Numbers and counting
This first round is all about numbers: counting, odd and even, place value and a few times tables. The early questions suit kids who are just learning to count past 100, while the last two will make an older child stop and think. Keep some paper and a pencil handy so kids can jot down numbers as they work things out.
Q1.What is the biggest number you can write with just one digit?Tap to reveal
Answer: 9
After 9 we run out of single digits, so ten has to be written with two digits, a 1 and a 0.
Q2.Is the number 7 odd or even?Tap to reveal
Answer: Odd
You can spot an even number by its last digit, which is always 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8.
Q3.What number means none at all?Tap to reveal
Answer: Zero
Adding zero to any number leaves that number exactly the same.
Q4.How many things are in a dozen?Tap to reveal
Answer: 12
A baker's dozen is 13, one more than a regular dozen.
Q5.What number does the Roman numeral X stand for?Tap to reveal
Answer: 10
Roman numerals use just seven letters, I, V, X, L, C, D and M, and there is no Roman numeral for zero.
Q6.What do we call a number, like 7, that can only be divided evenly by 1 and by itself?Tap to reveal
Answer: A prime number
Two is the only even prime number, because every other even number can be divided by 2.
Q7.Which number is bigger, 17 or 71?Tap to reveal
Answer: 71
In 71 the 7 means seven tens, but in 17 the 7 means just seven ones.
Q8.Using the digits 3, 8 and 1 once each, what is the biggest number you can make?Tap to reveal
Answer: 831
To build the biggest number, put the largest digit in the hundreds place first.
Q9.What is the only even number that is also a prime number?Tap to reveal
Answer: 2
A prime number can be shared out evenly only by 1 and by itself, and every other even number can also be shared by 2.
Q10.What is 12 times 12?Tap to reveal
Answer: 144
An old word for 144 things is a gross, which means a dozen dozens.
Shapes and geometry
Shapes are everywhere, from pizza slices to soup cans, which makes this round great for spotting math in the real world. It starts with flat shapes like triangles and circles, moves on to solid 3D shapes, and ends with two questions about the edges and angles of shapes. Try pointing at objects around the room to give younger kids a clue.
Q1.How many sides does a triangle have?Tap to reveal
Answer: 3
Tri means three, which is also why a tricycle is the bike with three wheels.
Q2.What shape has four sides that are all the same length and four corners that are all the same?Tap to reveal
Answer: A square
Every square is also a rectangle, because a rectangle only needs four square corners.
Q3.What do you call a flat, perfectly round shape with no corners?Tap to reveal
Answer: A circle
The line that goes straight across a circle through its middle is called the diameter.
Q4.What 3D shape is a ball?Tap to reveal
Answer: A sphere
Every point on the outside of a sphere is the same distance from its center.
Q5.What is the name of a flat shape with 8 sides?Tap to reveal
Answer: An octagon
Octo means eight, which is also how the octopus got its name from its eight arms.
Q6.How many flat faces does a cube have?Tap to reveal
Answer: 6
Each face of a cube is a square, and all of its squares are exactly the same size.
Q7.What 3D shape is a can of soup?Tap to reveal
Answer: A cylinder
A cylinder can roll along on its curved side but stands still on either of its flat ends.
Q8.What do you call a line that cuts a shape into two halves that match like a mirror?Tap to reveal
Answer: A line of symmetry (also called a mirror line)
A butterfly is a great example of symmetry in nature, because its left wings match its right wings.
Q9.What is the name for the distance all the way around the edge of a flat shape?Tap to reveal
Answer: Perimeter
The space inside a shape has a different name: its area.
Q10.If you add up the three angles inside any triangle, what do you always get?Tap to reveal
Answer: 180 degrees
The four corners of a square add up to 360 degrees, which is one full turn.
Measurement, time and money
Kids measure things every day without noticing, from checking the clock to counting coins for a snack. This round covers days and hours, minutes on a clock, coins and dollars, weight and temperature. The last two questions need a little working out, so they are perfect for older kids who can already read the time on a clock with hands.
Q1.How many days are in one week?Tap to reveal
Answer: 7
Monday is named after the Moon, and Sunday is named after the Sun.
Q2.How many minutes are in one hour?Tap to reveal
Answer: 60
Each minute is also split into 60 seconds.
Q3.How many hours are in one whole day?Tap to reveal
Answer: 24
A clock face with hands shows only 12 hours, so the hour hand goes all the way around twice every day.
Q4.How many cents make one US dollar?Tap to reveal
Answer: 100
A dime is worth 10 cents, so ten dimes also add up to one dollar.
Q5.Which US coin is worth 25 cents?Tap to reveal
Answer: A quarter
It is called a quarter because four of them make one whole dollar.
Q6.Would you measure how heavy an apple is in grams or in meters?Tap to reveal
Answer: Grams
Meters measure how long something is, and 1,000 grams make one kilogram.
Q7.How many minutes are in a quarter of an hour?Tap to reveal
Answer: 15
A quarter past the hour is when the minute hand points at the 3 on a clock.
Q8.How many days are in a leap year?Tap to reveal
Answer: 366
A leap year adds an extra day, February 29, and it usually comes around once every four years.
Q9.A movie starts at 3:00 and lasts 90 minutes. What time does it end?Tap to reveal
Answer: 4:30
90 minutes is the same as one and a half hours, so you add one hour and then another half hour.
Q10.At what temperature in degrees Fahrenheit does water freeze?Tap to reveal
Answer: 32 degrees Fahrenheit
On the Celsius scale water freezes at 0 degrees, which many people find easier to remember.
Math puzzles and fun facts
The last round mixes number patterns, quick brain teasers and a bit of math history. Some questions ask what comes next, some ask kids to work backward, and a few share surprising facts about the tools and symbols people use in math. It is a fun way to end the quiz, so save it for when the energy starts to dip.
Q1.What number comes next: 10, 20, 30, 40, ...?Tap to reveal
Answer: 50
Counting up in equal jumps like this is called skip counting, and it makes the times tables easier to learn.
Q2.What color comes next in this pattern: red, blue, red, blue, red, ...?Tap to reveal
Answer: Blue
Repeating patterns like this show up all around us, from striped shirts to rows of tiles on a floor.
Q3.What is the special name for the answer you get when you add numbers together?Tap to reveal
Answer: The sum (or the total)
The answer to a take-away problem has its own name too: the difference.
Q4.Which math symbol is made of two short lines, one right above the other?Tap to reveal
Answer: The equals sign
A Welsh mathematician named Robert Recorde first used it in 1557, choosing two matching lines because he said nothing could be more equal.
Q5.Which of these numbers looks the same when you turn it upside down: 6, 8 or 9?Tap to reveal
Answer: 8
Turn a 6 upside down and it looks like a 9, and a 9 turned over looks like a 6.
Q6.A spider has 8 legs. How many legs do 2 spiders have altogether?Tap to reveal
Answer: 16
Multiplying is a quick way to add the same number again and again, so 2 times 8 is the same as 8 plus 8.
Q7.I am thinking of a number. When I double it, I get 22. What is my number?Tap to reveal
Answer: 11
You can solve puzzles like this by working backward, so here you cut 22 in half.
Q8.What counting tool has rows of beads that slide along rods?Tap to reveal
Answer: An abacus
Many children in Japan still take lessons on an abacus called a soroban.
Q9.What number comes next: 1, 4, 9, 16, ...?Tap to reveal
Answer: 25
These are called square numbers because that many dots can be lined up to make a perfect square.
Q10.What is the name of the number written as a 1 followed by 100 zeros?Tap to reveal
Answer: A googol
The name googol was made up by a 9-year-old boy, the nephew of the American mathematician Edward Kasner.
Frequently Asked Questions
What age are these math trivia questions right for?
They are written for kids aged 6 to 12. Each round starts with four easy questions a first or second grader can handle, moves on to four medium questions that suit third and fourth graders, and ends with two harder ones for fifth and sixth graders. For younger children, skip the last two questions in each round or turn them into a team challenge.
How do I run this math quiz in a classroom?
Split the class into small teams and give each team paper or a mini whiteboard. Read one question at a time, allow about 20 seconds to agree on an answer, then reveal it and share the fun fact. One round a day works well as a lesson warm-up, and the four rounds line up with topics most elementary math lessons already cover.
Are these questions free to use in class?
Yes. Teachers and parents can read the questions aloud, use them in a lesson or a homeschool day, and play the online quiz with kids at no cost. The quiz on this page needs no signup, so a whole class can play it on a shared screen without making accounts or handing over any email addresses.
What is the hardest question in this quiz?
The angles question in the shapes round is usually the toughest: the three angles inside any triangle always add up to 180 degrees. Children meet right angles early, but the rule about the angles in a triangle is often not taught until the last year of elementary school or even middle school, so it is a real stretch. The googol question comes close, because a 1 followed by 100 zeros is far bigger than any number kids use every day.
Where can kids play a math quiz online for free?
Right here on this page. The free quiz picks multiple-choice questions from this list, shows the right answer after each one and gives a score at the end, with no signup needed. It works on phones, tablets and computers. For more free quizzes at the same level, try the kids trivia and elementary trivia pages on trivio.net.
