Q 01/05

In the Northern Hemisphere, which astronomical event marks the start of the fall season?

A) The June solstice

B) The December solstice

C) The March equinox

D) The autumnal equinox

Answer · why

D) The autumnal equinox

At that moment the sun's declination crosses the celestial equator heading south, so the hemisphere-neutral name is the southward equinox. From then u...

Q 02/05

Which hidden pigments produce the yellows and oranges of autumn foliage?

A) Anthocyanins

B) Betalains

C) Carotenoids

D) Tannins

Answer · why

C) Carotenoids

Carotenoids, the yellow xanthophylls and orange beta-carotene, sit in the leaf all season and only show through once the green fades; the same pigment...

Q 03/05

Autumn yellows were in the leaf all along, but which pigment do trees make fresh each fall to turn leaves red?

A) Xanthophylls

B) Carotenes

C) Anthocyanins

D) Tannins

Answer · why

C) Anthocyanins

Red is the only autumn colour a tree has to work for: anthocyanins are made fresh from sugars trapped in the leaf as it seals off, while the yellows a...

Q 04/05

Seeds of which tree are threaded on strings for the British autumn game of conkers?

A) English oak

B) Common beech

C) Horse chestnut

D) Sweet chestnut

Answer · why

C) Horse chestnut

Conkers are the glossy brown seeds of the horse chestnut (Aesculus hippocastanum); each is threaded on a string and players take turns striking an opp...

Q 05/05

From which ancient language is the English word 'autumn' derived?

A) Greek

B) Old English

C) Latin

D) Old Norse

Answer · why

C) Latin

Latin autumnus reached English through French in the 1300s; 'fall', now the American word, began in England too, as a shortening of the 1500s phrase '...