Q 01/05

Snow crystals form when tiny supercooled cloud droplets freeze around what?

A) Atmospheric particles

B) Falling raindrops

C) Carbon dioxide bubbles

D) Ozone molecules

Answer · why

A) Atmospheric particles

Atmospheric particles such as dust give each droplet something to freeze onto, which is why cloud seeding releases silver iodide particles to try to c...

Q 02/05

Ice is clear, so why does snow look white?

A) Snow absorbs all colours except white

B) Light scatters off the crystal facets and imperfections

C) Snow contains dissolved air that is white

D) Snow crystals are coated in frost

Answer · why

B) Light scatters off the crystal facets and imperfections

Light scatters off the crystal facets and imperfections, bouncing every colour back about equally, which is the same reason a pile of crushed glass lo...

Q 03/05

How many sides does a classic snow crystal have?

A) Four

B) Six

C) Five

D) Eight

Answer · why

B) Six

Water molecules lock together in a hexagonal lattice as they freeze, so the crystal grows six arms.

Q 04/05

What mainly decides the shape a falling snowflake grows into?

A) Wind strength

B) Temperature and humidity

C) How fast it falls

D) Ground-level air pressure

Answer · why

B) Temperature and humidity

Temperature and humidity shift along each flake's fall and alter how water molecules attach, which is why no two snowflakes are likely to grow exactly...

Q 05/05

Which Vermont farmer began photographing snowflakes under a microscope in 1885, revealing their variety?

A) Wilson Bentley

B) George Eastman

C) Alfred Stieglitz

D) Kenneth Libbrecht

Answer · why

A) Wilson Bentley

Wilson Bentley, nicknamed 'Snowflake' Bentley, died of pneumonia in 1931, which he may have caught while walking home through a snowstorm.