Space and the planets
Space is where most children fall in love with science. These questions travel from our closest star to the edge of our home galaxy, stopping at the planets along the way. Younger kids can answer the first few from pictures and bedtime books, while the last questions ask older kids to think about how long Earth takes to circle the Sun.
Q1.Which star is the closest one to Earth?Tap to reveal
Answer: The Sun
Sunlight takes about eight minutes to travel all the way from the Sun to Earth.
Q2.What big round object in the night sky seems to change shape during the month?Tap to reveal
Answer: The Moon
The Moon does not make its own light; it shines because sunlight bounces off it.
Q3.Which planet is known as the Red Planet?Tap to reveal
Answer: Mars
Mars looks red because its dusty ground contains a lot of rusty iron.
Q4.What do we call a person who is trained to travel into space?Tap to reveal
Answer: An astronaut
Astronauts wear spacesuits outside their spacecraft because there is no air to breathe in space.
Q5.What is the biggest planet in our solar system?Tap to reveal
Answer: Jupiter
Jupiter has a giant storm called the Great Red Spot that is wider than the whole Earth.
Q6.Which planet is famous for its wide, bright rings?Tap to reveal
Answer: Saturn
Saturn's rings are made of countless chunks of ice and rock, some as small as a grain of sand and some as big as a house.
Q7.How many planets are in our solar system?Tap to reveal
Answer: Eight
Pluto used to be called the ninth planet, but in 2006 scientists decided to call it a dwarf planet instead.
Q8.Which planet is closest to the Sun?Tap to reveal
Answer: Mercury
Mercury is also the smallest planet, only a little bigger than our Moon.
Q9.What is the name of the galaxy we live in?Tap to reveal
Answer: The Milky Way
On a very dark night far from city lights, you can see it as a pale, glowing band stretching across the sky.
Q10.How long does it take Earth to travel once all the way around the Sun?Tap to reveal
Answer: One year (about 365 days)
The trip really takes about 365 and a quarter days, so almost every four years the calendar adds an extra day, February 29, to catch up.
The human body
Kids carry the best science lab around with them every day: their own bodies. This round covers the parts children can point to, like the nose and teeth, and the busy organs working quietly inside. The harder questions at the end reach down to tiny blood cells and the smallest bone, which is hiding somewhere most people would never guess.
Q1.Which organ pumps blood all around your body?Tap to reveal
Answer: The heart
Your heart is roughly the size of your fist, and it keeps beating even while you are fast asleep.
Q2.Which part of your face do you use to smell?Tap to reveal
Answer: Your nose
Much of what we call taste really comes from smell, which is why food tastes dull when you have a blocked nose.
Q3.What hard white parts of your mouth help you bite and chew food?Tap to reveal
Answer: Teeth
Tooth enamel, the shiny outer layer of each tooth, is the hardest material in your whole body.
Q4.What do we call all the bones in the body working together to hold you up?Tap to reveal
Answer: The skeleton
A baby is born with around 300 bones, but some of them join together, so a grown-up has 206.
Q5.Which organ inside your head controls your thinking, feeling and moving?Tap to reveal
Answer: The brain
Your brain is only a small part of your body's weight, but it uses about one fifth of your body's energy.
Q6.Which two organs in your chest fill up with air when you breathe in?Tap to reveal
Answer: The lungs
Your left lung is a little smaller than your right one to leave room for your heart.
Q7.What is the largest organ of the human body?Tap to reveal
Answer: The skin
Skin helps keep you cool by making sweat, which carries heat away as it dries.
Q8.Which stretchy, bag-shaped organ holds your food after you swallow it?Tap to reveal
Answer: The stomach
Your stomach makes a strong acid that helps break food down into a thick, soupy mix.
Q9.What tiny cells carry oxygen from your lungs to every other part of your body?Tap to reveal
Answer: Red blood cells
They get their red color from an iron-rich substance called hemoglobin.
Q10.In which part of the body will you find the smallest bone?Tap to reveal
Answer: The ear
This tiny bone, called the stirrup, helps pass sound vibrations along so you can hear.
Weather and the Earth
Weather is science kids can see from the window. These questions explain rain, snow, wind and thunder, then head outdoors to volcanoes, oceans and the ground under our feet. It is a great round for a rainy afternoon, because every fun fact gives children something to look for the next time they step outside or check the sky.
Q1.What wet weather falls from gray clouds and fills up the puddles on the ground?Tap to reveal
Answer: Rain
Raindrops are not really shaped like teardrops; small ones are round, and big ones flatten out on the bottom like a bun.
Q2.What soft, white, frozen flakes fall from clouds on very cold days?Tap to reveal
Answer: Snow
Snowflakes are made of ice crystals, and most of them have six sides or six points.
Q3.What colorful arc can appear in the sky when sunlight shines through tiny drops of water?Tap to reveal
Answer: A rainbow
A rainbow always appears on the side of the sky opposite the Sun, so the Sun is behind you when you see one.
Q4.What is the loud rumbling sound that follows a flash of lightning?Tap to reveal
Answer: Thunder
Light travels much faster than sound, which is why you see the flash before you hear the rumble.
Q5.What do we call air that is moving from place to place?Tap to reveal
Answer: Wind
Wind happens because the Sun warms land, water and air unevenly, and air moves around to even things out.
Q6.What are clouds made of?Tap to reveal
Answer: Tiny drops of water or bits of ice
Fog is simply a cloud that forms down low, right next to the ground.
Q7.What is the name for a mountain that can erupt with hot, melted rock?Tap to reveal
Answer: A volcano
Melted rock is called magma while it is underground and lava once it comes out.
Q8.What is the largest ocean on Earth?Tap to reveal
Answer: The Pacific Ocean
The Pacific is so big that all of the land on Earth could fit inside it with room to spare.
Q9.What is the name for water slowly turning into an invisible gas and rising into the air?Tap to reveal
Answer: Evaporation
It happens faster on warm, windy days, which is why wet clothes dry quickly on a washing line.
Q10.What is the outer, rocky layer of the Earth called?Tap to reveal
Answer: The crust
The crust is thinnest under the oceans and thickest under big mountain ranges.
Plants, light and everyday science
The last round is about science kids can test at home or in the school yard. It covers how plants grow, why shadows change, what magnets pick up and what happens when ice warms up. Many of these questions turn into quick experiments afterward, so keep a magnet, a flashlight or an ice cube close by.
Q1.Which part of a plant grows under the ground and soaks up water?Tap to reveal
Answer: The roots
Roots also hold a plant firmly in the soil so wind and rain cannot easily knock it over.
Q2.What color are most leaves in spring and summer?Tap to reveal
Answer: Green
In autumn the green fades away, uncovering yellow and orange colors that were hidden in the leaf all along.
Q3.What do we call an object that can stick to a fridge door and pick up metal paper clips?Tap to reveal
Answer: A magnet
Magnets pull only on certain metals such as iron and steel, so a magnet will not stick to an aluminum can.
Q4.What happens to an ice cube when it gets warm?Tap to reveal
Answer: It melts into water
Water can be a solid like ice, a liquid like the water you drink, or a gas like steam.
Q5.What force pulls things down to the ground when you drop them?Tap to reveal
Answer: Gravity
Gravity is also what keeps the Moon traveling around the Earth instead of drifting off into space.
Q6.What is the yellow powder that bees carry from flower to flower?Tap to reveal
Answer: Pollen
When bees move it between flowers, they help plants make seeds and fruit.
Q7.What dark shape appears on the ground when your body blocks the sunlight?Tap to reveal
Answer: A shadow
Your shadow is longest in the early morning and late afternoon, when the Sun is low in the sky.
Q8.Which gas do plants give off that people and animals need to breathe?Tap to reveal
Answer: Oxygen
Plants take in carbon dioxide, which is the gas that people and animals breathe out.
Q9.What is the name of the process plants use to make their own food from sunlight?Tap to reveal
Answer: Photosynthesis
The word comes from two Greek words that mean light and putting together.
Q10.What force slows things down when two surfaces rub against each other?Tap to reveal
Answer: Friction
Rubbing your hands together makes them warm because friction turns movement into heat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are these science questions the right level for my child?
They are written for children aged 6 to 12 and follow the topics taught in elementary science. Each section starts with four easy questions a first or second grader can usually answer, moves to four medium ones, and ends with two harder questions that suit older kids. If you are playing with a young child, read each question out loud and work out the answer together.
How can I run this science quiz in class or at home?
Split the group into small teams, read one question at a time, and give everyone a few seconds to agree on an answer before you reveal it. Read the fun fact after each answer, since that is where the real learning happens. In class, one section makes a good ten-minute warm-up. At home, try one round per car ride or save all four for a family quiz night.
Can teachers use these questions for free in class?
Yes. The questions and answers on this page are free to read out, write on the board or use in class, and the online quiz costs nothing to play. The print buttons near the top of the page give you a question sheet and a separate answer key. Teachers often use one section as a lesson starter or a quick end-of-unit review, and a link to this page lets other classes find it too.
What is the hardest question in this science trivia for kids?
The trickiest one is usually where the smallest bone in the body is hiding. The answer is the ear, where a tiny bone called the stirrup helps us hear. Photosynthesis and the Earth's crust can also trip up younger players, because these are words children usually learn later in elementary school. Those questions sit near the end of their sections, so older kids get a real challenge.
Where can kids play this science quiz online?
Right here on this page. The free quiz sits near the top, just under the introduction, and kids answer the questions in their browser with nothing to install. Kids who want more can open the Trivio.NET app, which has a fresh daily quiz and trivia packs across many subjects. Play the page quiz first, then take turns with a friend or a parent to see who knows the most science.
