The city of Riga is situated at 56 degrees N, and its sister city Kobe, Japan is situated at 34 degrees N, on a different circle of latitude. Which city is situated closer to the Equator? Hint: Circles of latitude are often called parallels because they are parallel to each other; that is, any two circles are always the same distance apart. A location's position along a circle of latitude is given by its longitude. Circles of latitude are unlike circles of longitude, which are all great circles with the centre of Earth in the middle, as the circles of latitude get smaller as the distance from the Equator increases. Their length can be calculated by a common sine or cosine function. The 60th parallel north or south is half as long as the Equator (disregarding Earth's minor flattening by 0.3%). A circle of latitude is perpendicular to all meridians.
Ans: Kobe

Two colleagues studied at the same university. Nick studied the brains of birds, while Joe studied the brains of mammals. Which colleague studied more about the mental abilities of an animal? Hint: The brains of all mammals have a unique layer of nerve cells covering the cerebrum. This layer is called the neocortex (the pink region of the brains in Figure above ). The neocortex plays an important role in many complex brain functions. In some mammals, such as rats, the neocortex is relatively smooth. In other mammals, especially humans, the neocortex has many folds. The folds increase the surface area of the neocortex. The larger this area is, the greater the mental abilities of an animal.
Ans: Joe

John is studying a species in two similar countries, country A and country B. Country A has large population, but country B has small population of that species. John is pondering about how this species would fare in the future in these two countries. Would country B see higher or lower growth rate of the species than country A? Hint: In nature, when the population size is small, there is usually plenty of food and other resources for each individual. When there is plenty of food and other resources, organisms can easily reproduce, so the birth rate is high. As the population increases, the food supply, or the supply of another necessary resource, may decrease. When necessary resources, such as food, decrease, some individuals will die. Overall, the population cannot reproduce at the same rate, so the birth rates drop. This will cause the population growth rate to decrease.
Ans: higher

Two students studied the atmosphere of Earth and other planets from our solar system. Zack learned about Earth's atmosphere, while Ken learned about the atmospheric conditions on planet Venus. Which student learned more about water vapor clouds? Hint: Clouds on Earth are made of water vapor. Venus's clouds are a lot less pleasant. They are made of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and large amounts of corrosive sulfuric acid! The atmosphere of Venus is so thick that the pressure on the surface of Venus is very high. In fact, it is 90 times greater than the pressure at Earth's surface! The thick atmosphere causes a strong greenhouse effect. As a result, Venus is the hottest planet. Even though it is farther from the Sun, Venus is much hotter even than Mercury. Temperatures at the surface reach 465C (860F). That's hot enough to melt lead!
Ans: Zack