General Knowledge for Clever Kids Quiz

Answer: True

Egyptian civilization was already very old in Cleopatra's day. The pyramids, including the famous Great Pyramid of Giza, were built about 2500 years before Cleopatra was born. She died in 30 BCE, which was a little over 2000 years ago.

Answer: Light

The word laser stands for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation," and refers to a coherent beam of light that is tightly focused. The first laser was built in 1960. Nowadays, all sorts of appliances use lasers, including bar-code scanners and DVD players. Laser guns, like those seen in countless science fiction shows, are not yet a real thing, which may be for the best.

Answer: A month

The word month actually comes from the same word as moon. Some people think that because the moon comes out every night, it must orbit the earth every day, but it is the turning of the earth that makes the moon appear to rise daily.

Answer: Germanic

Many people mistakenly think that English is a Romance language because it has borrowed many words from French and Latin. English is actually more closely related to the German and Dutch languages because it derives from the language of the Anglo-Saxon peoples, who originally migrated to England from north-western Europe.

Answer: Christianity

Although Christianity was introduced into China in the middle ages by missionaries, it never caught on in a big way, so it has never been "major." Taoism and Confucianism are native to China. Buddhism was introduced from India about 2000 years ago and has coexisted with the native religious traditions to the present day.

Answer: One year

The earth takes about 365 and a quarter days to complete a trip around the sun. This is why there is a leap year with an extra day every four years. You might be surprised at how many grown-ups don't know this!

Answer: Vatican City

Vatican City has an area of 44 hectares and is located entirely within the much larger city of Rome, the capital of Italy. When Italy first became a modern country in 1861, the king of Italy wanted the territory of the Vatican to become part of Italy as well, but the Pope said no.

After many years, the Pope and the Italian government reached an agreement in 1929 that the Vatican would be its own country with the Pope as its ruler.

Answer: Redwoods

Redwoods can grow to be over 360 feet (115 metres) in height and over 29 feet (8 metres) wide, and can live for over a thousand years, sometimes as many as 2000. They are among the oldest living things on earth, although there are some trees that live even longer but do not grow as tall.

For example, there is a bristlecone pine in a secret location in California that is over 5000 years old!

Answer: Indonesia

Komodo dragons are found on the islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang, and Padar, all of which are in Indonesia. They can grow up to 10 feet (3 metres) long and weigh up to 200 pounds. Native villagers on the island of Komodo build their homes on stilts to prevent the dragons from sneaking inside. Komodo dragons have been known to attack humans, sometimes causing death, but fortunately this is fairly rare.

Despite the risks, Komodo dragons attract tourists to the islands from all over the world.

Answer: A tomb

From the outside, it might look like a palace or even a temple, but the Taj Mahal was built by the 17th century emperor, Shah Jahan, as a tomb and a memorial for his favourite wife, who died giving birth to their fourteenth (!) child. After he later died, the Shah was buried in the tomb next to his wife. Today, the Taj Mahal attracts millions of visitors a year from all over the world.