Do mammals dream and how long have pandas lived on Earth? Try our kids’ quiz

1. Lara, 5, asks: do mammals dream and, if so, what do they dream about?

   1. Mammals don’t have dreams

   2. Mammals do dream, but they only dream of flashing colours

   3. Mammals always dream that they are humans

   4. Mammals do have dreams, but we can’t be sure what they are about

2. Juno, 11, asks: how long have pandas been living on Earth?

   1. About 800,000 years

   2. About 8 billion years

   3. About 8 million years

   4. About 8,000 years

3. Flo, 8, asks: how many breeds of cat are there in the world?

   1. 139

   2. 22

   3. 73

   4. 9

4. Olive, 6, asks: how many constellations are there in the sky?

   1. 8

   2. 88

   3. 880

   4. 8,000

5. Jay, 7, asks: why does the planet Jupiter have 92 moons?

   1. It has so many moons because it needs to shield itself from the light of the sun

   2. Because Jupiter’s moons are constantly cloning themselves

   3. Because of its very powerful gravitational pull

   4. Because its ring catches lots of moons

Solutions

1:D - Scientists believe mammals do have dreams, as they experience rapid eye movement sleep (which is when most dreaming is thought to happen, rather than in deep sleep), as well as twitching and making sounds. But it’s tricky to determine what these dreams might be about., 2:C - Fossils of the Ailurarctos, an ancestor of the panda now extinct, have been found dating back to 8 million years ago. , 3:C - The International Cat Association – the world's largest genetic registry of pedigreed cats – recognises 73 breeds, but the number can change as new breeds are developed, and some organisations count as few as 40 breeds., 4:B - There are 88 officially recognised constellations, or groups of stars, across the sky, according to the International Astronomical Union., 5:C - Jupiter is the largest planet in our solar system, and with great mass comes great gravitational force, which means it pulls lots of moons into its orbit. According to Nasa, Jupiter now has 95 moons, as of 1 November 2023.

Scores

1. 5 and above.

2. 4 and above.

3. 3 and above.

4. 2 and above.

5. 0 and above.

6. 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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