Test yourself
The National Science Quiz 2024 is open to everyone to compete online, whether you’re participating as a class, school, family, or any group.
To help test yourself, check out last year’s mini quiz and full show. Teachers, these are also perfect as a classroom activity!
Highlights and mini quiz
Full 2023 show
Teaser quiz
Champagne bubbles rise faster than beer bubbles of the same size. Why is this?
- Beer is more viscous
- Proteins attach to the beer bubbles as they rise, and hence there is more resistance
- Champagne bubbles have a higher gas pressure, so they are more buoyant
Answer: C
Champagne bubbles have a higher gas pressure, so they are more buoyant
How would your voice sound on the planet Venus?
- Like a short person with a loud and high voice
- Like a short person with a soft and low voice
- Like a tall person with a loud and low voice
Answer: B
Like a short person with a soft and low voice
Champagne bubbles rise faster than beer bubbles of the same size. Why is this?
- Beer is more viscous
- Proteins attach to the beer bubbles as they rise, and hence there is more resistance
- Champagne bubbles have a higher gas pressure, so they are more buoyant
Answer: C
Champagne bubbles have a higher gas pressure, so they are more buoyant
How would your voice sound on the planet Venus?
- Like a short person with a loud and high voice
- Like a short person with a soft and low voice
- Like a tall person with a loud and low voice
Answer: B
Like a short person with a soft and low voice
An aurora is the phenomenon known on Earth as the northern or southern lights. On what planets can aurorae occur?
- On any planet with an atmosphere
- On any planet with a magnetic field
- On planets with oxygen or nitrogen in their atmosphere
Answer: A
On any planet with an atmosphere
What type of fire must you not try to extinguish with a carbon dioxide extinguisher?
- Burning gas
- Burning metal
- Burning fat
Answer: B
Burning metal
If you hang a towel outside on a sunny day after washing it, why does it go stiff?
- UV light changes the chemical composition of the detergent
- Dust particles blow into the fibres
- Salt crusts are formed due to lack of movement
Answer: C
Salt crusts are formed due to lack of movement
If you let cornflakes float on milk they attract each other. What causes this?
- The iron in the cornflakes is a little bit magnetic
- One cornflake pulls milk up and the others want to float on top of that milk
- There are currents because the temperature changes locally because of the cornflakes
Answer: B
One cornflake pulls milk up and the others want to float on top of that milk
If you wet a tea towel it darkens in colour and when it dries it becomes lighter again. What causes this change in colour?
- The water acts a sort of optical fiber through which the light penetrates deeply into the material
- The refraction index of fabric is closer to that of water than it is to that of air
- Water absorbs more red and green light than fabric does
Answer: B
The refraction index of fabric is closer to that of water than it is to that of air
Why do some bruises look blue?
- Because blue light does not penetrate through the skin as much as red light
- Because of haemoglobin degradation in that area
- Because of lack of oxygen in that area
Answer: A
Because blue light does not penetrate through the skin as much as red light