How many people have been on the moon? Try our kids’ quiz

Illustration: Hennie Haworth/The Guardian

1. Max, 5, asks: how many people have been on the moon?

   1. Nobody has ever walked on the moon

   2. Only one person has ever been on the moon

   3. 12 people

   4. 52 people

2. Jocelyn, 5, asks: why don’t snakes hurt their bellies when they slither on them?

   1. The scales on their skin protect them

   2. Snakes don’t feel any pain

   3. They only slither over smooth surfaces

   4. The skin on the bellies of snakes is particularly tough

3. Alice, 10, asks: how many human babies are born every day?

   1. 37,000

   2. 215,000

   3. 385,000

   4. 575,000

4. Jacob, 7, asks: what is the biggest mammal in the world?

   1. Elephant

   2. Blue whale

   3. Whale shark

   4. Brown bear

5. Rupert, 7, asks: why do your eyes go red when you are tired?

   1. Because your eyes get dry from being open for too long

   2. Because lots of blood needs to go to your eyes to keep them open

   3. Because you start getting more allergic to things the more tired you are

   4. You probably need glasses if your eyes go red when you are tired!

Solutions

1:C - Twelve people have walked on the moon! The first was Neil Armstrong, followed by Buzz Aldrin in 1969. Lots of other astronauts have been up to the moon but haven’t walked on it. Nobody has set foot on the moon since 1972!, 2:A - Snake scales are made of a hard material called keratin, the same thing that our hair and nails are made from. On top of them is a very thin, slippery layer of fat that protects the snake during all its daily activities, including slithering., 3:C - Approximately 385,000 babies are born in the world every day! That’s about 267 every minute and more than 140 million in a year!, 4:B - The blue whale is the biggest animal in the world and the biggest to have ever existed! It’s even bigger than the biggest dinosaurs., 5:A - Our eyes are covered with a liquid layer that keeps them happy during the day. At night, when we sleep with our eyes closed, this layer is protected and our eyes are given lots of moisture. If we stay awake too long, then the layer begins to evaporate a bit which makes our eyes dry out and get bloodshot.

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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