This is the third in our series of quizzes to celebrate FCC’s 150th anniversary. This quiz looks at some of the flora and fauna at FCC. Here are the correct answers for the February 150 Quiz:
1. Azadirachta indica is the botanical name for which species of tree growing in FCC?
Answer: Neem
2. The Natural History Museum at FCC contains a specimen of a tuatara (Sphenodon punctatum), a reptile sometimes called the three-eyed lizard. Now an endangered species, approximately how long ago did it evolve?
Answer: 200 million years
3. The elephant whose skeleton is now in the Natural History Museum was named Benazir for its remarkable qualities. The dead animal was bought in 1958 and buried in the Botanic Gardens before being exhumed and reassembled. How long was it buried?
Answer: 1 year
4. The FCC elephant is of the subspecies Elephas maximus indicus. How many pairs of ribs does it have (or should it have, given that one of its floating ribs is missing?
Answer(s): 18 pairs if based on Benazir; 19 pairs if based on the subspecies. Both answers are considered correct.
5.The jaman tree is widely grown on the FCC campus. The fruit, seed and leaves of this tree are used to treat a number of diseases in traditional medicine. Which disease is it NOT used to treat?
Answer: Leprosy
6. Topiary is the practice of clipping the foliage of trees or shrubs to create a clearly defined shape. From which shrub on the entrance road from Zahoor Elahi Gate is the topiary with the letters F, C and C created?
Answer: Orange jessamin (Murrayan exotica)
7. The banyan tree in D Ground is one of the largest and oldest trees on campus. Where does the root (no pun intended) of the word “banyan” come from?
Answer: Banya, or merchant, who sat under these trees
8. The long-tailed shrike (one of the many birds sighted at FCC) is known for its hunting instincts and for impaling its prey on thorns. For this reason it is also called by which other name?
Answer: Butcher bird
9. The Botanic Gardens is just one of the facilities available to FCC students for hands-on learning. Which of the following are ALL included in the area.
Answer: Palm, fern, waterlilly
10. Scientists in FCC’s Department of Biological Sciences have developed a transgenic cereal with increased iron and zinc bioavailability. Which cereal is it?
Answer: Wheat
