Q 01/05

What causes Earth's seasons, giving the Northern Hemisphere summer while the south has winter?

A) Its distance from the Sun

B) Its tilted axis

C) Its speed of rotation

D) The pull of the Moon

Answer · why

B) Its tilted axis

Its tilted axis is the cause: Earth leans about 23.4 degrees, so each half of the planet gets more direct sunlight for part of the year. Earth is actu...

Q 02/05

Which animal, whose heart alone can weigh about 400 pounds, is the largest known ever to have lived?

A) African elephant

B) Whale shark

C) Blue whale

D) Colossal squid

Answer · why

C) Blue whale

The blue whale can stretch about 100 feet and weigh up to 200 tons. On a deep dive its heartbeat can slow to just 2 beats a minute.

Q 03/05

Which city on the Hudson River, rather than New York City, is the capital of New York State?

A) Albany

B) Buffalo

C) Syracuse

D) Rochester

Answer · why

A) Albany

Albany grew from a Dutch fur-trading post called Fort Orange. New York's lawmakers moved between several towns before settling there for good in 1797.

Q 04/05

Following the order of operations, what is the value of 2 + 3 × 4?

A) 9

B) 14

C) 20

D) 24

Answer · why

B) 14

14 is correct because multiplication comes before addition: 3 × 4 makes 12, and then the 2 is added. Adding first, in the order written, gives the com...

Q 05/05

Where is most of Earth's fresh water stored, even though it makes up under 3 percent of all water?

A) Rivers, lakes and swamps

B) Underground aquifers

C) Clouds and rainfall

D) Ice caps and glaciers

Answer · why

D) Ice caps and glaciers

Ice caps and glaciers hold about 69 percent of Earth's fresh water, and groundwater holds most of the rest. All the lakes, rivers and swamps together ...