How many trees a day do we cut down for paper? The kids’ quiz

1. Sadie, 10, asks: how many trees a day do we cut down for paper?

   1. 20,000 trees

   2. We don’t really know, but estimates vary from 80,000-160,000 trees a day to 10 million a day

   3. 1 million trees

   4. None – paper isn’t made from trees any more

2. Rosa, 5, asks: why do jellyfish tentacles sting?

   1. The tentacles are charged by the brain’s electric impulses, and when they touch us we get a small electric shock

   2. Jellyfish don’t sting us on purpose – humans are just allergic to their tentacles

   3. Jellyfish sting because they are related to nettles

   4. The tentacles have thousands of tiny harpoons that contain toxins, which shoot out and hit our skin

3. Freddie, 8, asks: how many rings does Saturn have?

   1. No rings

   2. 3 main rings

   3. 5 main rings

   4. 7 main rings

4. Reuben, 8, asks: why do bobcats have short tails?

   1. When bobcats reach adulthood their tails fall off

   2. Long tails are usually for balance when climbing and bobcats normally stay on the ground

   3. Long tails are a sign of weakness for bobcats

   4. Predators might catch a long tail

5. Freyja, 8, asks: how many bees are in a beehive?

   1. 40,000

   2. 2,000

   3. 400

   4. Only 40 bees at any one time

Solutions

1:B - It’s hard to know how many trees are cut down for paper, as estimates vary wildly. The Global Forest Resource Assessment estimates between 80,000 and 160,000 trees a day. Other sources (taken from World Wide Fund for Nature and UN data) have the figure as much higher – 10 million a day. Not all of these trees come from natural forests; some are from tree farms., 2:D - Jellyfish have stinging cells called “nematocysts”. These contain miniature harpoons that shoot toxins when the jellyfish hunts or feels threatened., 3:D - Saturn has seven main rings, with many smaller “ringlets”. The main substance in them is ice particles. According to Nasa, the ring system is so big, it wouldn’t fit between the Earth and the moon!, 4:B - Bobcats mainly hunt rodents and hares, so they stay on the ground and have no need to balance on trees or climb difficult terrain., 5:A - According to the British Beekeepers Association, at the height of summer the average beehive has between 35,000 and 40,000 bees, with some colonies reaching 60,000.

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 podcast answering children’s questions. Do check out her books, Everything Under the Sun and Everything Under the Sun: Quiz Book, as well as her new title, Everything Under the Sun: All Around the World.