Why do cats hiss, and where do birds sleep at night? Try our kids’ quiz

Illustration: Hennie Haworth/The Guardian

1. Kit, 5, asks: why do cats hiss?

   1. Cats hiss when they’re pretending to be snakes

   2. Cats hiss when they see a mouse

   3. Cats hiss when they feel worried or threatened

   4. Cats hiss when they are happy

2. Megan, 8, asks: how far down is the Earth’s core?

   1. 20km below the surface

   2. 6340km below the surface

   3. 2900km below the surface

   4. 7730km below the surface

3. Mae, 5, asks: why do we have hiccups?

   1. Because we are tired, and our body is trying to wake us up

   2. When our diaphragm moves and causes our vocal cords to close

   3. To release excess stress that is building up in our bodies

   4. As a defence mechanism against bugs flying into our mouths

4. Twins Freddie and Bella, 5, ask: where do birds sleep at night?

   1. High up in trees or in cavities in them

   2. In people’s attics

   3. In little burrows underground

   4. In nests

5. Ira, 7, asks: how many people have been to space?

   1. Over 800

   2. Around 609

   3. Exactly 53

   4. Around 150

Solutions

1:C - Cats hiss when they feel threatened or worried. It’s their way of saying: leave me alone or I might attack you. They’re hoping it will make you or another cat back off., 2:C - The Earth’s core is split into outer and inner. The outer core begins 2900km (1800 miles) below the Earth’s crust and is about 2200km (1367 miles) thick., 3:B - Hiccups are made by the movement of your diaphragm – a muscle that separates your chest and tummy which is really important for breathing. It’s an involuntary movement, which means you can’t control it, and it makes part of your throat close, causing the hiccup sound. It can happen if you eat too much or too quickly, feel nervous or have fizzy drinks., 4:A - Birds mostly sleep on the upper branches of trees, or in holes in them, or gutters, birdhouses, chimneys, small caves – anywhere out of reach of predators. They sleep in nests only when they have eggs or chicks to care for., 5:B - A Nasa mission in 2021 saw the 600th human go into space, and that number is now assumed to be around 609. The number is probably going to go up quickly now rich tourists can go to space.

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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