How do televisions work and do snakes go to the toilet? Try our kids’ quiz

1. Annabel, 6, asks: how do televisions work?

   1. We have no idea how televisions work

   2. Televisions have little gremlins inside them creating TV shows

   3. Televisions pick up pictures that have been turned into signals and sent through the air

   4. Televisions are powered by the sun – the brighter the sun, the better the picture on your screen

2. Jonah, 5, asks: why do spiders have eight legs?

   1. It helps the spider to stay balanced when it’s moving

   2. Because they need to have a couple of spares

   3. They have lots of legs to look as scary as possible

   4. Spiders are actually born with four legs, but over time each of these splits in half, making eight

3. Ellen, 6, asks: how many minutes are in a week?

   1. 1,440 minutes

   2. 568 minutes

   3. 4,267 minutes

   4. 10,080 minutes

4. Tovah, 4, asks: what is light made of?

   1. From electricity produced by clouds

   2. It is just energy made of particles called photons

   3. Light is released by trees, along with oxygen

   4. Light is stored deep in the Earth’s crust, and released when tectonic plates move

5. Robin, 10, asks: do snakes go to the toilet?

   1. Yes, they do!

   2. Snakes only wee, they don’t poo

   3. They never go to the toilet

   4. Not like humans do, but they get rid of waste through their mouths

Solutions

1:C - A television is made of three parts: the TV camera that turns a picture and sound into a signal; the TV transmitter that sends the signal through the air (or through underground cables for cable TV); and the TV receiver, which is the TV in your house that collects the signal and turns it back into pictures and sound., 2:B - Recent studies have found that spiders missing two legs can build webs and hunt easily. They only need five or six legs – the extra ones are spares in case a predator eats one or two., 3:D - There are 60 minutes in an hour, and each day has 24 hours. So 60 x 24 = 1,440 minutes in a day. This number x 7 days a week gives us 10,080 minutes., 4:B - Light is made of particles called photons. It is nature’s way of transferring energy through space!, 5:A - Once a snake has digested its meal, it gets rid of waste through an opening called a “cloaca”. This can be found at the end of a snake’s belly and beginning of its tail. A snake uses this same opening to poo, wee, mate and lay eggs (or give birth to live young, depending on the species).

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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