Q 01/05

Which U.S. state is home to the Grand Canyon, the mile-deep gorge carved by the Colorado River?

A) Utah

B) Arizona

C) Nevada

D) New Mexico

Answer · why

B) Arizona

Arizona holds the Grand Canyon, which stretches 277 miles and reaches 18 miles across at its widest point.

Q 02/05

Which city, not Los Angeles or San Francisco, has been California's state capital since 1854?

A) Sacramento

B) San Diego

C) San Jose

D) Santa Barbara

Answer · why

A) Sacramento

Sacramento won the job by offering its county courthouse as a home for the state legislature in 1852. Under Spanish and Mexican rule the capital had b...

Q 03/05

Which sugary liquid, made by flowers to attract pollinators, do bees gather and refine into honey?

A) Pollen

B) Sap

C) Nectar

D) Resin

Answer · why

C) Nectar

Nectar is the sugar source for honey, which bees make by gathering and refining it. Hummingbirds, butterflies and bats drink it straight from the flow...

Q 04/05

Which bird, shown on the Great Seal gripping an olive branch, is the U.S. national bird?

A) Wild turkey

B) Peregrine falcon

C) Red-tailed hawk

D) Bald eagle

Answer · why

D) Bald eagle

The bald eagle became a national emblem in 1782. The tale that Benjamin Franklin pushed for the wild turkey instead is a popular legend with no eviden...

Q 05/05

Which planet, the smallest in the Solar System, orbits closest to the Sun?

A) Mercury

B) Venus

C) Mars

D) Neptune

Answer · why

A) Mercury

Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun but only the second-hottest, because it has no atmosphere to trap heat. Venus is hotter.