Why do clocks spin clockwise and what are teeth made of? Try our kids’ quiz

1. Lachlan, 10, asks: why do clocks spin clockwise?

   1. Because we read from left to right, so it makes sense that clocks should spin from left to right

   2. Because the first clocks, which were sundials, moved clockwise

   3. Because the inventor of clocks decided they should spin clockwise

   4. Because time moves clockwise

2. Stella, 6, asks: what are teeth made out of?

   1. Bone and cartilage

   2. Calcium

   3. Nerves, dentistum, enamel and mortar

   4. Pulp, dentin, enamel and cementum

3. Esther, 7, asks: what is the biggest country in the world?

   1. Russia

   2. Antarctica

   3. Canada

   4. India

4. Leo, 8, asks: what temperature is it in space?

   1. 0° celsius

   2. -270° celsius

   3. -520° celsius

   4. 310° celsius

5. Eleanor, 6, asks: why do some trees lose their leaves in the autumn and winter?

   1. Because they have spent too much energy making leaves in spring and summer, and they need to rest

   2. So that they can grow prettier ones in spring

   3. So that they can save energy and survive the winter

   4. Because bees hibernate and stop pollinating

Solutions

1:B - Sundials were some of the earliest technology used to tell time. They have a dial with markings on it and a part called a gnomon which casts a shadow. When the sun shines on a dial, depending on where it is in the sky, the gnomon casts a shadow on it. As the sun appears to move anticlockwise, the shadow cast moves clockwise. When clocks were being made in medieval times, their hands were made to spin the same way as the sundial shadows., 2:D - Teeth are made of pulp (connective tissue, nerves and blood vessels), dentin (a hard substance surrounding the pulp), enamel (hard tissue on the tooth) and cementum (holding the tooth in place)., 3:A - Russia is the biggest country in the world by area: 17,098,242km – 11% of the entire world’s landmass!, 4:B - Space is almost as cold as the coldest temperature possible – absolute zero, equivalent to -273° celsius., 5:C - When leaves are green they absorb sunlight and turn it into sugars for the tree. When there is less sunlight, the chlorophyll that helps leaves absorb it is stored by the tree, which then sheds its leaves rather than wasting energy on keeping them.

Scores

1. 5 and above.

2. 3 and above.

3. 2 and above.

4. 0 and above.

5. 1 and above.

Molly Oldfield hosts Everything Under the Sun, a weekly podcast answering children’s questions, out now as a book.

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