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Easy science trivia questions
What is Jupiter's Great Red Spot?
- AA crater
- BA giant storm
- CA frozen ocean
- DA volcano
Answer: A giant storm
Fun fact: The storm is bigger than Earth and has been raging for at least 150 years.
Which powerful space telescope launched in December 2021?
- AThe Kepler Space Telescope
- BThe Spitzer Space Telescope
- CThe Hubble Space Telescope
- DThe James Webb Space Telescope
Answer: The James Webb Space Telescope
Fun fact: Webb's giant mirror is coated in a thin layer of gold, and it orbits about a million miles from Earth.
What is the most common element in the universe?
- AHydrogen
- BCarbon
- COxygen
- DHelium
Answer: Hydrogen
Fun fact: About three-quarters of all normal matter in the universe is hydrogen.
Why does ice float in water?
- AIt's full of tiny trapped air bubbles
- BCold things always rise to the top
- CSalt in water pushes it upward
- DIt's less dense than liquid water
Answer: It's less dense than liquid water
Fun fact: If ice sank, lakes would freeze from the bottom up and fish couldn't survive winter.
What is the fastest-growing plant in the world?
- AKudzu
- BIvy
- CBamboo
- DSunflower
Answer: Bamboo
Fun fact: Some bamboo species can grow about 3 feet in a single day.
What was the supercontinent that existed about 250 million years ago?
- AAtlantis
- BRodinia
- CGondwana
- DPangaea
Answer: Pangaea
Fun fact: The continents are still moving, about as fast as your fingernails grow.
What mainly causes ocean tides?
- AEarth's magnetic field
- BWind
- CThe Moon's gravity
- DUndersea volcanoes
Answer: The Moon's gravity
Fun fact: The Sun affects tides too. When the Sun and Moon line up, we get extra-strong 'spring tides.'
What is the largest living species of lizard?
- AThe Gila monster
- BThe Komodo dragon
- CThe Nile monitor
- DThe green iguana
Answer: The Komodo dragon
Fun fact: A Komodo dragon can eat up to 80 percent of its body weight in a single meal.
What is the largest organ of the human body?
- AThe brain
- BThe lungs
- CThe skin
- DThe liver
Answer: The skin
Fun fact: You shed tens of thousands of skin cells every minute, and they make up part of household dust.
What is the medical name for the collarbone?
- AThe clavicle
- BThe humerus
- CThe scapula
- DThe sternum
Answer: The clavicle
Fun fact: The clavicle is one of the last bones to finish growing, around age 25.
Which is the only continent with no native reptiles?
- AAsia
- BEurope
- CAntarctica
- DSouth America
Answer: Antarctica
Fun fact: Antarctica has no native snakes, lizards or turtles. It's simply too cold for cold-blooded animals.
What was the megalodon?
- AA giant prehistoric shark
- BA giant crocodile
- CA giant squid
- DA giant prehistoric whale
Answer: A giant prehistoric shark
Fun fact: Megalodon could grow to around 50 feet, roughly three times longer than a great white.
What do you call a scientist who studies fossils?
- AAn archaeologist
- BA geologist
- CA zoologist
- DA paleontologist
Answer: A paleontologist
Fun fact: Archaeologists study human history. Paleontologists study ancient life, including dinosaurs.
Why does cutting an onion make you cry?
- AIts strong smell triggers an allergic reaction
- BIt releases a gas that irritates your eyes
- CIts juice splashes up into your eyes
- DIts skin contains a peppery oil
Answer: It releases a gas that irritates your eyes
Fun fact: Chilling an onion before cutting it slows the reaction and means fewer tears.
Medium science trivia questions
Roughly how long is an elephant's pregnancy?
- AAbout 30 months
- BAbout 14 months
- CAbout 9 months
- DAbout 22 months
Answer: About 22 months
Fun fact: That's the longest pregnancy of any land mammal. Newborn calves weigh around 200 pounds.
About how many Earth days does it take Mercury to orbit the Sun?
- A225
- B687
- C365
- D88
Answer: 88
Fun fact: A year on Mercury is shorter than three Earth months.
Which is the hottest planet in the solar system?
- AJupiter
- BMars
- CMercury
- DVenus
Answer: Venus
Fun fact: Mercury is closer to the Sun, but Venus's thick atmosphere traps heat hot enough to melt lead.
About how long does a red blood cell live?
- AAbout a day
- BAbout 10 years
- CAbout a week
- DAbout 4 months
Answer: About 4 months
Fun fact: Your body makes about 2 million new red blood cells every second.
Which sense is most closely linked to memory?
- ATouch
- BSmell
- CSight
- DHearing
Answer: Smell
Fun fact: Smell signals go almost directly to the brain's memory and emotion centers, which is why a scent can bring back a moment.
What is CRISPR used for?
- ADetecting planets
- BDating fossils
- CMeasuring earthquakes
- DEditing genes
Answer: Editing genes
Fun fact: The two scientists who developed it won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
Which plant produces the world's largest single flower?
- AThe magnolia
- BThe sunflower
- CRafflesia
- DThe lotus
Answer: Rafflesia
Fun fact: Rafflesia smells like rotting meat, which attracts the flies that pollinate it.
Which tree species includes the oldest known living individual trees?
- AThe bristlecone pine
- BThe coast redwood
- CThe baobab
- DThe English oak
Answer: The bristlecone pine
Fun fact: One California bristlecone pine is more than 4,800 years old, older than the Great Pyramid.
What does the Mohs scale measure?
- AMineral hardness
- BAcidity
- CWind speed
- DEarthquake strength
Answer: Mineral hardness
Fun fact: Talc is the softest mineral on the scale, at 1. Diamond is the hardest, at 10.
Which animal has the strongest bite ever measured?
- AThe great white shark
- BThe lion
- CThe saltwater crocodile
- DThe hippopotamus
Answer: The saltwater crocodile
Fun fact: But the muscles that open a crocodile's jaws are weak enough to hold shut with your hands. (Don't try it.)
What is the chemical symbol for potassium?
- APo
- BK
- CP
- DPt
Answer: K
Fun fact: The K comes from its Latin name, kalium.
What is absolute zero, the coldest possible temperature, in degrees Celsius?
- AAbout −273°C
- BAbout −100°C
- CAbout −1,000°C
- DAbout −459°C
Answer: About −273°C
Fun fact: In Fahrenheit, absolute zero is about −459°F.
What were the flying reptiles that lived alongside dinosaurs called?
- ARaptors
- BPlesiosaurs
- CPterosaurs
- DIchthyosaurs
Answer: Pterosaurs
Fun fact: Pterosaurs weren't dinosaurs. The biggest were as tall as a giraffe when standing.
Which of these geologic periods came most recently?
- AThe Triassic
- BThe Cretaceous
- CThe Jurassic
- DThe Permian
Answer: The Cretaceous
Fun fact: T. rex lived in the Cretaceous, so 'Jurassic Park' was a bit off on its dates.
Hard science trivia questions
What color are sunsets on Mars?
- AGreen
- BBlue
- CPurple
- DRed
Answer: Blue
Fun fact: Fine Martian dust scatters light so that blue light gathers around the setting Sun.
'Sphenopalatine ganglioneuralgia' is the medical term for what?
- AA stubbed toe
- BHiccups
- CHair loss
- DBrain freeze
Answer: Brain freeze
Fun fact: Cold food chills the roof of your mouth, and nearby blood vessels rapidly swell.
Roughly how fast can signals travel along your nerves?
- AAbout 50 mph
- BThe speed of light
- CAbout 5 mph
- DOver 250 mph
Answer: Over 250 mph
Fun fact: That's why you pull your hand off a hot stove before you even feel the pain.
Each step up on the earthquake magnitude scale means roughly how much more energy?
- AAbout 2 times
- BAbout 32 times
- CAbout 10 times
- DAbout 100 times
Answer: About 32 times
Fun fact: So a magnitude 7 quake releases about 1,000 times more energy than a magnitude 5.
The deepest hole ever drilled is in which country?
- AThe United States
- BChina
- CRussia
- DGermany
Answer: Russia
Fun fact: The Kola Superdeep Borehole goes down about 7.6 miles, but it's only about 9 inches wide.
Roughly how much of the ocean floor has been mapped in high detail?
- AAbout half
- BAbout 5%
- CAbout a quarter
- DAbout 90%
Answer: About a quarter
Fun fact: We have better maps of the surface of Mars than of our own seafloor.
Which planet has the fastest winds in the solar system?
- AEarth
- BSaturn
- CNeptune
- DJupiter
Answer: Neptune
Fun fact: Neptune's winds can top 1,200 mph, faster than the speed of sound on Earth.
Which element is the most abundant in Earth's crust?
- AIron
- BAluminum
- CSilicon
- DOxygen
Answer: Oxygen
Fun fact: Most of that oxygen is locked up in rocks and minerals, not floating around as gas.
Which lobe of the brain processes vision?
- AThe parietal lobe
- BThe frontal lobe
- CThe occipital lobe
- DThe temporal lobe
Answer: The occipital lobe
Fun fact: It's at the back of the head, which is one reason a hard knock there can make you 'see stars.'
Venus flytraps grow naturally in only one part of the world. Where?
- AThe Amazon rainforest
- BThe Carolinas, USA
- CMadagascar
- DBorneo
Answer: The Carolinas, USA
Fun fact: They only grow wild within about 100 miles of Wilmington, North Carolina.
Which plant produces the world's heaviest seed?
- AThe durian tree
- BThe coconut palm
- CThe avocado tree
- DThe coco de mer palm
Answer: The coco de mer palm
Fun fact: A single coco de mer seed can weigh around 40 pounds.
What is the name of the era during which dinosaurs lived?
- AThe Paleozoic
- BThe Mesozoic
- CThe Precambrian
- DThe Cenozoic
Answer: The Mesozoic
Fun fact: The Mesozoic is often called the 'Age of Reptiles.' We live in the Cenozoic, the 'Age of Mammals.'
