General Science for Kids - Part Two Quiz

Answer: Bauxite

Bauxite is the main ore of aluminium, and is where we get over 99% of metallic aluminium. Bauxite is a mixture of similar minerals that contain hydrated aluminium oxides. These minerals are gibbsite, diaspore, and boehmite. Because it is a mixture of minerals, bauxite is a rock, not a mineral.

Answer: False

All proteins and all carbohydrates (sugar is a carbohydrate) have 4 calories per gram, and all fats have 9 calories per gram, but not all foods have the same number of calories per unit of volume. A cup of chopped cucumber would contain around 14 calories, but a cup of raisins would contain about 520 calories - they are both carbohydrates, but raisins have a much greater calorie DENSITY.

Answer: Penicillin

Penicillin was originally first noticed in 1896 by a French medical student, named Ernest Duchesne. It was re-discovered in 1928 by bacteriologist Alexander Fleming whilst working at St Mary's Hospital in London. A culture had been contaminated by a blue-green mould and Fleming noticed that colonies of bacteria adjacent to the mould were being dissolved.

He then isolated the mould in a pure culture, and found that it produced a substance that killed bacteria - he called this substance penicillin.

Answer: Sprinkle them on your French fries

Sodium chloride is common salt, and acetic acid is vinegar. I guess you could wash your hair in vinegar, and vinegar will also dissolve grease on your dad's car - but I wouldn't recommend it! Also, when you sprinkle salt on your food, don't use too much, because too much salt is not good for you.

Answer: A simple anaesthetic

Chloroform is a simple anaesthetic that used to be used a lot in childbirth. It was discovered in July 1831 by the American Samuel Guthrie, and also a few months later by Eugène Soubeiran in France, and Justus von Liebig in Germany. It's not used any more, because it can cause heart problems - and death!

Answer: Carbon

Chalk, limestone and marble are all the same - they are all calcium CARBONate, and have the chemical formula CaCO3. The difference between them is in their crystalline structure. All three forms of the mineral are amongst the commonest minerals used by man - for instance, chalk is used in paper making, and is also found in toothpaste!

Answer: 3 kg

The metric weight system is based on the weight of water - 1 litre of water weighs 1 kg, so 3 litres will weigh 3 kg. In the metric system, everything is based on multiples of 10, which makes calculations so much easier!

Answer: Mars and Earth

In distance from the sun, Venus is the second planet, and Jupiter is the fifth. Earth is third and Mars is fourth. Venus is the closest planet to us, but even at its closest it is still 42 million kilometres away. In August 2003, Mars was closer to Earth than it has been in about 60,000 years, because of its very elliptical orbit.

Answer: 20 lbs (9.1 kg)

The gravity on the Moon is one sixth of that on earth - so whilst your MASS would remain the same, you would appear to weigh only one sixth of your weight on earth. This is the reason why people like Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, were literally leaping around with ease when they visited the Moon!

Answer: Hydrogen sulphide

If you have ever eaten a lot of eggs or beans, you will know how smelly a fart can be! The gases in our farts are very dependent upon what we have eaten, but the commonest offender for creating smelly farts is hydrogen sulphide. Methane is also a main gas found in farts, and is a dangerous greenhouse gas. 16% of the world's annual methane emissions to the atmosphere come from cattle farts - funny but true!