Who gave the names to the planets and do animals eat rocks? Try our kids’ quiz

1. Daisy Ella, 7, asks: who gave the names to the planets?

   1. The Egyptians named the planets

   2. The Aztecs named the planets

   3. The Greeks

   4. The Romans

2. Oliver, 9, asks: what was the first ever musical instrument?

   1. The flute

   2. The tambourine

   3. The triangle

   4. The guitar

3. Daniele, 5, asks: why do humans and animals have noses?

   1. To breathe in air, while filtering out the bad stuff, such as dust and pollen

   2. To warm up and moisten the air we breathe, so it’s easier for our lungs to absorb oxygen

   3. So that we can smell things

   4. All of the above!

4. Barnaby, 7, asks: how many islands are there in the whole world?

   1. 90

   2. 900,000

   3. 9,000

   4. 900

5. Hini, 9, asks: does any animal eat rocks?

   1. Rocks should never be eaten, so no animal would ever swallow a rock on purpose

   2. Most mammals find rocks absolutely delicious and eat them quite often

   3. Some animals swallow stones to help them digest

   4. The only animal to eat rocks is the aardvark – they are essential to the aardvark diet

Solutions

1:D - The Romans named the five planets they could see after gods and goddesses (Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Mercury and Venus). Most cultures had names for these planets, but early astronomers in Europe wrote in Latin, the language of the Roman empire – so they used the Roman names., 2:A - It’s hard to know for sure which was the first musical instrument, but flutes made from animal bones have been found in Germany – they date back 30,000 to 40,000 years., 3:D - Noses are useful for breathing, smelling, filtering out bad stuff like dust and pollen, and warming the air we take in, because dry, cold air can irritate the lungs., 4:B - If you add together the islands recorded by each country, there are roughly 900,000 officially reported islands. Scientists believe that there are many more unrecorded., 5:C - Animals including some birds, reptiles and sea lions swallow rocks to help them grind their food – useful if they don’t have teeth. Once swallowed, these stones are called “gastroliths” – stomach stones! They’re used to help digest food.

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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