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
Well done! You’re a real science whiz!
Oh dear! better brush up before the next quiz!
#1. In 1610, Galileo discovered moons orbiting a planet other than Earth. Which planet was he studying?
Jupiter! Using a homemade telescope to magnify the planet, Galileo tracked what looked like stars and found that they moved around Jupiter like moons. The four moons he tracked are the largest moons of Jupiter and are still known as the Galilean moons.
#2. True or false? Albert Einstein’s theories predict that your head ages faster than your feet.
True! Einstein’s theory of relativity predicts that gravity’s pull slows time down. So the further away you (or your body parts) are from the Earth, the faster time goes. The effect is incredibly small but satellites orbiting far above the Earth have to take this time difference into account.
#3. 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.
#4. 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!
#5. Tropical cyclones are storms of swirling wind that form over the ocean. About how many tropical cyclones form near Australia each year?
The average for Aussie cyclones per year is 11! Most of these occur between November and April and, on average, about 4 out of these 11 come onto land. Worldwide, there is an average of about 80-100 tropical cyclones each year.
#6. Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites can always pinpoint our location on Earth and in all weather conditions. How many GPS satellites are currently operating?
There are just 31 GPS satellites currently working and they orbit along different paths to cover Earth’s entire surface. These satellites carry extremely precise clocks, and they’re constantly broadcasting the time. A GPS receiver can measure how long it took for that time signal to arrive from the satellite. If the receiver can listen to 4 satellites at the same time, they can find your exact GPS location!
#7. Some geologists think the Earth has entered a new time period, where human impacts are being recorded into the very rocks that make up our planet. What is this new epoch called?
For the past 15 years, geologists have been trying to work out the best way to describe what the Anthropocene means for the rocks being made right now. Their plan was voted down earlier this year, but the idea is still very important.
#8. Which of the following is the strongest password?
A strong password uses uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers and symbols (like !, @, #, $). It’s also important to use passwords that are different from past ones. Strong passwords are harder to remember so it is a good idea to use a password manager.
#9. How much warmer is Earth’s average temperature compared to 1850?
Temperatures on Earth have been rising since the Industrial Revolution and scientists estimate that it has risen by about 1 °C. Many governments around the world have committed to stopping temperature rise at 2 °C or below.
#10. Which of the following was a leap year?
The Earth orbits the Sun in 364.2422 days so our calendar adds a leap day every four years, making an average year 365.25 days. To get an even better approximate, leap days are skipped on centuries, unless that century is divisible by 400. This makes an average year 365.2425 days.
Want even more? Try past megaquizzes: