Do You Know More About Science Than Most Americans?

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Earlier this week, the National Science Foundation released its Science and Engineering Indicators, which, among other things, include what appears at first glance to be a convenient new reason to roll your eyes at the state of science education in the U.S. The report reveals the percentage of Americans who were able to correctly answer some pretty basic questions concerning the physical and biological sciences. To wit: Does the Earth go around the sun, or does the sun go around the Earth?

A head-scratcher, to be sure. But as tempting as it is to use this as a reason to sneer at Americans’ lack of science literacy, this isn’t exactly fair, as science writer Sheril Kirshenbaum has pointed out. “[Q]uizzing the public tells us little about the state of science literacy in the United States,” she wrote for CNN. “Science literacy isn’t remembering a bunch of facts. It’s an appreciation and understanding of the scientific process and the ability to think critically.”

Fine. But if you’re curious to test your memory for the basics of scientific factual knowledge — and find out how your responses compare to the way most Americans answered — be our guest. Below you’ll find ten of the questions that appeared in the NSF report. Choose your answer, and you’ll find out whether you’re right and whether you’re smarter than those in the U.S. and across the globe. Good luck!