Q 01/05

Geologically, a beach is a landform beside a body of water made up of what?

A) Solid bedrock

B) Compacted clay

C) Loose particles

D) Coral skeletons

Answer · why

C) Loose particles

Loose particles, from fine sand to pebbles and broken shell, make up every beach, which is why beaches range from powdery white to cobbled grey.

Q 02/05

Which crustacean digs deep burrows just above the tide line on open sandy beaches?

A) Spider crab

B) Ghost crab

C) Hermit crab

D) Fiddler crab

Answer · why

B) Ghost crab

Ghost crabs are pale, sand-coloured and mostly active at night, so they seem to vanish as they dart between their burrows; older crabs may dig in as f...

Q 03/05

Which natural warning sign means a tsunami may be only minutes away?

A) Seabirds flocking to the beach

B) The sea draining far offshore

C) The water turning warmer

D) A ring around the Moon

Answer · why

B) The sea draining far offshore

The sea draining far offshore can be the trough of a tsunami arriving first. On a Phuket beach in 2004, ten-year-old Tilly Smith remembered a geograph...

Q 04/05

Which Brazilian beach, running over 200 km to the Uruguayan border, is often billed as the world's longest?

A) Copacabana Beach

B) Praia do Cassino

C) Baía do Sancho

D) Ipanema Beach

Answer · why

B) Praia do Cassino

Praia do Cassino runs from the Rio Grande breakwaters to the Uruguayan border at Chuí; because of the coastline paradox, estimates of its length range...

Q 05/05

Which type of radiation from the Sun causes sunburn?

A) Infrared

B) Ultraviolet

C) Microwave

D) X-ray

Answer · why

B) Ultraviolet

Ultraviolet rays reflect off sand and water, which adds to a beachgoer's dose, and a significant share still passes through cloud on an overcast day.