Q 01/05

Which continent, the driest and windiest on Earth, is classed as the largest desert in the world?

A) Africa

B) South America

C) Antarctica

D) Australia

Answer · why

C) Antarctica

Antarctica is a desert because deserts are defined by how little precipitation falls, not by heat. Its coast gets over 200 mm a year and the interior ...

Q 02/05

Which supercontinent joined nearly all of Earth's land before it began to break apart about 175 million years ago?

A) Gondwana

B) Pangaea

C) Laurasia

D) Rodinia

Answer · why

B) Pangaea

Pangaea was C-shaped and stretched between the polar regions, surrounded by the superocean Panthalassa. Its name comes from Greek words for all and Mo...

Q 03/05

What name is given to the tectonic belt of volcanoes and earthquakes around the rim of the Pacific Ocean?

A) Ring of Fire

B) Great Rift Valley

C) Mid-Atlantic Ridge

D) Alpide Belt

Answer · why

A) Ring of Fire

The Ring of Fire is where about 90% of the world's earthquakes strike, including most of the largest ever recorded.

Q 04/05

Which trench in the western Pacific Ocean holds the Challenger Deep, the deepest known point of any ocean?

A) Tonga

B) Kermadec

C) Philippine

D) Mariana

Answer · why

D) Mariana

The Mariana Trench is so deep that its lowest point lies more than 2 km farther from sea level than the peak of Mount Everest.

Q 05/05

Which natural cycle is caused by the tilt of Earth's axis rather than its changing distance from the Sun?

A) The tides

B) The seasons

C) Lunar phases

D) Solar eclipses

Answer · why

B) The seasons

The seasons come from Earth's axial tilt, which changes how high the Sun climbs in the sky. Earth is actually closest to the Sun in January, in the mi...