Which planet takes longer to rotate once relative to the stars than to orbit the Sun?
D.Venus
Venus’s sidereal rotation takes about 243 Earth days, versus about 225 for its orbit. Its solar day is different.
The hard round
Twelve tough questions on space, the ancient world and the Civil War.
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Round 1Rotation, discovery and spaceflight
Irregularities in which planet’s orbit helped astronomers predict Neptune’s position?
D.Uranus
Astronomers used deviations in Uranus’s motion to calculate where another planet might be exerting gravity.
Which planet has the lowest average density, less than that of liquid water?
A.Saturn
Saturn’s low average density reflects its gaseous composition; the familiar floating comparison is hypothetical.
Round 2Spaceflight and observation
Which space shuttle carried the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit in 1990?
C.Discovery
Discovery deployed Hubble in 1990. Hubble is a NASA–ESA project, not exclusively one agency’s undertaking.
Who was the first person to walk in space?
A.Alexei Leonov (USSR)
Leonov made the first spacewalk in 1965; Gagarin had earlier become the first human in space.
Which spacecraft made close flybys of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune?
C.Voyager 2
Voyager 2 visited all four giant planets; Voyager 1 visited Jupiter and Saturn, not Uranus or Neptune.
Round 3Ancient-world detail
In which year did Qin Shi Huang unify China as emperor?
B.221 BCE
Unification in 221 BCE established the Qin imperial state; the Han dynasty followed later.
Which Roman road is traditionally associated with Appius Claudius Caecus?
C.Via Appia
The Via Appia takes its name from Appius and connected Rome with southern Italy.
Who led the Carthaginian forces during the Second Punic War?
C.Hannibal
Hannibal fought Rome during the Second Punic War; Scipio was a Roman opponent.
Round 4Historical distinctions
Which Union general commanded at Gettysburg?
D.George Meade
Meade took command shortly before Gettysburg; Hooker had commanded the army earlier in 1863.
Which Union general was given command of all Union armies in March 1864?
A.Ulysses S. Grant
Grant became general-in-chief in March 1864, coordinating Union campaigns across several theaters.
The Emancipation Proclamation applied principally to enslaved people in which areas?
A.Areas in rebellion against the United States
The proclamation did not abolish slavery everywhere immediately; national abolition required the Thirteenth Amendment.
Play the full rounds
- Ancient CivilizationsWriting, cities, empires and engineering from the ancient world.
- Civil War TriviaBattles, leaders, emancipation and the road to Appomattox.
- Planets TriviaMoons, rings, atmospheres and the eight planets of our solar system.
- Space & AstronomyStars, galaxies, black holes and the story of spaceflight.