Do you know where the different planets in our Solar System stand when compared with each other? Take this ‘comparison’ quiz.
Biggest, smallest, hottest, densest, closest, farthest – when we talk about the Solar System and the planets in it, we often refer to superlatives like these. For a change, how about taking it to the next level by comparing the planets with each other? Take this quick quiz where we pit two planets against each other in each criteria.
Discover the facts:
Which veggie is the most important of them all?
Read the conversation between some vegetables to see who the most important is. Afterwards, based on the text, take the quiz below.
Dinner was about to be served but there was a raging debate on the salad plate.
Tomato (singing): Hi ho, hi ho, I’m the super tomato. They love me cause I’m bright red. On pizzas, I make a tasty spread. As ketchup or as a spicy sauce. Indispensable in most meals. Whether salads or the main course.
Carrot: Hold it! So what if you are bright red? Though I often appear orange, my cousins have an array of colours — purple, yellow, red, and even white.
Tomato: But botanists classify me as a berry. I am not really a veggie.
Onion: That doesn’t make you any better than us. In fact, you are a misfit in our salad. And what about your dark secret? You were once looked upon with suspicion. If anybody drank your juice from a lead container, they would end up getting poisoned.
Tomato: But that is because the acid in me would dissolve the lead. Nobody uses lead containers now.
Carrot: I, Bugs Bunny’s favourite, have every reason to be considered the most important. I can prevent night blindness in humans as I am rich in vitamin A. And I make their skins glow.
Potato: Now, now, look who is pompous. It is common knowledge that too much of carrots can make the skin of humans appear yellow. I have my store of Vitamin C and other nutrients too. I should be considered the superhero on this plate.
Onion: Ha, ha, you are a shapeless champion. Those who eat you turn into shapeless couch potatoes too.
Potato: Only if they eat me as fries and chips and not when they boil or roast me. Did you know, in the Andes, they grow 4,000 varieties of potatoes? Purple, yellow, pink, red, blue, orange, pink with yellow spots and yellow with pink spots.
Spinach: Hear, hear. May I ask why you have so many eyes on you? To watch your weight or spy out on what’s going on?
Potato: Silly, those are not my eyes! They are actually my vegetative buds. My new shoots
can grow from them.
Spinach: Well, don’t forget, Popeye the Sailor Man has become legendary because many
children began eating me after watching him. I am rich in iron.
Chilli (getting angry): Will you all stop blowing your own trumpets? You may be rich in various nutrients, but humans can’t do without me. Even the poor can afford to eat me plain with their chapattis.
Cucumber: Keep your cool, everyone. We are all equally important to humans. We are all unique and, in our uniqueness lies variety: the spice of life.
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Quiz time, folks! How many of these questions can you answer?
Here’s an interactive quiz to check if you’re keeping track of the world around you. Try this and see how many questions you get right.
Did you know that volcanoes, the sun, the weather, the oceans, and humans are all powerful forces that make Earth ideal?
Earth is the only planet in the universe brimming with life, thanks to a unique natural balance. From solar energy powering the living world and weather systems transporting fresh water around the globe to powerful ocean currents offering essential nutrients and volcanoes fertilizing the land, these forces work together to create the right balance on Earth. Our planet is a beautiful place but humans seem to forget that we need to care for our Earth because we are inextricably linked to the natural world. It is our responsibility to reduce our carbon footprints, harness the forces of nature for our energy and protect the natural world to ensure survival of all kinds.
Oceans
Life in the oceans depends on the continuous movement of water. Earth does not have five separate oceans; actually it is just one, linked by powerful unceasing currents. Every drop of seawater rides these currents, taking a thousand years to complete a single circuit. And where there are currents, there is life because they are responsible for redistributing water, heat, nutrients, and oxygen around the ocean. These currents also carry living organisms called phytoplankton. There are thousands of different kinds and, together, they produce half of all the oxygen in the atmosphere, more than all our forests and jungles combined. By absorbing carbon, they are our greatest allies in combating climate change. Plankton are the foundation of almost all life in the ocean and, in places where the currents bring nutrients to the surface, they multiply in astonishing numbers turning the ocean green.
Volcanoes
Across the surface of our planet, there are over 1500 active volcanoes that are quite destructive in nature. But without these powerful underground forces, there would be no breathable atmosphere, no oceans, no land and no life forms. Volcanoes are vital for all living things on Earth. Over 80% of the planet’s surface is the result of magma bursting up from the molten interior. The process started four billion years ago and continues even today. When the lava cools, it solidifies into rock and, eventually, weathers into land that can support life. Volcanic emissions have produced the atmosphere and water of the oceans. They make islands and add to the continents. Our planet depends on minerals brought up by volcanoes from the Earth’s molten core. A single ash cloud can carry billions of tonnes of minerals. Consequently, the lands surrounding volcanoes are among the world’s most fertile.
Volcanic islands make up just 5% of the planet’s land but they’re home to nearly 20% of its species, many of which benefit from the volcanic heat coming up from below. The volcanic heat could also provide us with much of the energy we need. If we can tap into this energy source, we can stop burning gas and coal and contributing to climate change.
Sun
The nuclear reactor 93 million miles away is what we call the Sun. Its rays travel through space and reach Earth in just eight minutes powering life throughout the planet. Its daily and yearly rhythms shape the existence of every creature on Earth. Surprisingly, almost every part of the Earth’s surface receives the same quantity of sunlight each year, but at different times. As the Earth makes its annual orbit around the sun, for the first half of the year, the North Pole is angled away, bringing darkness and winter to the northern hemisphere. In the second part of the year, the North Pole swings towards the sun bringing summer. The Earth’s tilt causes the seasons and life has adapted to deal with the most extreme changes in light. Sunlight contributes to the richness of life in various regions on Earth. From the frozen poles to the searing deserts, life forms have come up with strategies to survive the uneven amounts of sunlight that fall on our planet.
Weather
We live in a world with an atmosphere where rain clouds and powerful winds carry their freshwater around the globe. Without this, our perfect planet simply wouldn’t function, as all life on land depends on the weather. We all know that weather can change on a daily, even hourly, basis. But annual weather patterns have been stable for millennia and this reliability makes life possible in different parts of the world. Every second, over 13 million tonnes of water evaporate from our oceans and form clouds. Earth’s spin and the prevailing winds determine where these clouds blow. As a consequence, some places get less rain and others much more. Weather controls the distribution of freshwater on Earth, which in turn shapes the lives of animals in diverse habitats world over. The average temperature of our planet hasn’t varied by more than a single degree Celsius in 10,000 years. This has made our climate stable, allowing animals to fine-tune their behaviour around predictable weather patterns.
How clued on are you to the world of films and its awards? Try this memory game to find out.
The film industry the world over is an important one. Everyone wants to be entertained, right? And, just to ensure that you get your money’s worth and the actors and others involved in bringing motion pictures to you are recognised, awards have been instituted.
These awards have popular unofficial names like the Oscar for The Academy Awards. However, most of the awards are simply identified by the name of the group presenting the award.
Try your hand at this memory game to see how many statuettes you can match to the award.
Miss your classroom? Play this puzzle to reminisce while you challenge yourself.
Find eight differences between these two identical images of a kindergarten classroom.
Cargo, ship, aircraft… how much do you know about various kinds of vehicles?
How much do you know about things that move and the vehicles that are used to commute?
Try your hand at this crossword to find out.
Try your hands at this challenging word puzzle that is sure to test your vocabulary.
These five words with the same set of middle letters — ‘CE’ — are incomplete. Drag and drop the words on the right into the empty boxes corresponding to each set and complete the word.
Example: NI + CE + LY = Nicely
How much do you know about the Motera Stadium aka the Narendra Modi Stadium? Read on…
It is the only cricket stadium in the world to have four dressing rooms for players. To make it easier for commuters, it has been linked with the Ahmedabad metro. It has a built-in clubhouse with 55 rooms, and features indoor and outdoor games, restaurants, an Olympic-size swimming pool, gym, and a 3D projector theatre.
There is so much about the Narendra Modi Stadium – gormerly known as the Sardar Patel Stadium – that is fascinating. Check out the cards below to find out more…
Across the land, sky and oceans, who is the fastest of them all? Click here to guess the animal that wins the wild race.
If all the creatures of the animal kingdom had a race, who do you think will win? Definitely not the Tortoise, unless the Cheetah decides to take a nap or the Golden Eagle takes a long detour, and hundred other species withdraw from the race!
Experts measure speed as we normally would for a car: in kilometres per hour.
When you bring in the alternative unit of body length per second, the list gets a little more confusing. Based on this, the fastest organism on earth would be the Southern Californian mite!
Now, going by the regular calculation of speed, can you arrange these animals below from the fastest to not-as-fast?
