Q 01/05

Polar bears look white against the Arctic sea ice, but what color is the skin beneath their fur?

A) Pink

B) Brown

C) Black

D) Gray

Answer · why

C) Black

Black skin soaks up the sun's heat, and the fur is not truly white either: the long guard hairs are transparent and hollow, which helps trap warmth.

Q 02/05

A camel can go days without a drink in the desert, yet its hump stores what instead of water?

A) Fat

B) Salt

C) Milk

D) Blood

Answer · why

A) Fat

Fat in the hump is an energy store for lean times. When a thirsty camel does find water, it can gulp down about 140 liters in one go.

Q 03/05

Which continent is Earth's driest, mostly desert yet holding about 70% of the world's fresh water?

A) South America

B) North America

C) Australia

D) Antarctica

Answer · why

D) Antarctica

Antarctica is the world's largest cold desert: precipitation tops 200 mm a year only along the coast, with far less inland, and that water stays locke...

Q 04/05

Which Australian marsupial sleeps up to 20 hours a day and feeds mostly on eucalyptus leaves?

A) Wombat

B) Koala

C) Quokka

D) Numbat

Answer · why

B) Koala

Koala meals are so low in energy that the animal dozes most of the day, and eucalyptus leaves contain toxins that put off most other mammals.

Q 05/05

Almost all wild penguins live in which half of Earth, with only one species reaching the equator?

A) Northern Hemisphere

B) Southern Hemisphere

C) Eastern Hemisphere

D) Western Hemisphere

Answer · why

B) Southern Hemisphere

Southern Hemisphere coasts are home to almost all penguins, so wild penguins and polar bears never meet. The Galapagos penguin, right on the equator, ...