Why do pigs roll in mud, and when might you get to meet an alien? Try our kids’ quiz

Illustration: Hennie Haworth/The Guardian

1. Mina, 9, asks: why do pigs roll in mud?

   1. It helps to keep them cool

   2. So other pigs can’t see them

   3. Because they love the feeling of the squidgy mud

   4. They just love getting dirty and making a mess

2. Seren, 11, asks: will people in the future get to meet an alien from another planet?

   1. No, because there are no such things as aliens

   2. We might find life on other planets in our lifetime

   3. In 2032 we will meet aliens

   4. Maybe we’ve already met aliens, we just didn’t realise

3. Parker, 7, asks: why have C and K in the alphabet when they make the same sound?

   1. This is a good question with no answer

   2. They make slightly different sounds

   3. The first king of England said we should have two letters for the same sound

   4. Because lots of English words are adapted from other languages

4. William, 6, asks: what is the world’s oldest known plant?

   1. A Great Basin Bristlecone pine in California

   2. Algae in the ocean

   3. A moss in the rainforest

   4. A giant redwood tree in California

5. Abigail, 17, asks: why is the sky blue?

   1. The sun releases a blue gas which fills the sky

   2. There are lots of tiny blue insects floating in it

   3. As birds fly through the sky, they fart out a blue gas

   4. The Earth’s atmosphere scatters the sun’s light and waves of blue light are scattered the most

Solutions

1:A - When humans get hot, we sweat, which helps cool our skin, but pigs don’t have many sweat glands, so they roll in mud instead. This also helps protect their skin from sunburn and parasites. , 2:B - Scientists are searching for signs of life on nearby planets, for planets whose atmospheres could support life, and for communications from other life forms. So by the late 2030s, we should know whether there is life on other planets, though this may just be tiny microbes. , 3:D - English words come from lots of languages. In Greek, a k sound was represented by the letter k, but the Romans adapted the g and k sounds from Greek into a new letter, c. Both can be used for different sounds in English, like when c is used for an s sound in ceiling. , 4:A - Measurements of this pine make it almost 5,000 years old. Scientists think there may be older plants out there, but their age hasn’t been precisely measured. , 5:D - Sunlight looks white, but is actually made up of all the colours of the rainbow. When it reaches the Earth’s atmosphere, it scatters. Blue light scatters most, which is why the sky looks blue.

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.

Does your child have a question? Submit one here