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United States Department of Agriculture

Agricultural Research Service

Dr. Watts's Agriculture Quiz!

Dr. Watts's Agriculture Quiz!


1) If science has any say in the matter, we might one day be washing our clothes or dishes with?

Answer: C. Corn. A new product from corn could make laundry detergents safer for the environment. This product is added to laundry detergent to prevent calcium carbonate from turning white clothes a greyish color.

2) In their earliest days of life, baby pompano (fish) are:

B. In their earliest days of life, baby pompano are almost transparent. That means they are almost invisible.

3) What does an Insect-o-graph do?

D. This device can find bugs hiding inside seeds and grain kernels.

4) How can plants help engines?

A. Oil additives made from plants like corn can help motor oil do a better job of making engines run smoothly and powerfully without polluting the environment.

5) What is Witches' Broom?

D. That's right. Witches' broom is a disease caused by a fungus that attacks cacao trees. Those trees' seeds, called "beans," are the source of chocolate.

6) What science mystery did the Queen of the Gypsies help solve?

B. An ARS botanist identified a strange grass like plant found growing in several cemeteries in Mississippi as blue sedge. some visitors may have left the sedge as a token of their respect at the graves of the Gypsy royalty buried there or seeds of the plant may have been trapped in the soles of their shoes.

7) What is Super Slurper?

C. Super Slurper is a starch-based flaky substance, called a polymer, that absorbs up to 2,000 times its weight in liquid. It is used in products ranging from diapers to oil filters and has even been used to dry soggy books in a flooded library.

8) Why do bees do the "waggle dance"?

B. The "waggle dance" is performed to send three different pieces of information to other worker bees: the distance and location of a food source, and how plentiful the source is whether it be pollen, nectar, or something else.

9) Complete this sentence: Scientists in Florida think they can use plants as a type of bank for ...

A. The banker plants store insects that fly off to gobble up pests that are attacking important crops.

10) Which of these statements is true about Electrical Penetration Graph or "EPG" monitors?

C. An EPG monitor is a device that reads tiny electrical charges produced by an insect as it feeds on a plant.

11) What does the word "pollinator" mean?

D. Pollinators are insects that carry pollen from one plant to another so the plants can reproduce.

12) Besides being used in a salad dressing, what else can vinegar be used for?

D. With the help of organic farmers, scientists discovered that common household vinegar kills weeds.

13) What popular art project supply can be used to fight crop pests?

D. Agricultural Research Service scientists found that nematodes fight pests better when they are kept in mealworms that have been placed between two pieces of masking tape!

14) How many states are along the Chesapeake Bay?

D. Six states from New York to Virginia send water from their rivers into the Chesapeake Bay.

Bonus question: You've been playing in the woods, camping, or playing with your dog in the park. What should you do when you get home?

Answer: All of the answers are correct.

Washing your clothes is a good precaution. Some ticks survive their adventure in the washing machine but they can be killed in a dryer set to high heat for an hour. You can catch Lyme disease when a blacklegged tick latches onto your skin and transmits a bacteria. Tick nymphs are quite small so you need to always check carefully for them after you've been outside. Ticks like dogs too so make sure you check your best buddy especially on the legs. A bull's eye-shaped rash can be one of the symptoms of Lyme disease so if you see one, or have flu-like symptoms, visit your doctor.


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Last Modified: 1/22/2013
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