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There’s something about the word November that sprung to mind the notion of nothingness. So we’ve put the No into November with the Voids Vacuums and Vacancies Quiz, with plenty of non-answers surrounding the right ones. Spot all the correct ones though, and you could win – NOTHING!

Nothing, that is, neatly sandwiched between layers of steel to keep your favourite food or drink hot or cold in this ‘style icon’ of a flask.

Ready, steady, NO!

01

Scientists are studying salamanders, hydras and planarians to see if their ability to re-grow missing limbs, eyes and even spinal cords can help humans who’ve had accidents. Who can already re-grow the tips of their fingers if injured?

  • Wolves
  • Small Children
  • Elephant
Reveal Answer


02

Large vacuoles are found in many plant cells. Amongst other things they help keep the cell in shape and store waste products. But what is a vacuole filled with?

  • It's a vacuum, it contains nothing.
  • Pure oxygen, the waste product of photosynthesis
  • Water, it's always handy for dissolving substances.
Reveal Answer


03

A 'swim' bladder is a gas filled organ that helps keep aquatic creatures buoyant in water without having to swim. How many animals have both lungs and a swim bladder?

  • None - it is thought that either lungs evolved from swim bladders or swim bladders evolved from lungs.
  • One - only crabs have both since they live on land and in the sea
  • All fish - they need to float and breathe too!
Reveal Answer


04

The human body can survive with lots of missing parts but which of these organ removals would prove immediately fatal.

  • Brain
  • Spleen
  • Appendix
Reveal Answer


05

Which of these animals is extinct - the rest are endangered…

  • Moa - a 3 metre tall ostrich-like bird.
  • Red Panda - a small bear that looks like a ginger racoon.
  • Burrowing Bettong - a mini kangaroo.
Reveal Answer


06

The Sun blows off billions of charged particles every second, this is known as the solar wind. When they hit the Earth's magnetic field, what natural phenomenon does it produce?

  • Aurora
  • Earthquakes
  • Tornadoes.
Reveal Answer


07

Objects less dense than water float and more dense than water sink… if we dropped our galaxy into a big basin of water would it sink or float?

  • Sink
  • Float
  • Oscillate between the two.
Reveal Answer


08

Supernovae and quasars produce extremely high energy particles that travel between stars and between galaxies. These particles, like protons and neutrinos, move close to the speed of light. What are these particles generally known as?

  • Cosmic Rays
  • Ray Bans
  • Comic Rays
Reveal Answer


09

In 1826 Heinrich Olbers asked an important question, known as Olbers' Paradox. A paradox is when something that is correct doesn’t seem to make sense. He assumed the universe was infinite and unchanging… what did he ask?

  • Why is the sky dark at night? Everywhere we look we should see a star!
  • Why is the Earth round? Wouldn't it be more convenient if it were flat?
  • Why give planets and stars names? It would be easier if they all had numbers.
Reveal Answer


10

The majority of the universe seems to be invisible, we can detect its gravity but we can't see it. Astrophysicists are currently working out what this missing mass might be… what is it normally called?

  • Dark matter and dark energy
  • Invisible stuff
  • Elusive and mysterious debris (EMD)
Reveal Answer


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