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november vacancy quiz


There's something about the word November that sprung to mind the notion of nothingness.

So we've put the No into November with the Voids Vacuums and Vacancies Quiz, with plenty of non-answers surrounding the right ones. Spot all the correct ones though, and you win - NOTHING!

Nothing, that is, neatly sandwiched between layers of steel to keep your favourite food or drink hot or cold in this 'style icon' of a flask.

Ready, steady, NO!

Click here
for the answers...

01
Scientists are studying salamanders, hydras and planarians to see if their ability to re-grow missing limbs, eyes and even spinal cords can help humans who've had accidents. Who can already re-grow the tips of their fingers if injured?

Wolves

Small children

Elephants


02
Large vaculoes are found in many plant cells. Amongst other things they help keep the cells in shape and store waste products. But what is a vacuole filled with?

It's a vacuum, it contains nothing

Pure oxygen, the waste product of photosynthesis

Water, it's always handy for dissolving substances


03
A 'swim' bladder is a gas filled organ that helps keep aquatic creatures buoyant in water without having to swim. How many animals have both lungs and a swim bladder?

None - it is thought that either lungs evolved from swim bladders or swim bladders evolved from lungs

One - only crabs have both since they live on land and in the sea

All fish - they need to float and breathe too!


04
The human body can survive with lots of missing parts but which of these organ removals would prove immediately fatal?

Brain

Spleen

Appendix


05
Which of these animals is extinct - the rest are endangered...

Moa - a 3 metre tall ostrich-like bird

Red Panda - a small bear that looks like a ginger racoon

Burrowing Bettong - a mini kangaroo


06
The Sun blows off billions of charged particles every second, this is known as the solar wind. When they hit the Earth's magnetic field, what natural phenomenon does it produce?

Aurora

Earthquakes

Tornadoes


07
Objects less dense than water float and more dense than water sink ... if we dropped our galaxy into a big basin of water would it sink or float?

Sink

Float

Oscillate between the two


08
Supernovae and quasars produce extremely high energy particles that travel between the stars and between galaxies. These particles, like protons and neutrinos, move close to the speed of light. What are these particles generally known as?

Cosmic Rays

Ray Bans

Comic Rays


09
In 1826 Heinrich Olbers asked an important question, known as Olbers' Paradox. A paradox is when something that is correct doesn't seem to make sense. He assumed the universe was infinite and unchanging... what did he ask?

Why is the sky dark at night? Everywhere we look we should see a star!

Why is the Earth round? Wouldn't it be more convenient if it were flat?

Why give planets and stars names? It would be easier if they all had numbers.


10
The majority of the universe seems to be invisible, we can detect its gravity but we can't see it. Astrophysicists are currently working out what this missing mass might be... what is it normally called?

Dark matter and dark energy

Invisible stuff

Elusive and mysterious debris (EMD)


Answers

1= Small children • 2= Water • 3= None • 4= Brain • 5= Moa • 6= Aurora • 7= Float • 8= Cosmic Rays • 9= Why is it dark at night • 10= Dark matter and dark energy


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