1. Robin, 8½, asks: why can’t penguins fly?

   1. They evolved to swim instead of fly

   2. They’re scared of heights, so fly close to the ground

   3. They do fly – when no one is looking!

   4. They don’t have wings

2. Miles, 6, asks: why don’t buses have seatbelts?

   1. Buses were made before seatbelts were invented

   2. It’s too expensive

   3. Buses are designed to make lots of stops and have standing passengers

   4. All buses do have seatbelts

3. Brendan, 7, asks: why can’t animals learn how to talk?

   1. They’re busy having fun!

   2. Animals communicate in their own ways (mostly), not with human language

   3. A study found that most do talk but only when alone

   4. They can’t talk but they have very neat handwriting

4. Connie, 7, asks: why does the Earth go round?

   1. It’s a combination of the sun’s gravitational pull and the Earth’s momentum

   2. So the Earth can see all the different parts of the universe

   3. The oceans push the sun round and round

   4. The wind in space blows the Earth around

5. Lachlan, 11, asks: can you make every correct answer in this quiz B?

   1. I am ruled by robot overlords, and they say I can’t

   2. I could but doesn’t that ruin the fun?

   3. I could and I have

   4. My mummy says I can’t

Solutions

1:A - It’s believed penguins could fly a long time ago, but their wings evolved to make them expert swimmers and divers – birds of the ocean – rather than flyers. Swimming is more useful as it helps them catch fish. The fastest species can swim at more than 20 miles an hour. , 2:C - Unlike cars and coaches, buses in towns and cities don’t need seatbelts, because they’re safer and many people take short journeys. It would slow the bus down waiting for people to put on and take off seatbelts. Often when a bus is busy, people have to stand., 3:B - Animals can’t talk using human language, but they do communicate in their own ways, with sounds, movements and scents. Though some birds, such as parrots, can mimic human speech., 4:A - The sun, due to its size and mass, has an extremely strong gravitational pull, so the Earth orbits around it. The Earth also keeps up its original rotation from when it was first formed, billions of years ago, so it rotates as it orbits the sun., 5:B - I could, but that might spoil the fun of the quiz as you’d know all the answers!

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.