The Ups and Downs of Growing A Tree Quiz

Answer: Cornea

Acorns are nuts from a tree, usually consisting of one or two seeds inside a hard shell. They provide food for woodland creatures such as squirrels, deer and some birds.

The cornea is the transparent part of the eye just in front of the iris and pupil. It lets light enter the eye but provides a barrier against foreign bodies, such as dirt particles, going further in.

Answer: Nacre

Nacre, also known as mother of pearl, is a material produced by cells in the mantle tissue of some molluscs to line their shells. Among these molluscs are pearl oysters and pearl mussels.

A minute object invading a shell and causing irritation can be covered in layers of nacre to form a natural pearl while a cultured pearl is formed in the same way when an irritant is deliberately introduced into a shell.

Answer: Acne

Whilst older people can also be troubled by acne, this skin condition is generally associated with young people in their teens. Acne is a series of usually red spots or pimples, mainly on the face but sometimes on the back and chest too.

Changes in hormone levels in puberty cause some glands next to hair follicles to produce large amounts of oil or sebum and also cause thickening of the lining of hair follicles. So pores become blocked and a usually harmless skin bacterium, propionibacterium acnes, then infects the blocked pores.

Answer: Enact

The word 'enact' can be used in more than one way. On a legal level, it is used to describe the passing of a law by the relevant authorities of a country, such as Parliament in the UK, or Congress in the US.

On a personal level, people can enact a role in a play or other dramatic performance, such as a dance or a poem spoken aloud in front of an audience. The word is derived from the Latin 'actus' via Old French and Middle English.

Answer: Canter

Horses can move at a number of different paces, of which four are the most common. The slowest of these is a walk, then the paces progress through the increasingly faster trot and canter or lope to the gallop, which is the fastest pace.

The canter or lope is a three-beat pace wherein the horse first moves one hind foot, followed by that fore foot and the other hind foot together, then the other fore foot. Then all four feet stay off the ground for a very brief space of time before the next pace is taken.

Answer: Crate

Crates are normally wooden cases of various sizes used for transporting goods, although they can be made of plastic or metal. They are used for packing many items such as bananas, glassware or furniture for transportation.

They can be used to move things between countries, cities and so on, while smaller, metal ones can be used for more domestic purposes, for instance housing a dog or taking one to a veterinarian.

Answer: Croat

The inhabitants of Croatia are known as Croats or Croatians. Croats are also one of the three main ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzgovina and form recognised minorities in other nearby countries, such as Montenegro, Romania and Serbia.

Over the centuries Croatia has been a kingdom but has also been part of different confederations, the most recent one of which was Yugoslavia, a federation of six republics under the leadership of Marshall Tito. Tito died in 1980 and some ten years after his death the federation broke up and Croatia is again an independent state.

Answer: Taco

A taco is a food from Mexico and traditionally consists of a small, soft, filled corn tortilla, or thin flatbread. It can have various fillings, such as beef, chicken and other meats, cheese or different vegetables. The flatbread is folded over the filling and the taco is often eaten as finger food.

Tacos are now also made using wheat flour and particularly in the US are sometimes fried before the filling is added so that they form a hard shell for the fillings. In 1962 Glen Bell opened a fast-food restaurant in California called Taco Bell and this has grown into a multi-national chain.

Answer: Oat

Oats are a type of cereal grass grown in for their grains, which are also known as oats. They are suitable for growing in temperate areas of the world and their grains are mainly used as fodder for cattle and horses.

However, they are eaten by humans as well after being crushed or rolled to form oatmeal, which can be made into oatcakes or oatmeal cookies. Oatmeal is also made into porridge, a hot breakfast food, and forms part of cold breakfast cereals, such as muesli or granola.

Answer: Oak

There are some five hundred different types of oak tree in the world's Northern hemisphere and they belong to the genus quercus, part of the beech or Fagaceae family. The wood of oak trees is hard and also has a high tannin content so is resistant to attack by insects and fungus.

The wood was used in building ships and is still used for interior panelling in large buildings, for making furniture and barrels used to store wine, sherry and whisky while they age. This wood is useful in other ways too, for instance being used to make agricultural tools in India and drums in Japan.