Why are tomatoes red and how do mirrors work? Try our kids’ quiz

1. Arran, 5, asks: why are tomatoes red?

   1. Tomatoes are red because their skin got hot in the sun

   2. Tomatoes are full of red ink

   3. An unripe tomato has a lot of green chlorophyll in it, but as it ripens it makes lycopene, which looks red

   4. Tomatoes are red to warn insects not to eat them

2. Fintan, 5, asks: which shark is the fastest shark?

   1. The whale shark

   2. The great white shark

   3. The shortfin mako shark

   4. The wobbegong

3. Stanley, 9, asks: are animals ticklish?

   1. Animals aren’t ticklish

   2. Yes, some animals can be!

   3. Only reptiles and mammals are ticklish

   4. Only humans and monkeys are ticklish

4. Kit, 5, asks: why do plants die?

   1. They die when they have too much or not enough water

   2. When they are planted in the wrong type of soil

   3. When they get too much or not enough sunlight

   4. All of the above

5. Jacob, 8, asks: how do mirrors work?

   1. Small cameras inside the mirror take photos of the thing in front of it and show it on the screen

   2. Mirrors catch images, then shine them out at you so that you can see them properly

   3. They will only work if you say, “Mirror, mirror, on the wall …”

   4. When light rays hit a mirror, the light rays bounce off again and produce an image

Solutions

1:C - Most tomatoes are red when they are ripe because of something the tomato plants make called lycopene. When tomatoes are not ripe they have more chlorophyll in them so they look green. Of course, tomatoes can also be yellow or orange, and some are even edible when they’re green., 2:C - Shortfin mako sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus) are the fastest in the world. Their top speed is more than 70km an hour., 3:B - Orangutans, gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos respond to being tickled with a laugh, just like us humans. Dogs, meerkats and even rats seem to enjoy being tickled, too., 4:D - Plants can die for many different reasons – hydration (too much or too little!), sun exposure, soil type and being eaten by a pest., 5:D - Mirrors are made by putting a thin layer of aluminium or other metal behind a flat piece of glass. This layer stops light rays from passing through the mirror. Instead, the light rays are reflected off its surface, which means that you can see whatever is in front of the mirror reflected in the mirror.

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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