Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

The lake that feeds two countries

Lake Victoria is shared by Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya, and it ranks as Africa's largest lake by surface area. The White Nile flows out of it at Jinja in Uganda, beginning a journey that eventually meets the Blue Nile at Khartoum in Sudan. Despite its size, Lake Victoria is surprisingly shallow compared to lakes like Tanganyika and Baikal.

A household chemical with a double life

Hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) is familiar as a mild antiseptic in the medicine cabinet, but in higher concentrations it becomes a powerful oxidiser used in rocket propulsion and industrial bleaching. Its structure is simple: two hydrogen atoms and two oxygen atoms, one more oxygen than water. That extra oxygen atom is what makes it reactive, and it breaks down into water and oxygen over time.

Rome's famous staircase and its French connection

The Spanish Steps in Rome were built in the 1720s to link the Piazza di Spagna with the church of Trinita dei Monti above. Despite the name, they were funded by a French diplomat and designed by an Italian architect. The name comes from the Spanish embassy that once stood nearby, and the steps remain one of the city's most photographed spots.

The equator's path through Africa

The Equator crosses several African countries, including Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Gabon. Somalia's location on the Horn of Africa means the line passes through its southern region. Many travellers visit Equator markers in these countries to stand in both hemispheres at once.

The Yangtze and China's longest waterway

The Yangtze runs roughly 6,300 kilometres from the Tibetan Plateau to the East China Sea, making it Asia's longest river and the third-longest in the world. It drains a basin that is home to hundreds of millions of people and supports major cities such as Chongqing, Wuhan and Shanghai. The Three Gorges Dam, built on its middle reaches, is the world's largest power station by installed capacity.