A handy list of pub quiz questions based around the theme: maths, nature and the solar system. Answers are below.

Questions:

1. What has more calories…
   1. A glass of red wine OR a pint of beer
   2. A banana OR an apple
   3. 1 stick of celery OR 1 grape
   4. 4 peaches OR 1 egg
   5. A McFlurry OR a single rum and coke
2. How long does it take light from the sun to reach the earth?
3. If the diameter of the moon is approximately 1/4 of the diameter of Earth, how many moons can fit inside the earth?
4. How far from Earth is the closest star AFTER our sun?
5. Are there more atoms in a grain of sand, or grains of sand on the earth?
6. In Newton’s Second Law of Motion, F = which two letters? What do those letters stand for?
7. What is the significance of the number 1.618, and which famous mathematical sequence points towards it?
8. Name 3 of the 7 main stages of stellar evolution.
9. What are the hottest and coldest planets (surface temperature) in the Solar System?
10. How long ago is the Big Bang thought to have occurred, and approximately how old is Earth?

Answers:

1. There are more calories in:
   1. A pint of beer
   2. A banana
   3. A stick of celery
   4. 4 peaches (just)
   5. A McFlurry
2. 8 minutes
3. 64
4. 4.22 lightyears
5. Atoms in a grain of sand
6. F = ma; m and a stand for mass and acceleration
7. It is the golden ratio; Fibonacci sequence
8. Any 3 of: (feel free to accept approximations of these)
   1. Giant gas cloud
   2. Protostar
   3. T-tauri phase
   4. Main sequence star (or hydrostatic equilibrium)
   5. Red giant
   6. Fusion of heavier elements
   7. Supernova, planetary nebula or black hole
9. Venus; Neptune/Pluto
10. 13.772 billion years; 4.543 billion years (I give the point for +/- 10%)