Weekly Quiz - 1

A quiz consisting of around 15 to 20 questions will be posted every week. Answers with the next week's quiz. Readers can post their answers to these questions (and also suggest their own questions). So keep guessing until then!

1. When a huge star explodes after reaching the end of its life, it is a spectacular sight. Such an explosion can sometimes emit as much energy as the sun emits in its whole lifetime. What is the term used for this kind of stellar explosion?

2. Jackie Chan is probably one of the most famous martial arts heroes in filmdom. The Taiwanese actor's 100th movie was released in late September this year. What was the movie's name?

3. Which is the only non-metal to be found in liquid form at room temperature?

4. Many countries set their clocks forward by an hour in late winter. This is supposed to help them use the extra daylight hours available in summer. What is this practice called?

5. Solid, liquid and gas are the three most common states of matter. But there exist two other states which are not so well known. One is plasma - What is the other?

6. Which word has most definitions in the English language?

7. We use the QWERTY keyboard to tap away our thoughts. But another variant of the keyboard is supposed to be simpler and easier to use. What is its name?

8. Who is the only cricketer to be given out on a Shoulder Before Wicket decision?

9. Everyone knows that cheetah is the fastest land animal on earth. Which is the fastest land animal in our country India?

10. A jiffy is one hundredth of a second. Yet it isn't the smallest unit of time. Which is?

11. A leap of leopards, an unkindness of ravens, a mob of kangaroos.....These are admittedly some strange collective nouns. But which creature has a democratic assembly as its collective noun?

12. Which common tuber has poisonous leaves and fruits even though it is a staple food source itself?

13. You think you know yourself? Which is the largest organ in your body?

14. Which respected Indian musician faced heavy criticism for his invention of new ragas?

15. If you have read Rudyard Kipling's Kim, you would have probably come across the weapon "The great Zamzammah" in Lahore. What kind of weapon is it?