Last ice age quiz: How much do you know about Earth's frosty past?

A rendering of a woolly mammoth walking through a snowy landscape — Woolly mammoths (*Mammuthus primigenius*) are emblematic creatures from the last ice age. (Image credit: LEONELLO CALVETTI/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY via Getty Images)

Throughout much of Earth's history, the climate has switched between periods of extreme heat and freezing cold.

Cold, glacial periods are characterized by large ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere, while interglacials are periods when those ice sheets retreat or disappear completely, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Glacial and interglacial periods are thought to alternate depending on changes in Earth's axial tilt and orbit around the sun.

More science quizzes

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—Conspiracy theory quiz: Test your knowledge of unfounded beliefs, from flat Earth to lizard people

Sascha is a U.K.-based staff writer at Live Science. She holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Southampton in England and a master’s degree in science communication from Imperial College London. Her work has appeared in The Guardian and the health website Zoe. Besides writing, she enjoys playing tennis, bread-making and browsing second-hand shops for hidden gems.

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