Why do moths eat clothes and how old is the universe? The kids’ quiz

Illustration: Hennie Haworth/The Guardian

1. Seth, 6, asks: why do moths eat clothes?

   1. Their fibres contain something moths need

   2. Moths don’t eat old clothes, they just deteriorate

   3. The moth that eats most clothes is the alpha moth

   4. Clothes contain dust, and that’s what moths want

2. Alfred, 7, asks: why do we have to wear sunscreen?

   1. It camouflages you in the sand by sticking to you

   2. Sunscreen makes us invisible to flies

   3. It cuts the risk of sunburn and can stop harmful rays from reaching your skin

   4. Adults make you wear it because it’s slimy and horrid

3. Violet, 12, asks: why do you get an afterimage from staring at a bright light for too long?

   1. The image is always there, you just can’t see it normally

   2. When looking at a bright light, it can temporarily desensitise part of your retina, so you keep seeing a negative afterimage

   3. It’s your body warning you that bright lights are bad for your eyes

   4. The light is so bright, it lights up the inside of your head and projects your imagination on to your eyes

4. Charlie, 8, asks: which dinosaur name is funniest?

   1. The Bambiraptor

   2. The Gasosaurus

   3. The Giraffatitan

   4. The Irritator

5. Matilda, 6, asks: how old is the universe (to the nearest 1 billion years)?

   1. 134 billion years

   2. 100 billion years

   3. 14 billion years

   4. 4 billion years

Solutions

1:A - Animal-based fibres such as wool, silk or cashmere contain keratin. Adult moths don’t eat clothes, but the larvae do because they need the keratin for sustenance., 2:C - Sunscreen can help stop intense UV rays reaching our skin cells. When exposed to intense sunlight, our skin cells die and that’s what causes the redness and burning. Continual sunburn can increase the risk of skin cancer, but it’s also good to use sunscreen because sunburn really hurts!, 3:B - If you look at a light for too long, the part of your eye that receives light is, briefly, a bit overwhelmed. When looking at a new image, the retina struggles to take it in fast enough. That’s when you get a dark afterimage., 4:D - You can decide which is funniest because they’re all real! The Bambiraptor was named after Bambi; the Gasosaurus was discovered by a gas company; the Giraffatitan looked a bit like a big giraffe; and Irritator was named by scientists annoyed that collectors had damaged the skull they found., 5:C - According to Nasa, the universe is roughly 13.8 billion years old. It’s been around for a long time!

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.