General Knowledge · Class 9 · Geography and India
Wonders and great buildings
People often say you can see the Great Wall of China from the Moon. Can you?
Small test at the end: scroll down to the end of this page for five short questions that check what you have learnt. Tap an answer, then press Check answer. Go to the questions ↓
Jump to: Read first · Try it away from the screen · Check it yourself · Check yourself · For teachers
Read first
6 facts. The questions below make you use them, not just remember them.
- The Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt is about 4,500 years old. For about 3,800 years it was the tallest building made by people.
- The Great Wall of China is many walls built over 2,000 years, more than 20,000 km in all. It is only a few metres wide, so it cannot be seen from the Moon with your eyes.
- The Brihadisvara temple in Thanjavur was built of granite by the Chola king Rajaraja I and finished around 1010 CE.
- The Sun Temple at Konark in Odisha is shaped like a giant chariot with 24 carved stone wheels. The shadows on the wheels can be used to tell the time.
- The Taj Mahal was built by Shah Jahan in memory of Mumtaz Mahal. It took about 20 years and thousands of workers.
- The Statue of Unity in Gujarat, of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, is 182 m tall, the tallest statue in the world.
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Try it away from the screen
Build the tallest tower you can from 20 sheets of paper and some tape. Which shapes stand the tallest? Look at how wide the bottom of the Great Pyramid is compared with its top.
Make it on paper. Keep it with you. Nothing to upload.
Check it yourself
"You can see it from space" and other wonder myths spread easily. Check what astronauts themselves have said, on a space agency's website.
Check yourself
Five questions about what this page teaches. Choose an answer and press Check answer, or open "See the answer and why". Nothing is saved or sent: your choices stay on this screen and disappear when you leave or reload the page.
How do you want to answer? You choose, and you can change at any time.
See the answer and why
- A. It is only a few metres wide and the Moon is about 384,000 km away Correct. Yes. It is like seeing a hair from kilometres away.
- B. The Moon always faces away from China Not this one. The Moon faces Earth, and Earth turns. China is visible from it in turn.
- C. It was knocked down long ago Not this one. Long sections still stand.
- D. It is hidden by clouds all the time Not this one. Clouds come and go. It is too narrow to see, even on a clear day.
See the answer and why
- A. 89 m Correct. Yes. 182 − 93 = 89 m.
- B. 99 m Not this one. Check: 93 + 99 is 192.
- C. 2 m Not this one. That divides instead of taking away.
- D. 275 m Not this one. That adds the two heights instead of comparing them.
See the answer and why
- A. There are 365 of them, one for each day of the year Not this one. There are 24 wheels, often linked to the hours of the day.
- B. Their shadows can be read like a clock Correct. Yes. The spokes work like a sundial.
- C. They were made to roll so the temple could move Not this one. The wheels are carved into the temple. They do not turn.
- D. They are made of gold Not this one. They are carved from stone.
See the answer and why
- A. Krishnadevaraya Not this one. Krishnadevaraya ruled Vijayanagara in the 1500s.
- B. Shah Jahan, who built the Taj Not this one. Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal in the 1600s.
- C. Rajaraja I Correct. Yes. It was finished around 1010 CE.
- D. Ashoka Not this one. Ashoka was a Mauryan emperor, more than 1,200 years earlier.
See the answer and why
- A. The Taj Mahal Not this one. It is less than 400 years old.
- B. The Brihadisvara temple, built of granite in Thanjavur Not this one. It is about 1,000 years old.
- C. The Konark Sun Temple Not this one. It was built in the 1200s.
- D. The Great Pyramid of Giza Correct. Yes. It is about 4,500 years old.
For teachers and grown-upsWhere the facts come from, and how to use this round.
Sources and notes
- Great Wall total length (all walls): about 21,196 km, China's 2012 survey. Statue of Liberty: 93 m from ground to torch tip, 46 m statue alone.
- Brihadisvara is part of the UNESCO site "Great Living Chola Temples". Konark: 13th century, UNESCO site.
- Safety: paper towers only; no climbing.