Quiz

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From apple cores to wool socks, you might be surprised.

De caroços de maçã e meias de lã, você talvez fique surpreso.

Tudo se decompõe algum dia. Mas nosso lixo, se não for descartado cuidadosamente, pode durar centenas de anos mais que nós.

As repostas para as perguntas a seguir são baseadas em quanto tempo o lixo leva para se decompor na natureza. Tenha em mente que esses números são aproximados para levar em conta 

Você sabe quanto tempo o lixo leva para se decompor?

Do You Actually Know How Long It Takes Your Trash To Decompose?

Everything decomposes eventually. But our trash, if not disposed of carefully, could outlive us by hundreds of years.

Answers for the following questions are based on how long it takes garbage to decompose in the wild. Keep in mind that these numbers are approximate to account for varying climates and environments.

It takes diapers [450 years](https://www.nps.gov/teachers/classrooms/things_stick_around.htm) to decompose.

How many years does it take for a disposable diaper to decompose?

It takes paper bags [two months](https://www.kabc.wa.gov.au/library/file/Fact%20sheets/How%20long%20Fact%20sheet%20KAB.pdf) to decompose.

What about a paper bag?

It takes tampons [six months](https://www.doc.govt.nz/Documents/science-and-technical/sfc035.pdf) to decompose.

Tampons! How long do they take to decompose?

It takes wool socks [1-5 years](https://www.nps.gov/teachers/classrooms/things_stick_around.htm) to decompose.

Take a guess at how long it takes wool stocks to break down out in the wild.

It takes milk cartons [three months](https://www.nps.gov/teachers/classrooms/things_stick_around.htm) to decompose.

What about wax milk cartons?

It takes juice boxes [300-400 years](http://www.warrencountyschools.org/userfiles/2605/The%20Juice%20Box%20Debate.pdf) to decompose.

Juice boxes! They seem innocuous, but how long do you think they take to decompose?

It takes leather [50 years](https://www.nps.gov/teachers/classrooms/things_stick_around.htm) to decompose.

What about leather wallets?

It takes cotton t-shirts [six months](https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1543-measuring-biodegradability) to decompose.

Do you have any guesses for cotton t-shirts?

It takes cigarette butts [5-12 years](https://www.nps.gov/teachers/classrooms/things_stick_around.htm) to decompose.

What about cigarette butts?

It takes coffee cups [30 years](https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/oct/05/uks-billions-of-takeaway-cups-could-each-take-30-years-to-break-down) to decompose.

If you were to toss a to-go coffee cups out in the forest, how long would it stick around for?

It takes batteries [100 years](http://storage.neic.org/event/docs/1129/how_long_does_it_take_garbage_to_decompose.pdf) to decompose.

How long do you think it takes batteries to decompose?

It takes fishing line [600 years](https://www.nps.gov/teachers/classrooms/things_stick_around.htm) to decompose.

Fishing line! How long does that stick around?

It takes newspaper [six weeks](https://www.nps.gov/teachers/classrooms/things_stick_around.htm) to decompose.

Do you have a guess for newspaper?

It takes  an apple core [two months](https://www.nps.gov/teachers/classrooms/things_stick_around.htm) to decompose.

And finally, how long does it take for an apple core to decompose?

It takes paper towels [2-4 weeks](https://www.nps.gov/teachers/classrooms/things_stick_around.htm) to decompose.

How many weeks does it take for a paper towel to decompose?

You might want to take another stab at this quiz. Second time's a charm, right?

Oof. Better luck next time.

So you didn't _ace_ this per se, but you still held your own. Good job!

You did pretty well for a quiz this difficult!

Did you major in earth science? Either that, or you're a ridiculously good guesser. Great job!

You aced this quiz!

Science

ALERTA de ironia para este quiz sobre o tempo de decomposição do lixo.

Este teste é a prova de que não precisamos nos preocupar com nosso lixo

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Do You Actually Know How Long It Takes Your Trash To Decompose?

Everything decomposes eventually. But our trash, if not disposed of carefully, could outlive us by hundreds of years.

Answers for the following questions are based on how long it takes garbage to decompose in the wild. Keep in mind that these numbers are approximate to account for varying climates and environments.

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