How do photos get made and why do cats have whiskers? Try our kids’ quiz

1. Arran, 4, asks: how do printed photos get made?

   1. Special machines draw what the camera sees

   2. With photocopiers

   3. Specially coated paper is exposed to a negative version of the photograph

   4. Camera shop workers draw what’s on the camera

2. Sophie, 6, asks: why do people have five toes on each foot?

   1. Early humans grew toes to help them gather food

   2. All land vertebrates have a common ancestor, who had five toes on each foot

   3. So children can practise how to count to five

   4. Early humans had painted toenails to match their tribe

3. Lucy, 4, asks: why do cats have whiskers?

   1. To poke their owners

   2. Because they look pretty

   3. To wipe their paws clean

   4. To help them navigate

4. Soren, 4, asks: how do they make the rolls in toilet paper?

   1. With slices of tree bark dried in a hot oven

   2. Dried paper sheets are wound into logs, then cut up

   3. With recycled books

   4. A long stream of paper is spun through a fan

5. Esther, 8, asks: how do solar panels work?

   1. Solar panel cells turn sunlight into electricity

   2. The panels heat a bucket of water. This heat energy is converted to electricity

   3. The panels power a motor that turns. Energy from this becomes electricity

   4. Solar panels contain used batteries. When light hits them, they recharge

Solutions

1:C - In the past, you needed a roll of film to take photos. It contained a “negative” image – where the lightest areas appear the darkest. When specially sensitised paper touches the negative image, it is transformed into the photo we see. If you do it digitally, the computer scans the image, then prints it., 2:B - Our toes are all thanks to evolution! The pattern of five fingers or toes on each limb is shared by all land vertebrates (animals with a spine). Since the first common ancestor 340 million years ago, some species have fused these into hooves or lost them, but we humans have kept them., 3:D - Whiskers are actually very important to cats! These special hairs help with vision and give the cat an extra sensory input, just like antennae on insects., 4:B - A mix of wood chips and water is dried and wound on to big reels. Machines cut it into long strips, and these huge toilet paper logs are then cut into rolls., 5:A - The sun makes light, also called solar radiation. Solar panels have little cells called PV cells that take this light and turn it into energy, or electricity.

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