Had a quiz question something similar to this "The English Language.."

With answers about where it was derived from - i.e. Germanic, French, etc...

Everything I found said it was a West Germanic language, but the correct answer was given as "40% German, 40% French and 20% other" Can someone tell me where this information came from and how is it "correct"? I even tried to Google "English Language 40% German 40% French" and couldn't find a reference.

What does the Greek phrase "Ta biblia" translate to?

"The Books" marked as correct.

There's also "Old Books" and Scroll listed. I found these references when searching Ta biblia:

a translation of Greek ta biblia to hagia "the holy books," from Gk. biblion "paper, scroll," the ordinary word for "book,"
the word comes from the Greek ta biblia ("ta biblia"), which is a plural word meaning "books"

Someone owes me the Emperor's scroll for continuing to screw me over with these ambiguous quiz questions!

How's this for a quiz question -

What does ambiguous mean?
Having the same meaning
Having similar meanings
Meaning the same thing
Having identical meanings

Which one do you think is the right answer?

Well, you guys gave me some great reading

To Sbart: That is a lot more than one year of Chemistry ever prepared me for, but still interesting reading. I added the "well known" phrase to the question.


The English language...
mostly derives from German
mostly derives from French
is not related to French or German
is about 40% German, 40% French, and 20% other <---marked

This one struck me as odd right away, but, whew, I was not prepared for the heated debates I found on the web from credible sources. As much as I read, none of them point to this % breakdown and I can't find any "standard acceptable" answer, so I think it best this one just be removed.


What does the Greek phrase "Ta biblia" translate to?

This one seems to be a common translation in the religious contest to "the books", but I do see some of the other translations. The question also has a low correct response, so I just sped its deletion.


Thanks for taking the time to improve the quiz for everyone.

just got the question that has 2 correct answers

Which of the following beasts of Greek Mythology did not have wings?
Centaur
Harpy
Siren
Phoenix

When answering it shows that correct answer is centaur-that is right because it is creature with body of horse and thorso of man. But siren is also correct answer because this is creature with torso of women and tail of fish.

Euripides calls sirens winged maidens. The Ovid claims sirens were given wings by Demeter. I don't remember exactly when they get linked with mermaids, but Greek lore (as the question asks) says they are women and birds, not women and mermaids.

how can you tell a number is divisble by 3?

I didn't copy all the answers, but there were two that stood out -

The sum of the digits is divisble by 3
and
You can't tell with out doing the division

Isn't that the same? I mean if I add the numbers to see if they are "divisible" by 3 then you really can't tell without doing the division right?

Edit: the question may have included the word "evenly" - so evenly divided by 3. If it didn't then of course any number is divisible by 3.

"The sum of the digits is divisble by 3"

should be : "The sum of the digits is a multiple of 3"

and the unstated condition is "knowing your multiplication tables, and not being mathematically impaired".

"Which of these styles of martial arts is different from the rest?"

ambiguous. i can make a case how all four answers are different from the other three. for this question to work, the variable must be explicit.

How many players are there in a water polo team?

the correct answer is marked as 7, which is how many members of a team are in the pool at a time during competition, but the 2011 US national team was made up of 16 players. this question should specify "How many players on a water polo team are in the pool at a time during competition?"

"When two cars approach an uncontrolled intersection from different streets at the same time, which driver has the right of way?"

is the answer to this true universally?

Which animal has white fur? (something like that)

Polar bear was obvious and marked as correct, but deer was also an option. There are whitetail deer with white fur (even if it's just on their tail underside) and also there is this from Wikipedia:

there is a population of white-tailed deer in the state of New York that is entirely white (except for areas like their noses and toes)—not albino—in color.

So you now have two correct answers (at least) for this question.

found it:
Which of these animals has white fur?
Deer
Bison
Polar Bear
Lion

Actually polar bear should not even be correct. Their hair is almost translucent and colorless. It is the effect of light scatter between the shafts that make it appear white.

There were 2 identical water polo questions; removed one, fixed the other.

I wondered the same thing about the intersection question, but no one has ever said it was wrong in their country.

Removed martial arts question because of ambiguity.

I can not find the divisible by 3 question.
EDIT - found it; helps when spelled correctly
How can you tell if a number is divisible by 3?
It ends in a 3
You can't tell without performing the division
The sum of the digits is a multiple of 3 <---new, changed wording
The sum of the digits is 3

Who has the most gold medals- question needs to be changed to Phelps.

Love this one............

Question.- The 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics was held in what country?

I suspect there is a clue in the question, and grammatically would be better to say "Were held".

Modified.
See below,
sorry.

Idézet: ChaoticGemini - 2012.07.13. 21:42:33

Yes, I have heard the term blind road, probably more my parents generation, but still used today.

Idézet: Snitt - 2009.08.06. 06:37:34
Hey Snitt,
If you change 1 letter of your name then you have a copro-something!!!

Sorry all, i couldn't resist it.
No offence meant.

Idézet: Dolp13 - 2012.08.03. 11:57:08
It had been already corrected 4 years ago.
However now we also had to correct the „Who has the most olympic medals?” question, because Larissa Latynina’s 48-years-old record is over.

Idézet: Dancer - 2012.08.05. 11:29:41
You are right, the question means: „Where is Vancouver?” However it’s more educational this way, because by reading it anyone can learn that the 2010 Winter Olympic Games were held in Vancouver.

Bad grammar in this one, still not totally sure what the question is asking.

How long does it takes to nails to grow from the base to the edge?