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2024 is winding to a close and 2025 is just around the corner. What better way to celebrate than with a science quiz!

This quiz contains (almost) all of the science trivia questions featured in Double Helix Extra throughout 2024. There’s over 100 science questions to discover!

To make the quiz more manageable, it only displays 10 questions at a time. If you want more trivia, hit the refresh button to bring up a brand new selection of brain-busting science.

 

Results

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Oh dear! better brush up before the next quiz!

#1. What is the brightest star in the Southern Hemisphere night sky?

Sirius is the brightest star in the whole sky and is visible in the Southern Hemisphere in the constellation Canis Major, which is near Orion. Alpha Centauri is the brighter of the pointer stars that point at the Southern Cross. It’s the third-brightest star in the sky, and it’s actually two stars orbiting each other. Actually, it’s three stars, but the third, Proxima Centauri, is so far from the other two that it appears as its own star in the sky.

#2. If two magnets are put close together, what will happen?

Magnets are surrounded by an invisible magnetic field that shoots out from the magnet’s north pole and then curves back towards the south pole. You can imagine that they sprout arrows that point from north to south. When the same poles are pushed together, the line arrows point opposite ways and the two magnets get repelled. When opposite poles are pushed together, the line arrows point the same way and the two poles are attracted. Opposites attract!

#3. Bertha Benz completed the first ever cross-country road trip, driving the world’s first modern car. When did her 105-kilometre road trip happen?

Bertha Benz completed her record-breaking road trip in August 1888, just two years after her husband Karl Benz developed the first modern automobile. Bertha did the road trip without telling Karl!

#4. Auroras make colourful light shows in the night sky. Where are you most likely to see an aurora?

Auroras occur mostly at the poles due to the way Earth’s magnetic field channels high-energy particles from the Sun. When these particles collide with atoms in our atmosphere, it makes a beautiful glow. Near the South Pole, Antarctica is a prime location for auroras.

#5. A tsunami is a giant ocean wave often caused by underwater earthquakes. Which country coined the word tsunami?

Tsunami comes from two Japanese words: “tsu” meaning port or harbour and “nami” meaning wave. Japan sits in a very geologically active place, meaning they are more likely than most other countries to experience earthquakes and tsunamis.

#6. Which of the following natural disasters does NOT happen on Mars?

NASA’s InSight lander detected several “Marsquakes” and recorded meteorite impacts, too. Once every 5 years or so, Mars has dust storms that cover the entire planet! Meanwhile, tropical cyclones need to form over an ocean, which Mars currently doesn’t have.

#7. Multi-factor authentication (MFA) and two-factor authentication (2FA) require multiple “factors” to prove your identity. Which of the following is NOT one of the common factors used?

Something you show is the odd one out though it may be a way you prove your identity in real life. MFA usually relies on something you know first, like a password and then verifies your identity by sending you a code to your device and/or gathering biometric data like a fingerprint. These combos make your sign in much more secure!

#8. Which of the following is a downside of polymer banknotes?

Polymer banknotes are harder to fold compared to paper money. But that trade-off comes with lots of benefits. Polymer banknotes are waterproof and can’t be easily ripped. Polymer banknotes last at least 2.5 times longer than paper and they more recyclable than paper banknotes.

#9. True or false? Cleopatra VII, famous ancient Egyptian Queen, also invented a treatment for baldness.

False. Historians found a recipe for a baldness cure written by a Cleopatra. But it uses weight measurements that were invented after Queen Cleopatra died!

#10. True or false? CSIRO invented flexible solar panels that have been launched into space.

True. After more than a decade of work, CSIRO scientists invented highly efficient, flexible and roll-up-able solar panels. These special solar panels can be put on buildings and even clothing! In March of this year, they were launched into space where they successfully powered a spacecraft.

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