Why do puffins have striped beaks and how does Velcro stick? The kids’ quiz

1. Edie, 10, asks: why do puffins have striped beaks?

   1. Because puffins eat rainbow fish

   2. To help with attracting fish to eat

   3. To attract potential mates

   4. So that other birds can see them at night

2. Nye, 7, asks: how does quicksand suck things in?

   1. Sand monsters inside it pull you down

   2. The way it’s formed means that when you put pressure on it, it behaves more like a liquid

   3. It’s magnetic and is pulled towards Earth’s core

   4. It forms over a cavern, and gravity pulls down on whatever is stuck in it

3. Billy, 5, asks: how does Velcro stick?

   1. It’s layered with a thin adhesive glue

   2. Velcro is magnetic

   3. The person who invented it has kept it secret

   4. One piece has tiny hooks, the other has tiny loops

4. Nicole, 6, asks: is there anything we can’t even see with a microscope?

   1. No, human beings have seen everything!

   2. Yes, we can’t see anything smaller than an atom

   3. No, but scientists had to use a microscope the size of Wales to see everything

   4. Yes, we can’t see anything smaller than a hair

5. Benji, 6, asks: how many different types of animals are there in the world?

   1. 870

   2. 8,700

   3. 8.7 million

   4. 8.7 billion

Solutions

1:C - Puffins’ beaks aren’t colourful all year round. In winter, they are a dull grey, but at other times of year they become colourful to attract potential mates., 2:B - Quicksand is a mix of sand and water, where the water reduces the friction between the grains. It acts like a solid till you put pressure on it, then it becomes like a liquid and can’t support much weight. The weight of the water pushing down on the sand holds you in place if you’ve started to sink – though, unlike in films, it can’t suck you under completely!, 3:D - Velcro usually comes in two pieces. The softer piece is made up of tiny loops and the coarser piece has tiny hooks on it. When they’re pressed together, they create a strong connection., 4:B - We can see atoms with a special electron microscope, but there are lots of particles that are even smaller than atoms that we can’t see with a microscope., 5:C - There are estimated to be roughly 8.7 million different animal species on planet Earth. Not all of these species have been identified, and we discover new ones all the time.

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.