Mystery Objects
I have a magnetic needle and help travellers find north. What am I?
A compass. Its magnetic needle indicates direction.
Name the Uzbek city known for the Registan and Ulugh Beg's observatory.
Samarkand.
Which is a primary source for a soldier's experience: their wartime diary or a modern film?
The wartime diary: it was created by someone who experienced the events.
Which came first: the First World War began in 1914, or Apollo 11 landed in 1969?
The First World War began first, in 1914.
A message shifts each letter ONE step forward: A becomes B. Decode DBU.
CAT. Move each letter one step backward.
An ancient writer pressed wedge-shaped marks into clay. Name this writing system.
Cuneiform. Accept wedge-shaped writing.
I offered travelling merchants, their animals and goods a place to rest along trade routes. What am I?
A caravanserai: a roadside inn for travellers and caravans.
A historical photo shows a large crowd. Does the photo alone prove every person supported the leader? Explain.
No. Presence does not prove support; people may have attended for different reasons.
Which is earlier: 300 BCE or 200 BCE? Explain the direction.
300 BCE. BCE dates count down as time approaches CE.
A caravan has food for 12 people for 6 days. With the same daily ration, how long will it feed 8 people?
9 days: 12 × 6 = 72 person-days; 72 ÷ 8 = 9.
This stone repeats a decree in hieroglyphs, Demotic and Greek. Name it.
The Rosetta Stone. Comparing the versions helped scholars decipher hieroglyphs.
Besides goods, name TWO things that travelled along the Silk Roads.
Any two: ideas, religions, scientific knowledge, technologies, artistic styles or languages.
Myth or fact: people can see the Great Wall of China from the Moon with the naked eye.
Myth. NASA explains that the wall is not visible from the Moon with the naked eye.
Put these in order: Apollo 11 (1969), start of World War II (1939), start of World War I (1914).
World War I → World War II → Apollo 11.
Nine coins look alike. ONE is heavier. With a balance scale, what is the fewest weighings guaranteed to find it?
2. Weigh 3 against 3; then weigh 1 against 1 from the heavier group, or the unweighed group if balanced.
One clock uses a shadow; another measures flowing water. Which can work at night, and why?
The water clock. It measures water flow and does not need sunlight.
Ulugh Beg built an observatory in Samarkand. Which science studies the stars and planets?
Astronomy.
A king's official account praises every decision he made. Give ONE reason historians still study it.
It reveals what the king wanted people to believe, his claims, values or propaganda. Bias limits a source; it does not make it useless.
In the usual BCE/CE calendar there is no year zero. How many years pass from the start of 1 BCE to the start of 1 CE?
1 year. The year immediately after 1 BCE is 1 CE.
Three chests: A says "Gold is NOT in A." B says "Gold is in B." C says "Gold is NOT in B." Exactly ONE is true. Where is the gold?
Chest A. If gold is in A, only C is true. If in B or C, two statements are true.
A supposed ancient Roman coin carries the modern English inscription "44 BC". Explain ONE reason to question it.
The modern English inscription and BC dating convention do not belong on an original coin minted in ancient Rome. It may be a replica or forgery.
Trade route A costs 12 coins daily for 6 days. Route B costs 9 coins daily for 9 days. Which costs less, and by how much?
Route A: 72 coins versus 81 coins. It saves 9 coins.
Ten websites repeat the same claim from ONE anonymous post. Is this ten independent sources? What should you seek next?
No: they repeat one source. Seek independent evidence and trace the claim to an identifiable original source. Both points required.
Use these approximate dates: Great Pyramid 2600 BCE; Cleopatra's death 30 BCE; Moon landing 1969 CE. Which event is closer to Cleopatra?
The Moon landing: about 2,000 years later, versus about 2,570 years after the pyramid was built.
A messenger must cross a bridge at night with a lamp. Four people take 1, 2, 7 and 10 minutes. At most 2 cross; the slower sets the time. Find a 17-minute plan.
1+2 cross (2); 1 returns (1); 7+10 cross (10); 2 returns (2); 1+2 cross (2). Total 17. The lamp travels on every crossing.