Q 01/05

Which mammal uses infrared-sensitive receptors on its nose to home in on its prey's body heat?

A) Star-nosed mole

B) Vampire bat

C) Hedgehog

D) Platypus

Answer · why

B) Vampire bat

The vampire bat has heat receptors on its nose-leaf that are thought to guide it to where blood flows closest to the skin. It is the only mammal known...

Q 02/05

The infrared flash from a TV remote, invisible to the naked eye, shows up on the screen of which gadget?

A) A pocket calculator

B) A digital watch

C) A smartphone

D) An e-reader

Answer · why

C) A smartphone

A smartphone shows the flash because its camera registers the coded flashes of light that human eyes cannot see. Each button press on the remote sends...

Q 03/05

Infrared scans found a hidden portrait of a bearded man beneath The Blue Room, painted by which artist?

A) Claude Monet

B) Vincent van Gogh

C) Henri Matisse

D) Pablo Picasso

Answer · why

D) Pablo Picasso

Pablo Picasso painted The Blue Room in 1901 as a struggling 19-year-old in Paris who could not afford a new canvas for every idea, so he reused old on...

Q 04/05

Which Nintendo console's Sensor Bar is really a row of infrared LEDs that the handheld controller tracks?

A) Wii

B) GameCube

C) Switch

D) Nintendo 64

Answer · why

A) Wii

The Wii puts five infrared LEDs at each end of its Sensor Bar, and an image sensor inside the remote watches those points of light to work out where i...

Q 05/05

Infrared night-vision goggles show an image in which single colour, judged easiest to view for long periods?

A) Red

B) Amber

C) Blue

D) Green

Answer · why

D) Green

Green was chosen because it was considered the easiest colour to look at for long spells in the dark. The goggles turn faint light into electrons, amp...