Q 01/05

What does the 'A' in NASA stand for?

A) Aerospace

B) Aviation

C) Aeronautics

D) Astronomy

Answer · why

C) Aeronautics

National Aeronautics and Space Administration; it runs ten field centres from its Washington headquarters.

Q 02/05

'Scuba' began as an acronym for what?

A) Submersible Compressed-air Unit

B) Sea Combat Underwater Breather

C) Sub-Compact Underwater Breathing Aid

D) Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus

Answer · why

D) Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus

It is now an 'anacronym', a word most people no longer recognise as an acronym.

Q 03/05

The word 'laser' stands for light amplification by stimulated emission of what?

A) Resonance

B) Rays

C) Radiation

D) Reflection

Answer · why

C) Radiation

Theodore Maiman built the first one in 1960 at Hughes Research Laboratories.

Q 04/05

Which organisation coined the term RADAR in 1940?

A) Bell Telephone Laboratories

B) The MIT Radiation Lab

C) The Royal Air Force

D) The United States Navy

Answer · why

D) The United States Navy

Radio detection and ranging; like scuba it has since become a plain lowercase noun.

Q 05/05

What does the 'so' in 'sonar' stand for?

A) Solid

B) Solar

C) Sound

D) Southern

Answer · why

C) Sound

Sound navigation and ranging; passive sonar listens, active sonar pings.