10-Question Quiz About the Universe and Life

Multiple-choice answers. Good luck.

British spelling.

Question 1

Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun, has no moons; Venus, the second closest, has no moons either; and, as you know, Earth has only one moon.

How many moons are orbiting planet Mars?

(No moons / 2 moons or 7 moons)

Question 2

What age is the oldest known individual tree on Earth?

(1,483 / 2,793 or 4,853 years old)

Question 3

What is the coldest temperature possible throughout the universe?

(minus 173 / minus 273 or minus 373 degrees Celsius)

Question 4

The Moon is moving away from the Earth by how much each year?

(3.8 centimetres / 3.8 metres or 3.8 kilometres)

Question 5

How much of our DNA do we share with chimpanzees?

(70% / 89% or 99%)

Question 6

Our home galaxy, the Milky Way, is vast in size.

What is the estimated diameter of the Milky Way galaxy?

(56,000 / 105,000 or 148,000 light-years)

Question 7

What is the most abundant gas in the Earth's atmosphere?

(Oxygen / Nitrogen or Carbon Dioxide)

Question 8

How old is our local star, the Sun?

(3.6 / 4.6 or 5.6 billion years)

Question 9

The Solar System orbits the centre of the Milky Way galaxy.

How long does it take for the solar system to make one complete orbit?

(80 / 160 or 230 million years)

Question 10

Eight planets are orbiting the Sun.

What planet is the farthest distance from the Sun?

(Neptune / Uranus or Saturn)

Answers

Answer to question 1: 2 moons.

Mars has two irregularly shaped moons called Phobos and Deimos. They are not massive enough for their own gravity to pull them into the spherical shape seen in larger moons and planets. Compared to our Moon, they are very small in size. Phobos has a diameter of just over 22 kilometres, while Deimos measures over 12 kilometres.

Answer to question 2: 4,853 years old.

Methuselah, as the tree is sometimes called, is thought to be the oldest known individual tree in the world. Bristlecone pines can reach staggering ages.

The average lifespan of a human at just over 70 years seems very short when compared to some other life forms.

Answer to question 3: minus 273 degrees Celsius.

The lower temperature limit is called absolute zero.

The coldest temperature recorded at ground level on Earth is minus 89.2 degrees Celsius, which was in Antarctica.

Answer to question 4: 3.8 centimetres.

At present, the Moon continues to move away from the Earth at about 3.8 centimetres per year, which is roughly the speed your fingernails grow. In an average human life that would be over 2.5 metres, which doesn't seem much, but it indicates how the kilometres would add up over millions or billions of years.

Answer to question 5: 99%.

Yes, humans share about 99% of their DNA with our closest living relatives, chimpanzees. Every living thing on Earth is related to some degree.

Answer to question 6: 105,000 light-years across.

That is an enormous measurement. To put it into perspective, in one year light will travel 9.46 trillion kilometres. A trillion is 1 followed by 12 zeros.

Answer to question 7: Nitrogen

The Earth's atmosphere comprises 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen and about 0.9% argon. It also contains carbon dioxide and a few other gases in trace amounts.

Answer to question 8: 4.6 billion years old

The Sun and the rest of the Solar System formed inside a giant cloud of gas and dust called a solar nebula. The Sun holds about 99.8% of all the mass in the Solar System.

Answer to question 9: 230 million years

Although the Solar System is travelling at about 828,000 kilometres per hour, it still takes around 230 million years to make one orbit around the centre of the Milky Way.

That long journey is called a cosmic or galactic year.

Answer to question 10: Neptune

Planet Earth takes one year to travel around the Sun, but Neptune is so far away that it takes almost 165 Earth years to complete one orbit of the Sun.

If you enjoyed my short quiz and found it interesting, I'd love to have you along for the journey. Feel free to follow and subscribe, and you'll be notified whenever I publish a new article. Thanks so much for reading and for your support! Andra.