Beyond the answers - interesting background to this quiz

A capital that is not the biggest city

Abu Dhabi is the capital of the United Arab Emirates, yet Dubai is the country's largest city and its best-known skyline. The UAE is a federation of seven emirates, each with its own ruler, and the capital sits on an island in the Persian Gulf. This split between political capital and commercial giant is far from unusual: in Turkey, Ankara governs while Istanbul dominates; in Australia, Canberra does the job that Sydney and Melbourne might have expected.

The Rhine and the countries it touches

The Rhine rises in the Swiss Alps and then travels through or along the borders of several countries before reaching the North Sea. Switzerland is one of them, which is why it appears among the options here. For centuries the river has been one of Europe's busiest waterways, carrying freight past castles, vineyards and industrial cities. Its role in trade and transport has made it a natural subject for geography questions.

Element names that honour people

Seaborgium, symbol Sg, is one of several chemical elements named after a person - in this case the American nuclear chemist Glenn T. Seaborg. Technetium, symbol Tc, has a different distinction: it was the first element to be produced artificially rather than found in nature. Both sit in the middle of the periodic table, where symbols often bear little resemblance to the English names of the elements.

The pronghorn's quiet record

The pronghorn is often called the fastest land animal in North America, capable of sustained speeds that leave most predators behind. It is not an antelope, despite the nickname "American antelope", but the only surviving member of its family. Its speed is thought to be a legacy of now-extinct predators that once hunted it on the open plains.