1. Truvia is the name of an artificial sweetener. On June 5, scientists announced that the main ingredient of Truvia is a substance called erythritol, which they have found to be a natural, non-toxic _____ - especially effective against fruitflies. Fill in the blank.
2. On June 5, German scientists said they had found evidence that Earth had collided with a giant body named Theia 4.5 billion years ago. As a result, a large chunk of rock tore off and formed the ____. Fill in the blank.
3. Around the weekend of June 7-8, a giant asteroid the size of a football field is expected to hurtle past Earth at a distance of 1.1 million km and 14 km/s. The official name given this asteroid is 2014 HQ124. What is its nickname?
4. According to a new study whose results were announced on June 4, why do koalas, the Australian marsupials, hug trees?
5. Name the 2.5-km high volcano that erupted in the American state of Alaska on May 31 and June 2.
6. Sifting through data accumulated by the Kepler space telescope while it was operational, astronomers announced the discovery of a new planet called Kepler 10c on June 3. How big is 10c?
7. Before it can land astronauts on Mars, NASA tested a new astronaut-landing system consisting of a giant saucer-shaped parachute. Name the Hawaiian island it tested the parachute on June 2.
8. In Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet, name the MP in charge of the Department of Science and Department of Space.
9. A survey that concluded in the week of June 2 says 40 per cent of all Americans believe that God created Earth 10,000 years ago. How old does scientific evidence say Earth is?
10. June 5 was the 131st birth anniversary of John Maynard Keynes. He was a British ______ considered to be the greatest in his time and the 20th century's most influential. Fill in the blank with the name of his profession.
Answers
1. Insecticide
2. Your turn to answer!
3. The Beast
4. The tree trunks are cool, and koalas hug them to keep themselves cool, too.
5. Your turn to answer!
6. 17 times as big as Earth, making it one of the largest rocky planets known to us
7. Kauai
8. Your turn to answer!
9. 4.54 billion years
10. Economist
Last week's answers:
* Fabien Cousteau is trying to break his grandfather Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s record of 30 days underwater.
* The CEO of American private space company SpaceX is Elon Musk.
* SETI stands for Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence.
