Q 01/05

Which metal has the chemical symbol Au?

A) Gold

B) Silver

C) Copper

D) Aluminium

Answer · why

A) Gold

Au comes from aurum, the Latin word for gold, which is why the symbol looks nothing like the English name.

Q 02/05

Which planet is the largest in our solar system?

A) Saturn

B) Jupiter

C) Neptune

D) Uranus

Answer · why

B) Jupiter

Jupiter spins so fast, once in about 10 hours, that it bulges at the equator and flattens at the poles.

Q 03/05

What is the hardest naturally occurring material known?

A) Quartz

B) Titanium

C) Diamond

D) Graphite

Answer · why

C) Diamond

Diamond is pure carbon with every atom tightly bonded to four others, which makes it hard enough to use in industrial cutting and polishing tools.

Q 04/05

Which part of a cell earned the nickname 'powerhouse of the cell' for generating its energy?

A) Nucleus

B) Ribosome

C) Golgi apparatus

D) Mitochondrion

Answer · why

D) Mitochondrion

The mitochondrion has its own DNA, inherited almost only from your mother, so scientists use it to trace ancestry back along the maternal line.

Q 05/05

Roughly what percentage of dry air is nitrogen?

A) 78%

B) 85%

C) 91%

D) 98%

Answer · why

A) 78%

Nitrogen makes up about 78% of dry air by volume; oxygen is roughly 21%, with argon at under 1% and carbon dioxide among the traces.