Don’t say we don’t bring you all the best prizes. The prizes are three sets of the cool science books 'Wow! Amazing Science Facts and Trivia', by Simon Torok and Paul Holper, published by ABC books. The first book is full of trivia, the second contains puzzles and brain teasers, and the third has great science experiments to try at home. Sound good? They are! In order to win a set, you'll need to successfully answer the Science Year Trivia Challenge, by giving us the correct answers to the following ten tricky trivia questions. Ready for the challenge? Here goes: GOOD LUCK! >>>
	01 Which planet is closest to the Earth? Mars Moon Venus 02 Fred Hoyle was a famous English astronomer. He produced many different theories about space but what was one of his most famous achievements? He produced the steady state model of the Universe where matter is created throughout the lifetime of the Universe rather than just at the Big Bang. He proved that the Earth was not flat. He worked out how much room there was available in the Space Shuttle for storing midnight feast foods such as jaffa cakes. 03 On December 4, 2002 there will be a total eclipse of the Sun over Africa and Australia. Why do total solar eclipses happen? The Moon's orbit takes it between the Sun and the Earth, the eclipse is the Moon's shadow falling on the Earth. The Sun stops producing light for a few minutes. Clouds very high up in the Earth's atmosphere pass in front of the Sun creating a shadow. 04 The Sun produces 4x1026 watts of light, that's equivalent to about million billion billion lightbulbs. Where does all the energy come from to create this light? Two hydrogen atoms are squeezed together to make a helium atom and light energy is released (according to Einstein's equation E=mc2). The gas which formed the Sun was extremely hot and it is still cooling down. The motion of the Sun acts as a dynamo to generate energy. 05 The probe Lunar Prospector was sent crashing into the Moon to try and detect water and ice near the surface. Why were the scientists interested in finding water? It means that there will be life present on the Moon. Water is used in the formation of diamonds so diamonds may be scattered about the surface. If there’s water on the Moon it could make it cheaper and easier to set up a colony there. 06 The mass of the Moon is 80 times smaller than the mass of the Earth. How strong is the gravity on the Moon? One sixth that on Earth. The same as the gravity on Earth There is no gravity on the Moon 07 The Leonid meteorite shower occurs every November when rocks from space burn up as they enter the Earth's atmosphere. But where do the rocks come from? The Moon - they are rocks that have broken off the Moon falling slowly to Earth. The debris trail of a comet as it passes through the solar system. Volcanic eruptions on Earth shooting rocks into space that fall back down again 08 Drake's equation is used to calculate the possible number of alien civilisations in our Galaxy. Which of the following do you need to know to solve Drake's equation? The number of Sun-like stars in the Galaxy The number of black holes in our Galaxy The average time it takes to get from our Sun to another star 09 If you were in a train travelling at 100 kilometres per hour, how long would it take you to reach Pluto which is over four billion kilometres away? 3.5 million years 5000 years 5500 hours 10 The light-year is a unit often used in science fiction, but what is it? The time it takes for light to travel from Earth to the Sun. The distance light can travel in one year. The length of a year on a planet outside our solar system. Back to Quizzes & Competitions