Start the new decade with a challenge! This megaquiz will test your knowledge of all the quizzes we wrote in 2018. The questions are randomly selected, so if you want more questions, you can just reload the page. Or head back to our 2019 megaquiz!
Results
Congratulations!%20you%20are%20a%20real%20science%20whiz!
Oh%20dear!%20better%20brush%20up%20before%20the%20next%20quiz!
#1. Who was the first woman in space?
Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman and 12th person to go to space, in June 1963.
#2. Halite can be used to season your food, but what is it more commonly called?
Halite is the geological name for rock salt.
#3. How wide is the Milky Way galaxy?
The Milky Way is approximately 100 000 light years across. That means it takes about 100 000 years for light to travel from one side of the galaxy to the other.
#4. In 2018, which mammal species genuinely improved from endangered to non-endangered on the IUCN Red List?
Just one mammal species, the fin whale, improved from endangered to non-endangered in 2018.
#5. Who was the first mathematician to describe how to do arithmetic with the number zero?
Brahmagupta was an Indian mathematician who wrote Brāhmasphuṭasiddhānta, a book containing the rules for doing arithmetic with positive numbers, zero and negative numbers.
#6. What is the name for two stars that orbit so close that they touch each other?
Scientists have detected many contact binary systems because the stars block each other in the sky regularly, making them appear to darken and brighten repeatedly.
#7. If an animal is communicating using stridulation, what is it doing?
Stridulation describes how animals make sounds to communicate by rubbing body parts together.
#8. What does an anemometer measure?
Any instrument used to measure wind speed is called an anemometer.
#9. What’s the most abundant gas in Earth’s atmosphere?
About 78% of Earth’s atmosphere, by volume, is nitrogen gas.
#10. Prior to sending humans into space, animals were sent into space. Which of these animals was the first to visit space?
Fruit flies were the first animals to visit space. They ventured into space on 20 February 1947, travelling 109 kilometres above sea level and they were successfully recovered alive.
If you’re after more fun science for kids, subscribe to Double Helix magazine!
