Why are more people right-handed than left-handed? Try our kids’ quiz

1. Rohan, 8, asks: why are there more right-handed people than left-handed people?

   1. Genetics

   2. Influences early on in life, such as being taught to write with the right hand

   3. It’s because of brain wiring – which part of the brain controls which task

   4. All of the above

2. Emma, 5¾, asks: how many farms are there in the UK?

   1. 600

   2. 26,000

   3. 216,000

   4. 2 million

3. Maël, 8, asks: what is the depth of the Mariana Trench?

   1. 11 metres

   2. 110,000 metres

   3. 11,000 metres

   4. 110 metres

4. Sé, 7, asks: can trees communicate with one another?

   1. Yes, they whisper to each other very quietly – far too quietly for humans to hear them

   2. No, trees can’t communicate with each other at all

   3. Yes, trees communicate with each other through underground networks in the soil

   4. Yes, trees talk to each other at night when there’s no one around

5. Ben, 9, asks: how long have jellyfish been in existence for?

   1. 500 years

   2. 5 million years

   3. 50 million years

   4. 500 million years

Solutions

1:D - Scientists aren’t sure why most people are right-­handed, but the leading theories are that “handedness” – preferring to use one hand over the other – is affected by several things. These are your genes, influences in early life and the way your brain is wired., 2:C - In 2021, a government report estimated that the UK agriculture industry is made up of 216,000 farms. About 70% of all land in the UK is used for agriculture., 3:C - At its deepest point, known as Challenger Deep, the Mariana Trench is close to 11,000 metres deep, which is deeper than Mount Everest is tall., 4:C - Scientists believe that forest trees communicate with each other through underground fungal networks in the soil. The trees can send distress signals about drought, disease or insect attacks, for example., 5:D - Jellyfish have been around for at least 500 million years, possibly more than 700 million. This would make them nearly three times older than the first known dinosaurs, which date back to about 243 million years ago!

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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