Everyday Science · Topic 4
The solar system, space firsts and Pakistan's space programme.
Learn first
Learn the planets in order with their records, the first achievements in space, and Pakistan's satellites.
Practise
Try each question, then open the answer. MCQs 201–250 of 267.
201.Ripples in space-time first detected in 2015 are called what?
Answer: A. Gravitational waves
LIGO detected waves from two merging black holes.
202.The Higgs boson was confirmed at which laboratory in 2012?
Answer: C. CERN
It was found with the Large Hadron Collider.
203.Which scientist predicted the Higgs boson in 1964?
Answer: A. Peter Higgs
He shared the Nobel Prize in 2013.
204.Which British physicist wrote "A Brief History of Time"?
Answer: C. Stephen Hawking
It was published in 1988.
205.Hawking radiation is given off by what?
Answer: B. Black holes
Stephen Hawking predicted it in 1974.
206.The world's first artificial satellite to reach the Moon's surface was from which country?
Answer: C. Soviet Union (Luna 2)
Luna 2 crashed onto the Moon in 1959.
207.Which country became the fourth to land softly on the Moon, in 2023?
Answer: D. India
After the USSR, the US and China.
208.Which country became the fifth to land on the Moon, in January 2024?
Answer: C. Japan
Its SLIM lander touched down, though it tipped over.
209.Which private company's lander made the first commercial Moon landing in 2024?
Answer: D. Intuitive Machines
Its Odysseus lander touched down in February 2024.
210.SpaceX's giant reusable rocket being developed for Moon and Mars missions is called what?
Answer: D. Starship
It is the largest rocket ever flown.
211.Which rocket carried the Apollo astronauts to the Moon?
Answer: A. Saturn V
It was more than 110 m tall.
212.Which Russian spacecraft has carried crews to the ISS for decades?
Answer: D. Soyuz
It has been used since the 1960s.
213.India's planned human spaceflight mission is called what?
Answer: A. Gaganyaan
It aims to send Indian astronauts into orbit.
214.India's mission to study the Sun, launched in 2023, is called what?
Answer: A. Aditya-L1
It orbits near the first Lagrange point.
215.NASA's Parker Solar Probe was designed to do what?
Answer: A. Fly closer to the Sun than any spacecraft
It became the closest human-made object to the Sun.
216.Which NASA mission deliberately crashed into an asteroid in 2022 to test planetary defence?
Answer: B. DART
It changed the orbit of the asteroid Dimorphos.
217.Which NASA mission brought back samples from the asteroid Bennu in 2023?
Answer: B. OSIRIS-REx
Japan's Hayabusa2 brought samples from Ryugu.
218.Which country's spacecraft Hayabusa2 returned asteroid samples in 2020?
Answer: C. Japan
The samples came from the asteroid Ryugu.
219.What does "SUPARCO" stand for?
Answer: C. Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission
It is Pakistan's national space agency.
220.Which metal is the key ingredient of most rechargeable phone and car batteries?
Answer: B. Lithium
Lithium-ion batteries are light and powerful.
221.Which country is the world's largest maker of electric vehicles?
Answer: C. China
Chinese companies like BYD lead global EV sales.
222.Which country leads the world in installed solar power capacity?
Answer: D. China
China installs more solar panels than any other country.
223.Which planet has the shortest day (fastest spin)?
Answer: D. Jupiter
Jupiter spins once in about 10 hours.
224.Which planet has the longest year?
Answer: C. Neptune
It takes about 165 Earth years to orbit the Sun.
225.Which planet has a year of only about 88 Earth days?
Answer: B. Mercury
It is the closest planet to the Sun.
226.A day on Mars (a "sol") is about how long?
Answer: A. About 24 hours 40 minutes
It is very close to an Earth day.
227.Which planet has the strongest winds in the solar system?
Answer: B. Neptune
Winds there can exceed 2,000 km/h.
228.Which planet is the least dense, so it would float in water?
Answer: A. Saturn
Its average density is less than water's.
229.Uranus and Neptune are often called what?
Answer: A. Ice giants
They contain much water, ammonia and methane ice.
230.Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars are called what?
Answer: D. Terrestrial (rocky) planets
They have solid surfaces.
231.Which planet was discovered by William Herschel in 1781?
Answer: D. Uranus
It was the first planet found with a telescope.
232.Which planet was found in 1846 using mathematical predictions?
Answer: D. Neptune
Its position was predicted from Uranus's orbit.
233.Pluto was discovered in which year?
Answer: D. 1930
Clyde Tombaugh discovered it.
234.Which comet was visible to the naked eye from Pakistan in 1997?
Answer: A. Hale-Bopp
It was one of the brightest comets of the century.
235.Which comet crashed into Jupiter in 1994?
Answer: C. Shoemaker-Levy 9
It was the first comet collision seen by humans.
236.The tail of a comet always points in which direction?
Answer: B. Away from the Sun
The solar wind pushes the tail away.
237.The impact of a large asteroid about 66 million years ago is linked to what?
Answer: D. The extinction of the dinosaurs
The Chicxulub crater lies in Mexico.
238.The Moon is thought to have formed from what?
Answer: D. Debris from a collision between Earth and a large body
This is called the giant-impact hypothesis.
239.How many people have walked on the Moon?
Answer: D. Twelve
All were American astronauts between 1969 and 1972.
240.The last crewed Moon landing was which mission?
Answer: A. Apollo 17
It landed in December 1972.
241.Which Apollo mission had an explosion but returned its crew safely?
Answer: B. Apollo 13
"Houston, we've had a problem."
242.Who was the first American in orbit around the Earth?
Answer: D. John Glenn
He orbited Earth in 1962.
243.Who was the first American in space?
Answer: B. Alan Shepard
He made a short flight in 1961.
244.Who was the first Indian in space?
Answer: B. Rakesh Sharma
He flew on a Soviet mission in 1984.
245.Which Chinese astronaut was the first Chinese person in space?
Answer: D. Yang Liwei
He flew on Shenzhou 5 in 2003.
246.Which country was the third to send humans into space on its own rockets?
Answer: D. China
After the Soviet Union and the United States.
247.The International Space Station's main modules were provided mainly by which two countries?
Answer: C. The United States and Russia
Europe, Japan and Canada also contributed.
248.The robotic arm on the ISS, Canadarm2, was built by which country?
Answer: B. Canada
Canada's earlier Canadarm flew on the Space Shuttle.
249.How many Space Shuttles flew into space?
Answer: A. Five
Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour.
250.The Space Shuttle programme ended in which year?
Answer: D. 2011
Atlantis made the final flight.
Test yourself
Each quiz has 50 MCQs from this topic and 50 minutes. A correct answer earns 1 mark and each wrong answer takes off 0.25; skipped questions score nothing. No password needed.
