# Classical & World Mythology, Art History Masterpieces, Periodic Table Elements & Science > Greek, Roman, Norse, and Egyptian deities, Renaissance and modern art masterpieces, classical architecture, chemical elements, planetary astronomy, and cognitive biases. - **Canonical URL:** https://flashcards.world/flashcards/sets/9b7f6758-bb7e-4999-ac50-5b1340d5c974/ - **Markdown URL:** https://flashcards.world/flashcards/sets/9b7f6758-bb7e-4999-ac50-5b1340d5c974.md - **Level:** intermediate - **Languages:** en → en - **Total Cards:** 32 ## Flashcards (32 Cards) | # | Front (Term / Prompt) | Back (Definition / Answer) | Example | Multiple-Choice Options | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 1 | Who discovered radium and polonium and remains the only person to win Nobel Prizes in two different sciences (Physics 1903, Chemistry 1911)? | Marie Skłodowska-Curie. | | | | 2 | Which chemical element has atomic number 79, symbol Au (from Latin 'aurum'), and is a noble transition metal? | Gold (Au, atomic number 79). | | | | 3 | Who formulated the laws of planetary motion (elliptical orbits, equal areas, harmonic law) based on Tycho Brahe's observations? | Johannes Kepler. | | | | 4 | What is 'Survivorship Bias' and how did Abraham Wald famously apply it to WWII aircraft armor? | Focusing only on successful survivors while overlooking those that failed; Wald recommended armoring the areas on returning planes with NO bullet holes (engines/cockpit), because planes hit there never returned. | | | | 5 | Who created the woodblock print 'The Great Wave off Kanagawa' (c. 1831) from the series 'Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji'? | Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese ukiyo-e master). | | | | 6 | In Norse mythology, what is Yggdrasil and what are Odin's two ravens called? | Yggdrasil is the sacred cosmic ash tree connecting the Nine Worlds; Odin's two ravens are Huginn (Thought) and Muninn (Memory). | | | | 7 | In Greek and Roman mythology, who are the twelve Olympian deities and their Roman equivalents? | Zeus (Jupiter), Hera (Juno), Poseidon (Neptune), Demeter (Ceres), Athena (Minerva), Apollo (Apollo), Artemis (Diana), Ares (Mars), Aphrodite (Venus), Hephaestus (Vulcan), Hermes (Mercury), and Hestia/Vesta or Dionysus/Bacchus. | | | | 8 | Who composed 'The Well-Tempered Clavier', the 'Brandenburg Concertos', and the 'Goldberg Variations' during the Baroque period? | Johann Sebastian Bach. | | | | 9 | What is the 'Straw Man' fallacy vs. the 'Steel Man' principle in argumentation? | A Straw Man distorts or exaggerates an opponent's argument to make it easier to attack; Steelmanning addresses the strongest, most charitable form of the opponent's argument. | | | | 10 | What did Rosalind Franklin's X-ray diffraction 'Photo 51' reveal to James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953? | The helical B-form structure and dimensions of the DNA double helix. | | | | 11 | During which three Mesozoic periods did non-avian dinosaurs live, and in which period did Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops exist? | Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods; Tyrannosaurus rex and Triceratops lived during the Late Cretaceous (~68–66 million years ago). | | | | 12 | Which chemical element has the highest electronegativity on the Pauling scale (3.98)? | Fluorine (F, atomic number 9). | | | | 13 | Who discovered penicillin in 1928, and who purified it for clinical antibiotic use? | Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin from Penicillium notatum in 1928; Howard Florey and Ernst Chain purified and mass-produced it. | | | | 14 | Which moon of Saturn is the only moon in the Solar System with a dense nitrogen-rich atmosphere and liquid methane/ethane lakes? | Titan. | | | | 15 | What is the 'Sunk Cost Fallacy' (escalation of commitment) in behavioral economics? | Continuing an endeavor or investment because of previously invested resources (time, money, effort) that cannot be recovered, rather than evaluating future marginal costs and benefits. | | | | 16 | What structural innovations allowed Gothic cathedrals (e.g., Chartres, Notre-Dame) to reach unprecedented heights with large stained-glass windows? | Pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and external flying buttresses that channel lateral thrust outward. | | | | 17 | What are the three classical Greek architectural orders, and how are their capitals distinguished? | Doric (plain, sturdy cushion capital), Ionic (paired spiral volutes/scrolls), and Corinthian (ornate acanthus leaves). | | | | 18 | Who painted 'Guernica' (1937), and what historical event did it protest? | Pablo Picasso; it protested the aerial bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War. | | | | 19 | Who composed the 'Nine Symphonies' (including the 'Eroica' No. 3, 'Fate' No. 5, and 'Choral' No. 9), bridging the Classical and Romantic eras? | Ludwig van Beethoven. | | | | 20 | What are the four Galilean moons of Jupiter discovered by Galileo Galilei in 1610? | Io (volcanically active), Europa (subsurface liquid ocean), Ganymede (largest moon in the Solar System), and Callisto. | | | | 21 | Which two elements are the only liquids at standard room temperature and pressure (25 °C, 1 atm)? | Bromine (Br, atomic number 35, a halogen nonmetal) and Mercury (Hg, atomic number 80, a transition metal). | | | | 22 | What are the five geologic mass extinction events ('The Big Five') in Earth's history? | Ordovician-Silurian (~444 Ma), Late Devonian (~372 Ma), Permian-Triassic ('The Great Dying', ~252 Ma), Triassic-Jurassic (~201 Ma), and Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg asteroid impact that ended non-avian dinosaurs, ~66 Ma). | | | | 23 | Who painted 'The Starry Night' (1889) while staying at the asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence? | Vincent van Gogh (Post-Impressionism). | | | | 24 | What are the eight planets of the Solar System in order of increasing distance from the Sun? | Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars (terrestrial planets), Jupiter, Saturn (gas giants), Uranus, and Neptune (ice giants). | | | | 25 | What is the 'Availability Heuristic' as defined by Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman? | A cognitive shortcut in which people judge the probability or frequency of an event by how easily examples come to mind. | | | | 26 | Who painted 'The School of Athens' (1509–1511) in the Apostolic Palace of the Vatican, and which two philosophers stand at its center? | Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio); Plato (pointing upward to the realm of Forms) and Aristotle (gesturing horizontally toward the empirical world). | | | | 27 | What are the six noble gases in Group 18 of the Periodic Table (excluding synthetic Oganesson)? | Helium (He, 2), Neon (Ne, 10), Argon (Ar, 18), Krypton (Kr, 36), Xenon (Xe, 54), and Radon (Rn, 86). | | | | 28 | What is the 'Dunning-Kruger Effect' in cognitive psychology? | A metacognitive bias in which individuals with low competence in a domain overestimate their ability, while highly competent experts sometimes underestimate their relative skill. | | | | 29 | Which metal has the highest melting point of all pure chemical elements (3,422 °C) and symbol W (from wolfram)? | Tungsten (W, atomic number 74). | | | | 30 | In Ancient Egyptian mythology, which jackal-headed god weighed the heart of the deceased against the feather of Ma'at? | Anubis (with Thoth recording the judgment and Osiris presiding over the underworld). | | | | 31 | Which planet in our Solar System is the hottest due to a runaway greenhouse effect with a dense CO2 atmosphere (~465 °C)? | Venus (despite Mercury being closer to the Sun). | | | | 32 | What is the closest star system to the Sun (~4.24 light-years away)? | Alpha Centauri, specifically the red dwarf Proxima Centauri (4.24 light-years). | | | --- Study this deck interactively with FSRS-6 spaced repetition, audio review, and multiple-choice mode at [Flashcards World](https://flashcards.world/flashcards/sets/9b7f6758-bb7e-4999-ac50-5b1340d5c974/).