What existed before the big bang and can animals cry? Try our kids’ quiz

1. Philip, 7, asks: what existed before the big bang?

   1. Just one giant star with creatures on it that organised the big bang

   2. Just the sun and the moon

   3. Scientists are not entirely certain on one idea

   4. The big quiet

2. Blythe, 7, asks: what is the brightest star we can see?

   1. Sirius

   2. Vega

   3. Arcturus

   4. All of the above

3. Julius, 8, asks: how do eyeballs see?

   1. Eyeballs have tiny mirrors at the sides and the back, which reflect pictures up into the brain

   2. When light hits the retina at the back of the eye, special cells turn it into electrical signals to send to the brain

   3. We have no idea how our eyeballs see

   4. The world pours into our pupils in our eyeballs and shoots up to our brain

4. Ruby, 4, asks: can animals cry?

   1. No, only humans cry

   2. Yes, but not to show sadness or joy like humans

   3. All mammals cry when they are sad

   4. Whales are the only animals other than humans that can cry

5. Levi, 6, asks: why does ice float?

   1. Because ice is less dense than water

   2. Because it is cube-shaped

   3. Because the ice is much colder than the water

   4. Ice doesn’t float on water – it always melts into it

Solutions

1:C - Different scientists have different ideas. Stephen Hawking said that time did not exist before the big bang, so asking what came before it is meaningless. Others believe that our universe isn’t unique and there exists an eternal multiverse with no real beginning at all., 2:D - It depends on the time of year and from where you’re looking. In the northern hemisphere, in winter and early spring it’s Sirius, but from April to September it’s Arcturus, and from September to November it’s Vega. , 3:B - The special cells at the back of the eye, called photoreceptors, send the electrical signals through the optic nerve to the brain. The brain converts these into the images we see., 4:B - Lots of animals shed tears to clear debris like dust from their eyes. But we think humans may be the only creatures that cry when they are sad or happy – animals such as chimpanzees express sadness using vocal sounds., 5:A - Water has special hydrogen bonds, which means that when it freezes into solid ice, its structure is lighter than the liquid form, so it floats.

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.

Does your child have a question? Submit one here