Animal, Vegetable or Mineral? Trivia Quiz

Answer: Animal

The aye-aye is a lemur (a type of primate) from Madagascar, a large island off the east coast of Africa. It feeds on grubs and insects which it finds in trees and rotten wood.

It has very strange hands compared with other primates: one finger is very thin and is used to tap logs and branches to help the aye-aye locate its food; one finger is very long and is used to pull the grubs and insects out of the wood. It also has a sixth digit to help it grip.

Answer: Animal

Vulture is the name used for several species of large birds of prey that are found in Europe, Africa, Asia, North America, and South America.

Usually, vultures are carrion eaters - they do not hunt and kill their prey, instead they feed on animals that are already dead.

Answer: Animal

The vicuna comes from South America, mainly in the Andes mountain range, and is related to the llama. It has a very soft, thick coat to keep out the cold.

Yarn can be made from the wool of the vicuna. This yarn is very expensive because vicunas are wild animals and are not kept on farms: they are caught, then shorn and returned to the wild.

Answer: Animal

Marmosets are small monkeys from the forests of South America. They are only about 20cm (8 inches) long, and are very quick and agile. Their main foods are tree sap, insects, fruit and leaves.

It is still legal in some countries to keep a marmoset as a pet, but they are wild animals and not really suitable for this purpose.

Answer: Animal

Macaws are parrots from South America - there are many different types, but the most well-known are perhaps the Scarlet Macaw and the Blue-and-yellow Macaw which are the types you usually see included in a pirate costume.

They feed on seeds, nuts, fruits, and other plant material in the wild. Captive macaws also like the same sort of fruits and vegetables that humans eat.

Answer: Vegetable

The avocado is a tree originally from central Mexico. It is grown for its green, pear-shaped fruit which is also called the avocado, but sometimes known as "avocado pear" or "alligator pear".

Many avocados still come from Mexico, but they are now farmed all over the world where the climate is suitable - for example, Spain, South Africa and the United States. Avocados are the main ingredient for guacamole.

Answer: Vegetable

We may think of a purple colour when we think of "violet", but the colour is named after a flower. There are many different types of violet and not all of them are purple.

Some types of violet have a very sweet scent and many years ago in the UK people would grow them to sell in little bunches on the street.

Answer: Vegetable

Mung beans look like tiny green dried peas, and originally came from India. They are sold in shops for use in cooking. If you buy "bean sprouts" these are usually sprouted mung beans.

It is quite easy to grow your own fresh crunchy bean sprouts - you can find instructions online - and they make a healthy addition to salads, stir frys and sandwiches.

Answer: Vegetable

The vanilla pod is the seed pod of a type of tropical orchid. It is black or dark brown, quite long and thin, and has seeds inside called vanilla beans. Vanilla is used as a flavouring for baked goods and ice cream, and is also found in cosmetics.

These orchids grow in the wild, but are also cultivated in places such as Mexico, West Africa and Madagascar. There are different types of vanilla orchid, but the best sort of pods come from Madagascar.

You can store a vanilla pod in a jar of sugar to make flavoured sugar for baking.

Answer: Vegetable

Mahogany is the reddish-brown coloured wood from several types of tree found from Mexico to Brazil, and around the Caribbean islands.

Because it was very popular with furniture makers in Victorian times, the trees were also introduced to other countries, such as the Philippines. In some places, mahogany trees are now considered an invasive species and are being removed.

Answer: Mineral

A monolith is a large single block of stone. Monoliths can be found in nature, but the word usually describes something that has been quarried and shaped into a monument.

The large stones that make up Stonehenge in the UK are monoliths.

Answer: Mineral

Amethyst is a purple-coloured gemstone and is a variety of quartz. It is mined in many places around the world, including Brazil and Siberia.

You can often find amethyst made into jewellery, and it is the birthstone for people born in February.

Answer: Mineral

Verdigris is the green colour found on things made from copper as they age and are exposed to the air. It is formed by the chemical reaction of the copper metal with air, water and other chemicals.

The green colour you see on some statues is usually verdigris - for example, on the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor.

Answer: Mineral

Aluminium is a lightweight metal that is has many uses. It comes from a natural rock called bauxite that is found in large quantities in Australia, China, India and Guinea.

Aluminium fizzy drinks cans can be easily recycled again and again to produce new cans, and this helps our environment.

The word "aluminium" is pronounced differently in UK and US English: in UK English it is "al-oo-min-ee-um", in US English it is "al-oo-min-um" (and is sometimes spelled "aluminum").

Answer: Mineral

An asteroid is any one of the large rocky bodies orbiting the Sun. They are mainly found in the area between Mars and Jupiter, known as the Asteroid Belt, but are also found along the same orbit as some planets such as Jupiter.

Since the 1990s there have been several space missions to examine asteroids.