12-07-2025
Quiz: How much do you know about heat?
THE COUNTRY IS delighting in – or perhaps suffering through – a brief spell of actual summer.
Temperatures have soared well above average. But what exactly are you feeling?
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What is the sensation on your skin? In your body? Let's find out.
What is heat?
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A state of matter.
Thermal energy that is transferred from one body to another as the result of a difference in temperature.
The quality of being warm.
The opposite of cold.
What is the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth?
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56.7 °C
51.7 °C
59.7 °C
62.7 °C
Who does Al Pacino play in Heat?
Alamy
Chris Shiherlis
Sergeant Bobby Drucker
Neil McCauley
The heat
What wet-bulb temperature is often cited as the upper limit for human survival, even with unlimited shade and water?
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50°C
45°C
40°C
35°C
How long is a dog usually in heat for?
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One calendar year
A few hours
Two or three weeks
Depends on how long they're in the sun for
According to IPCC projections, global temperatures are expected to rise to roughly what level above pre‑industrial records by 2025?
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0.1 °C
0.7°C
1.0°C
1.5 °C
What is the plant, commonly found on heaths?
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Common gorse
Bell heather
Common heather
Heath daffodils
Water always boils at exactly 100°C.
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True
False
When was heat first detected?
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In 1845 by James Prescott Joule, who proved that heat is a form of energy
1714 by Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, when he invented the mercury thermometer
400 BCE by Aristotle
600 million years ago when the first simple creatures with nervous systems emerged
3.5 to 4 billion years ago by bacteria in the primordial soup
Which of the following is hotter than the surface of the sun?
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The boiling point of uranium ore
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Lightning
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Lava
An apple turnover microwaved for eight minutes
Answer all the questions to see your result!
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You scored
out of
!
You are Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods and gave it to man
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You scored
out of
!
You are James Prescott Joule, who first defined heat as energy
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You scored
out of
!
You are a small volcano
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You scored
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!
You are a packed Luas on a warm day
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You scored
out of
!
You are Mullingar, on average the coldest town in Ireland
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