2025 Contest Results
Selkirk Alliance for Science hosted a weekly online science trivia contest to test the scientific knowledge and information search skills by participants. They were allowed to use Internet search engines or reference materials to find the answer. We thank all participants who entered the contest, and hope that a new awareness about science will bring informed decisions in daily life.
Our purpose is to increase personal understanding of the nature, value, and integrity of science that can benefit all communities.
No purchase was necessary for anyone to enter or win the contest, and the rewards could be entertaining, educational, and free science prizes.
Answers to the 2025 questions are provided below, so feel free to share with family, friends, and neighbors.
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Question posted January 6, 2025
What is a bird murmuration?
Answer: A bird murmuration is synchronized swirling flight (Answer “b”), usually by European starlings in a large flock. A team of researchers used citizen science to study the behavior and determined it is primarily an anti-predator adaptation. They discovered the number of birds in a flock increased significantly from October to early-February, then diminished by March. Click on this YouTube video to see this artistic beauty in nature.
Question posted January 13, 2025
A Pew Research Institute poll in February 2024 asked who Americans feel comfortable talking to about their mental health. What one entity below was chosen most often as extremely or very comfortable for that conversation?​
Answer: Fifty-seven percent of Americans are at least extremely or very comfortable talking with close friends (Answer “b”) about their mental health. Immediate family members are rated slightly less (52%), followed by mental health therapists (50%), religious or spiritual leaders (31%), and neighbors (11%). About 7 of 10 adults with a spouse or partner would choose them for sharing those difficult conversations. Not included in the list of entities were medical doctors.
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