Megacity?

Tomorrow's cities will be bigger, more crowded, and—we hope—more efficient. Would you like to live ...

Read more 0
  • Prev
  • Next
  • Photograph by Spencer Millsap 1 of 8
  • Photograph by Spencer Millsap 2 of 8
    Roughly 1,000 visitors visit the observation deck of the Washington Monument each day.
  • Photograph by Spencer Millsap 3 of 8
    Scheduled to open in 2016, the National Museum of African American History and Culture is being built in the shadow of the Washington Monument.
  • Photograph by Spencer Millsap 4 of 8
    Dedicated in 1922, the Lincoln Memorial was the second tribute to a U.S. president on the National Mall.
  • Photograph by Spencer Millsap 5 of 8
    The White House preceded the Washington Monument by nearly 90 years. Every U.S. president but Washington has lived in the mansion.
  • Photograph by Spencer Millsap 6 of 8
    Engineers are currently restoring the Capitol, including fixing more than 1,000 cracks. The work is scheduled to be completed by January 2017.
  • Photograph by Spencer Millsap 7 of 8
    On the penultimate deck, visitors learn about the obelisk, and the man, George Washington, it was built for.
  • Photograph by Spencer Millsap 8 of 8
  • June 20, 2013

How Much Do You Really Know About Science?

How many U.S. adults understand some of the core concepts of science? The answer: not ...

Read more 5
More Related Posts »

Who We Are

Dan Stone and Spencer Millsap are multimedia journalists for National Geographic magazine. They’re on the move, looking for new ideas and good stories. Tweet them at @DanEnRoute and @Spono.

Follow Dan on Twitter

My Tweets

Follow Spencer on Twitter

My Tweets

Food for Thought



Our new food series explores how we can feed the growing population without overwhelming the planet.

Recent Posts

  • How Korea Found the American Dream
  • Would You Drive From London to Alaska?
  • Start Planning Now for America’s 2017 Eclipse
  • Chinese Pigs are Changing the World
  • Will You Live in a Megacity?

Recent Comments

  • Kayla Yuresko on You’re Eating Too Many Avocados
  • Avocados of Discontent | Writing Wranglers and Warriors on You’re Eating Too Many Avocados
  • Thanks to America, We’ve Reached Peak Avocado | The Plate on You’re Eating Too Many Avocados
  • Post A: Indonesia and the motorcycle | Indonesia Global Design Studio on Video: How Do You Get Around Jakarta?
  • Death Wish - The Worlds Strongest Coffee on The World’s Top Drink

Posting Rules

Opinions expressed in blogs are those of the blogger and/or the blogger's organization, and not necessarily those of the National Geographic Society. Bloggers and commenters are required to observe National Geographic's community rules.