Q 01/05

Antarctica ranks where among the continents by area?

A) Third-largest

B) Fourth-largest

C) Fifth-largest

D) Smallest

Answer · why

C) Fifth-largest

At 14.2 million square kilometres it is about 40% bigger than Europe and almost twice the size of Australia.

Q 02/05

What is the average thickness of the Antarctic ice sheet?

A) 1.9 km

B) 2.9 km

C) 4.9 km

D) 9 km

Answer · why

A) 1.9 km

Roughly 70% of the world's fresh water is locked up in it.

Q 03/05

If all of Antarctica's ice melted, by roughly how much would global sea levels rise?

A) 6 metres

B) 20 metres

C) 40 metres

D) 60 metres

Answer · why

D) 60 metres

The unstable West Antarctic ice sheet is the biggest source of uncertainty in century-scale projections.

Q 04/05

What is the lowest natural air temperature ever recorded on Earth, at a Russian Antarctic base in 1983?

A) -69.2°C

B) -79.2°C

C) -99.2°C

D) -89.2°C

Answer · why

D) -89.2°C

It was recorded at Vostok Station, which sits above the largest subglacial lake in the world.

Q 05/05

Besides being the coldest and windiest continent, Antarctica also holds which two records?

A) Wettest and flattest

B) Oldest rocks and most volcanoes

C) Driest and highest average elevation

D) Longest coastline and most lakes

Answer · why

C) Driest and highest average elevation

Much of the interior is above 3,000 metres, which is one reason it is colder than the Arctic.