General Knowledge Trivia Questions

What colour do you get by mixing blue and yellow?

Answer: Green EasyThis works with paint and pigment; mixing light follows different rules entirely.Why?

What is the largest mammal on Earth?

Answer: Blue whale EasyIt is also the largest animal known to have ever lived, bigger than any dinosaur.Why?

How many sides does a hexagon have?

Answer: Six EasyHoneybees build hexagonal cells because the shape tiles a surface with the least wax.Why?

How many minutes are there in a full day?

Answer: 1,440 EasyTwenty-four hours multiplied by sixty.Why?

Which planet is known as the Red Planet?

Answer: Mars MediumIron oxide dust in the soil gives the surface its rusty colour.Why?

What is the study of earthquakes called?

Answer: Seismology MediumThe instrument that records the shaking is a seismograph.Why?

Which vitamin does the body make from sunlight?

Answer: Vitamin D MediumUltraviolet B light triggers its production in the skin.Why?

Which element has the atomic number 1?

Answer: Hydrogen HardIt is by far the most abundant element in the universe.Why?

Which sea creature has three hearts?

Answer: Octopus HardTwo pump blood to the gills and one serves the rest of the body.Why?

Which animal is traditionally called the king of the jungle?

Answer: Lion EasyLions actually live on savannah and grassland rather than jungle.Why?

How many days are there in a leap year?

Answer: 366 EasyThe extra day keeps the calendar aligned with Earth's orbit.Why?

Which body part contains the cornea?

Answer: Eye EasyThe cornea is the clear front layer that does most of the eye's focusing.Why?

How many zeros are written in the number one million?

Answer: Six EasyA billion, in the modern short scale, carries nine.Why?

Which instrument measures atmospheric pressure?

Answer: Barometer MediumFalling pressure usually signals unsettled weather ahead.Why?

Rubies and sapphires are both gem varieties of which mineral?

Answer: Corundum MediumTrace chromium turns corundum red; iron and titanium turn it blue.

Which blood vessels carry blood away from the heart?

Answer: Arteries MediumVeins return it, helped by one-way valves in the limbs.Why?

Which gas gives fizzy drinks their bubbles?

Answer: Carbon dioxide HardIt is dissolved under pressure and escapes when the bottle is opened.Why?

Which shape has three sides?

Answer: Triangle EasyIts three interior angles always add up to 180 degrees.

How many hours are there in a week?

Answer: 168 EasySeven days multiplied by twenty-four hours.

Which animal is known for changing its skin colour to blend in?

Answer: Chameleon EasyColour shifts also signal mood and temperature, not just camouflage.

Which metal is liquid at room temperature?

Answer: Mercury MediumIts low melting point made it the working fluid of thermometers for centuries.

Which is the largest internal organ in the human body?

Answer: Liver HardThe skin is the largest organ overall, which is why the word 'internal' matters.

Which is the longest bone in the human body?

Answer: Femur HardIt runs from hip to knee and bears most of the body's weight when standing.

How many feet are there in a mile?

Answer: 5,280 HardThe figure comes from eight furlongs of 660 feet each.

Which element has the chemical symbol Fe?

Answer: Iron HardThe symbol comes from ferrum, the Latin name for the metal.

The Statue of Liberty holds a torch in one hand and what in the other?

Answer: A tablet MediumThe tablet is inscribed with the date of American independence.

The Rosetta Stone was crucial to deciphering which writing system?

Answer: Egyptian hieroglyphs HardIt repeats the same decree in Greek, giving scholars a key.

The Great Pyramid of Giza stands in which country?

Answer: Egypt EasyIt was built as a tomb for the pharaoh Khufu around 2560 BC.

Which famous ship sank on its maiden voyage in 1912?

Answer: Titanic EasyIt struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic on the night of 14 April.

Which explorer is credited with reaching the Americas in 1492?

Answer: Christopher Columbus EasyHe landed in the Bahamas believing he had reached the East Indies.

Which civilisation built Machu Picchu?

Answer: Inca MediumIt was built around 1450 high in the Peruvian Andes and abandoned within about a century.

Which British queen reigned for more than sixty years from 1837?

Answer: Queen Victoria MediumHer 63-year reign gave its name to an entire era of British history.

According to legend, Rome was founded by which twins?

Answer: Romulus and Remus MediumThe story has them suckled by a she-wolf before Romulus killed his brother and named the city after himself.

Which of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World was a giant lighthouse?

Answer: The Lighthouse of Alexandria MediumIt stood on the island of Pharos, which is why 'pharos' means lighthouse in several languages.

In which year did the Berlin Wall fall?

Answer: 1989 HardBorder crossings opened on the night of 9 November after East Germany lifted travel restrictions.

Magna Carta was sealed in which year?

Answer: 1215 HardKing John agreed to it at Runnymede under pressure from rebel barons.

Genghis Khan founded which empire?

Answer: Mongol Empire HardAt his death in 1227 it already stretched from the Pacific coast to the Caspian Sea.

Which Greek philosopher tutored the young Alexander the Great?

Answer: Aristotle HardPhilip II of Macedon hired him to teach the prince at Mieza.

How many continents are there on Earth?

Answer: Seven EasyThe seven-continent model is the one taught across most of the English-speaking world.Why?

What is the currency of Japan?

Answer: Yen EasyThe symbol is a Y with two strokes, and the name originally meant a round object.Why?

What is the tallest mountain above sea level?

Answer: Mount Everest MediumMeasured from base to summit instead, Hawaii's Mauna Kea is far taller.

In which city is the Colosseum?

Answer: Rome MediumIt could seat tens of thousands and had a retractable awning for shade.Why?

How many time zones does China officially use?

Answer: One HardDespite its width, the whole country runs on a single standard time.Why?

Rice is the staple grain of which continent's largest populations?

Answer: Asia EasyAsia grows and eats roughly nine tenths of the world's rice.

A nautical mile is based on what measurement of the Earth?

Answer: One minute of latitude HardThat is why it suits navigation charts better than a land mile.

Which country is both an island and a continent?

Answer: Australia EasyIt is the only country that covers an entire continental landmass.

In which country would you find the Eiffel Tower?

Answer: France EasyIt was built as the entrance arch for the 1889 World's Fair in Paris.

Which country has a red maple leaf on its flag?

Answer: Canada EasyThe single-leaf design was adopted in 1965, replacing a flag based on the British ensign.

Which river flows through Paris?

Answer: Seine MediumThe city grew from an island in the river, the Île de la Cité.

Which is the largest hot desert in the world?

Answer: Sahara MediumAntarctica is technically the largest desert overall, which is why the word 'hot' matters.

Which strait separates Europe from Africa at its narrowest point?

Answer: Strait of Gibraltar MediumAt its narrowest the two continents are only about 14 kilometres apart.

Which Italian city is famous for its canals and gondolas?

Answer: Venice MediumThe city is built on more than a hundred small islands in a lagoon.

Which country has the only national flag that is not rectangular or square?

Answer: Nepal HardIts two stacked pennants are said to represent the Himalayas and the country's two main religions.

Lake Baikal, the deepest lake in the world, lies in which country?

Answer: Russia HardIt holds roughly a fifth of the world's unfrozen fresh surface water.

The Prime Meridian, longitude zero, passes through an observatory in which part of London?

Answer: Greenwich HardIt was adopted as the world's reference line at an international conference in 1884.

Who painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel?

Answer: Michelangelo MediumHe worked on it for roughly four years and considered himself a sculptor first.Why?

How many strings does a standard violin have?

Answer: Four MediumThey are tuned in fifths: G, D, A and E.Why?

How many keys does a standard full-size piano have?

Answer: 88 HardFifty-two white keys and thirty-six black ones.Why?

In Greek mythology, who was the messenger of the gods?

Answer: Hermes MediumThe Romans called the same figure Mercury.

Which musical term instructs a player to perform very quietly?

Answer: Pianissimo HardThe piano was named for its ability to play both soft and loud.Why?

Who wrote the play Romeo and Juliet?

Answer: William Shakespeare EasyIt was written around 1595 and is set in Verona.

Which instrument has black and white keys?

Answer: Piano EasyPressing a key swings a felt hammer against strings inside the case.

Which bird is the traditional symbol of peace?

Answer: Dove EasyThe image goes back to the dove returning to Noah's ark with an olive branch.

In Peter Pan, what is the name of the fairy?

Answer: Tinker Bell EasyIn J. M. Barrie's original play she was represented by a darting light and a bell.

Which artist painted the Mona Lisa?

Answer: Leonardo da Vinci MediumIt has hung in the Louvre since the French Revolution, apart from wartime moves and a theft in 1911.

Which composer wrote the piece nicknamed the 'Moonlight Sonata'?

Answer: Ludwig van Beethoven MediumThe nickname was coined by a critic after the composer's death, not by Beethoven himself.

Who wrote the novel 'Pride and Prejudice'?

Answer: Jane Austen MediumIt was published in 1813 and opens with one of the most quoted first lines in English.

Which painter cut off part of his own ear in 1888?

Answer: Vincent van Gogh HardIt happened in Arles in December after a quarrel with Gauguin, who was staying with him.

The 'Hallelujah Chorus' comes from which oratorio by Handel?

Answer: Messiah HardHandel composed the whole work in about three and a half weeks in 1741.

Which language has the most native speakers in the world?

Answer: Mandarin Chinese EasyEnglish leads on total speakers once second-language learners are counted.Why?

What is the only letter that does not appear in any US state name?

Answer: Q HardNew Jersey and Texas cover J and X; Arizona covers Z.Why?

What is the collective noun for a group of crows?

Answer: A murder HardMost of these poetic collective nouns come from medieval hunting lists.Why?

What does the acronym LASER stand for at its first word?

Answer: Light HardLight Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.Why?

The Morse code signal for distress consists of which letters?

Answer: SOS MediumIt was chosen for being easy to tap and hear, not as an abbreviation.

A group of lions is properly called what?

Answer: A pride HardTroop belongs to monkeys, and colony to ants and penguins.

The abbreviation e.g. stands for a Latin phrase meaning what?

Answer: For example HardThe phrase i.e. means 'that is', which is why the two get mixed up.

The word 'alphabet' is formed from the first two letters of which alphabet?

Answer: Greek HardAlpha and beta, which themselves came from Phoenician letter names.

Which word means the opposite of 'ancient'?

Answer: Modern Easy'Antique' and 'historic' are near-synonyms of the word itself, not its opposite.

The Roman numeral X stands for which number?

Answer: Ten EasyRoman numerals still appear on clock faces and in film copyright dates.

What does the 'www' in a web address stand for?

Answer: World Wide Web MediumThe system was proposed by Tim Berners-Lee at CERN in 1989.

The word 'kindergarten' comes from which language?

Answer: German MediumIt literally means 'children's garden' and was coined by Friedrich Fröbel in 1840.

A sonnet traditionally has how many lines?

Answer: Fourteen MediumShakespeare's version splits them into three quatrains and a closing couplet.

A traditional haiku has how many syllables in total?

Answer: Seventeen HardThey fall in three lines of five, seven and five.

The Latin phrase 'carpe diem' means what?

Answer: Seize the day HardIt comes from an ode by the Roman poet Horace.

The word 'robot' was introduced to the world by a 1920 play from which country?

Answer: Czechoslovakia HardKarel Čapek's play R.U.R. took it from the Czech word for forced labour.

How many players are on the field per team in a football (soccer) match?

Answer: Eleven EasyTen outfield players plus a goalkeeper, and a side dropping below seven must forfeit.Why?

Which country hosted the first modern Olympic Games?

Answer: Greece MediumAthens, 1896.Why?

In a game of chess, which piece can only move diagonally?

Answer: Bishop EasyEach side starts with one bishop on light squares and one on dark.

Which sport is played with a bat, a ball and wickets?

Answer: Cricket EasyEach wicket is three wooden stumps topped by two bails.

Which sport is played at Wimbledon?

Answer: Tennis EasyIt is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, first held in 1877.

In which sport would you score a touchdown?

Answer: American football EasyA touchdown is worth six points, with the chance of extra points afterwards.

Which sport uses a shuttlecock?

Answer: Badminton EasyThe feathered shuttle slows sharply in flight, so the game is fast at the racket and slow at the far end.

How many players does a basketball team have on court at one time?

Answer: Five EasySubstitutions are unlimited, but only five may play at any moment.

The Summer Olympic Games are normally held every how many years?

Answer: Four MediumSummer and Winter Games alternate, so one or the other happens every two years.

In which sport is the Stanley Cup awarded?

Answer: Ice hockey MediumFirst awarded in 1893, it is the oldest trophy still contested by professional teams in North America.

Apart from the king, which chess piece is given the highest value in standard piece counting?

Answer: Queen MediumThe queen counts as nine points against five for a rook and three for the minor pieces.

How many squares are there on a chessboard?

Answer: 64 MediumEight ranks by eight files, alternating light and dark.

In which sport are 'birdie', 'eagle' and 'bogey' used?

Answer: Golf HardAll three describe a hole's score relative to par.

The Davis Cup is contested in which sport?

Answer: Tennis HardIt is the men's international team competition, first played between the USA and Britain in 1900.

How many pieces does each player start with in a game of chess?

Answer: Sixteen HardEight pawns plus the eight pieces on the back rank.