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. Angel Falls is the tallest uninterrupted waterfall in the world! Water plummets over 800 metres over the top of the Auyán-tepui mountain. Where can you find this waterfall?
Venezuela. Angel Falls also known as Salto Ángel is created by the Churún River flowing off a flat-topped table mountain, which are called tepui in Spanish.
#2. The Global Seismographic Network has 152 sensors located across the globe and is sensitive enough to pinpoint nuclear explosions. What does this network usually measure?
The word “seismographic” comes from the Greek word “seismos” meaning earthquake. The sensors detect vibrations in the Earth’s crust, which is why they can also detect explosions. By listening to echoes throughout the Earth, the network can tell exactly where an earthquake happened, only minutes after it happened!
#3. About how far would you have to travel to get to our nearest star (other than the Sun)?
The Alpha Centauri system is about 4.2 light years away. So, if you had a spaceship that travelled at the speed of light, it would take 4.2 years to get there (and another 4.2 years to get back!). 4 billion kilometres only gets you from Earth to Neptune. An astronomical unit (AU) is the average distance between Earth and the Sun so 4 AU from Earth gets you about to Jupiter. One parsec is equal to 3.26 light years so 4 parsecs overshoots our nearest star.
#4. Speaking of forces of nature, this physicist was the first person to win two Nobel Prizes, the highest awards possible for a scientist. Who was this physicist?
Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1903 and the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1911. Both prizes recognised her groundbreaking work on radioactive elements. All the physicists listed above are people who could be considered “forces of nature” because of their impressive scientific discoveries.
#5. RV Investigator is CSIRO’s 94-metre research ship that can patrol the ocean for 60 days at a time. Which of the following can it do while at sea?
CSIRO’s RV Investigator is equipped with high-tech sensors that can collect data both above and below the ship. This includes weather radar, water sampling equipment, and several sensors that use sound to detect the ocean floor or even schools of fish.
#6. True or false? There’s a radio telescope in China with a dish that’s 500 metres across.
True. This gigantic telescope is called FAST, and the F stands for Five-hundred-meter. It’s built into a big, naturally occurring hole in the ground, and it steers by moving a cabin around above the dish (and by waiting for Earth to rotate!).
#7. True or false? The Sun was warmer when Earth first formed about 4.5 billion years ago.
False. The early Sun was actually about 25% dimmer and cooler than today. Despite this, there is evidence of liquid water on early Earth. Scientists are still not sure how Earth was warm enough for water, but greenhouse gases likely played a role.
#8. True or false? About 50,000 years ago Tasmanian shrub, Lomatia tasmanica stopped flowering, and now it makes clones of itself to survive.
True. This plant, also known as King’s Lomatia, clones itself by forming new stems from its roots. It used to be a flowering plant, but some time between 43,600 and 135,000 years ago, something happened to its DNA.
#9. 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!
#10. Which of the following metals are strongly attracted to magnets?
Most pure metals aren’t strongly attracted to magnets! But iron, nickel and cobalt are ferromagnets. This means when they’re exposed to a magnet, they become a magnet too!
Want even more? Try past megaquizzes: