What are atoms made of and why is the sky blue? Try our kids’ quiz

1. Theo, 10, asks: what are atoms made of?

   1. Atoms are the smallest thing in the world, so it’s impossible to say

   2. Protons, neutrons and electrons

   3. Hydrogen, the element with atomic number one

   4. They’re definitely made of something, but scientists aren’t quite sure what yet

2. Jacob, 7, asks: what is the oldest mountain?

   1. The Makonjwa Mountains in South Africa and Eswatini

   2. Mount Everest in Nepal and China

   3. The Rocky Mountains in North America

   4. Mount Fuji in Japan

3. Connie, 9, asks: why do we have an appendix?

   1. It’s only for helping digest grass, which we don’t eat

   2. We don’t fully know, but it may help our digestive and immune systems

   3. It’s absolutely useless – left over from our evolution

   4. It’s a back-up food pouch

4. Darcey, 7, asks: how many words are in the English dictionary?

   1. 89,935

   2. 171,476

   3. 579,212

   4. More than a million – we don’t know for sure

5. Ava, 3, asks: why is the sky blue?

   1. White light gets scattered in the atmosphere, making it blue

   2. Space is dark but it’s bright on Earth, so blue is in between

   3. The sky isn’t blue, that’s just what our brains tell us

   4. Because of the ocean’s reflection

Solutions

1:B - An atom has a central nucleus, which is made up of tiny subatomic particles called protons and neutrons. The nucleus is surrounded by tiny particles called electrons., 2:A - The Makonjwa Mountains in South Africa and Eswatini, part of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, are estimated to be the oldest mountain range in the world – scientists believe that they’ve been around for 3.6 billion years!, 3:B - It was once thought that the appendix is absolutely useless for humans today. But new research suggests that it may play a role in the functions of our immune and digestive systems – even though, luckily, taking it out doesn’t have any negative effects., 4:B - The Oxford English Dictionary (in its second edition, from 1989) contains 171,476 words in current use, as well as 47,156 words that are obsolete. That’s a lot compared with some other European languages!, 5:A - Tiny molecules in the Earth’s atmosphere cause white light to “scatter”. Blue light is scattered more than red light, so the sky appears blue during the day.

Scores

1. 5 and above.

2. 4 and above.

3. 3 and above.

4. 2 and above.

5. 0 and above.

6. 1 and above.

Molly Oldfield hosts Everything Under the Sun, a weekly podcast answering children’s questions, out now as a book.

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