Natural Science Forum / Biology / Botany / October 2004

Thanks for that--it is just too neat!

M.  Reed

.

Thanks for that--it is just too neat!

M.  Reed

.

If you would like a PowerPoint presentation on this subject and would
care to email me  I will give  you a University of Sheffield (UK) URL
from which you may download it.

I also get frequent requests for a science quiz which once appeared on
beer-mats (coasters) in British pubs in consequence of an initiative,
funded by the UK Millennium Commission, to “further the public
understanding of science”. Many, but not all, of the questions are
related to plant science and I have now made the questions and answers
available in separate files so that you can test your own knowledge or,
should you wish, that of your colleagues and students. Once again I feel
obliged to ask you to contact me for the URLs. Downloading files from a
university site means that you can  be as sure, as it is possible to be
sure, that they will not be infected with viruses etc. Conversely,  I am
obliged to try and ensure that university URLs are passed  only to
colleagues who would respect copyright and other considerations.

The British government, now deeply concerned  about obesity calls, upon
us all to  exercise more. Inevitably this has generated a rash of
articles in the popular press that are not always based on sound science
so here is an additional question free of all constraints. If you pause
to reflect on the laws of physics or do the arithmetic yourself you will
choose the correct answer. If not,  you  might, just possibly, get it
wrong.

16. Not in the original quiz but added because of its topicality.

If you run a mile at ten miles an hour you ‘burn’ more calories than if
you walk the same distance at 2 miles an hour. How much more?

a) about 15% more

(b) about 45% more

(c) about 75% more

Regards

David

From David Walker, FRS., Emeritus Professor of Photosynthesis,
University of Sheffield, UK.

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