Q 01/05

Which river is generally listed as the longest in the world, at about 7,000 kilometres?

A) The Amazon

B) The Nile

C) The Yangtze

D) The Mississippi

Answer · why

B) The Nile

It carries far less water than the Amazon, which is the largest river by volume and disputes the longest title. Egypt's ancient name, Kemet, meant 'bl...

Q 02/05

Which two men made the first documented ascent of Mount Everest in 1953?

A) George Mallory and Andrew Irvine

B) Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler

C) John Hunt and Charles Evans

D) Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary

Answer · why

D) Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary

They went up the Southeast Ridge. A 2020 Nepal-China survey put the summit at 8,848.86 metres, or 29,031 feet.

Q 03/05

What is the world's largest hot desert?

A) The Sahara

B) The Gobi

C) The Kalahari

D) The Arabian

Answer · why

A) The Sahara

At 9.2 million square kilometres it is only beaten overall by the cold deserts of Antarctica and the Arctic.

Q 04/05

Which city was chosen as Australia's capital as a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne?

A) Adelaide

B) Brisbane

C) Canberra

D) Perth

Answer · why

C) Canberra

It was purpose-built after federation and sits in its own territory, hemmed in by New South Wales.

Q 05/05

Which is the smallest sovereign state in the world by both area and population?

A) Monaco

B) Vatican City

C) San Marino

D) Liechtenstein

Answer · why

B) Vatican City

It covers 44 hectares, about 109 acres, and was created by the Lateran Treaty with Italy in 1929.