Q 01/05

Sailing-ship crews dreaded which belt close to the Equator?

A) The Trade Winds

B) The Roaring Forties

C) The Doldrums

D) The Jet Stream

Answer · why

C) The Doldrums

The Doldrums. Ships were often becalmed there; 'in the doldrums' first meant low spirits, and the phrase was apparently later taken for the name of th...

Q 02/05

Lines of constant latitude are known as what?

A) Contours

B) Tangents

C) Parallels

D) Meridians

Answer · why

C) Parallels

Parallels. Unlike meridians, which all meet at the poles, these circles never touch: each stays the same distance from its neighbours all the way roun...

Q 03/05

Much of the border between which two countries runs along latitude 49° north?

A) Egypt and Sudan

B) Chile and Argentina

C) Russia and Mongolia

D) Canada and the US

Answer · why

D) Canada and the US

Canada and the US. An 1818 treaty ran the border west along it to the Rockies, and in 1846 the two sides extended the same line to the Pacific as a co...

Q 04/05

Because Earth bulges at the Equator, the summit of which mountain is the farthest point from Earth's centre?

A) Mount Kenya

B) Aconcagua

C) Chimborazo

D) Mont Blanc

Answer · why

C) Chimborazo

Chimborazo. The Ecuadorian volcano stands one degree south of the Equator, so although Everest is more than 2,500 m taller above sea level, Everest's ...

Q 05/05

The 'm' in a.m. and p.m. stands for meridiem, the Latin for which time of day?

A) Noon

B) Sunrise

C) Midnight

D) Sunset

Answer · why

A) Noon

Noon. A meridian is literally a midday line: the Sun crosses yours at local noon, which is how the north-south lines of longitude came by the name.