🔬 Science trivia for kids

Every answer checked 31 October 2026. Free, no sign-up, nothing to download.

A mixed science round for each age: three questions on planet Earth, three on space, three on plants and one on the weather. The answers come from USGS, NASA, the Park Service and NOAA, and each card says which.

🐣 Little round: ages 6–8 (grades K–2)

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1.What covers most of Earth's surface?
- A thick ice
- B desert sand
- C ocean water
2.Which planet is closest to the Sun?
- A Venus
- B Earth
- C Mercury
3.What powdery stuff do bees carry from one flower to the next?
- A sugar
- B sand
- C pollen
4.Which clouds look like fluffy white cotton balls?
- A stratus clouds
- B cirrus clouds
- C cumulus clouds
5.What do we call a hot spring that shoots water up into the air?
- A a waterfall
- B a geyser
- C a glacier
6.Which planet is famous for its huge, bright rings?
- A Saturn
- B Mars
- C Mercury
7.What do leaves use to make food for a plant?
- A moonlight
- B sunlight
- C snow
8.Which mountain reaches the highest above sea level?
- A Mount Rainier
- B Mount Fuji
- C Mount Everest
9.What is the name of the galaxy we live in?
- A the Andromeda Galaxy
- B the Big Dipper
- C the Milky Way
10.A mushroom belongs to which group of living things?
- A animals
- B fungi
- C plants

🔑 Show the answers

C: ocean water. The ocean covers about 71 percent of Earth and holds most of its water. Source: NASA
C: Mercury. Mercury is also the smallest planet, only a bit bigger than our Moon. Source: NASA Science
C: pollen. When pollen moves between flowers, the plant can make seeds. Source: USDA Forest Service
C: cumulus clouds. Cirrus clouds are thin and wispy, and stratus clouds spread out like a sheet. Source: NOAA NESDIS (SciJinks)
B: a geyser. Old Faithful in Yellowstone is one of the most famous geysers in the world. Source: National Park Service
A: Saturn. Other planets have rings too, but none are as grand as Saturn's. Source: NASA Science
B: sunlight. A green pigment in each leaf catches the sun's rays and turns them into food. Source: National Park Service
C: Mount Everest. Its top is about 8,848 meters, or about 29,000 feet, above sea level. Source: NOAA National Ocean Service
C: the Milky Way. A galaxy is a huge group of stars, gas and dust held together by gravity. Source: NASA Space Place
B: fungi. Mold and yeast are fungi too. Source: National Park Service

🦊 Middle round: ages 9–11 (grades 3–5)

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1.About how much of Earth's land is desert?
- A about two-thirds
- B about one-tenth
- C about one-third
2.About how far is the Sun from Earth?
- A about 93 thousand miles
- B about 93 million miles
- C about 93 billion miles
3.What is the green pigment in leaves called?
- A keratin
- B chlorophyll
- C melanin
4.Thin, wispy cirrus clouds are made mostly of what?
- A raindrops
- B ice crystals
- C dust
5.Rock that forms when melted rock cools and hardens is called what?
- A metamorphic rock
- B sedimentary rock
- C igneous rock
6.Who was the first American woman to fly in space?
- A Eileen Collins
- B Peggy Whitson
- C Sally Ride
7.Which kind of tree is among the oldest living things on Earth?
- A the bristlecone pine
- B the palm tree
- C the apple tree
8.Which became the world's first national park, in 1872?
- A the Grand Canyon
- B Yosemite
- C Yellowstone
9.About how many Earth days does Mercury take to go once around the Sun?
- A 687 days
- B 365 days
- C 88 days
10.The General Sherman Tree is the world's largest tree by which measure?
- A volume
- B age
- C height

🔑 Show the answers

C: about one-third. Deserts can be hot or cold, but they are always dry. Source: U.S. Geological Survey
B: about 93 million miles. That is about 150 million kilometers. Source: NASA Science
B: chlorophyll. It is the most common pigment in a leaf, which is why most leaves look green. Source: National Park Service
B: ice crystals. Cirrus clouds float very high up, where the air is freezing cold. Source: NOAA NESDIS (SciJinks)
C: igneous rock. Granite, basalt and obsidian are all igneous rocks. Source: U.S. Geological Survey
C: Sally Ride. She flew on the space shuttle in 1983 and later became a physics professor. Source: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum
A: the bristlecone pine. Some bristlecone pines are thousands of years old, so their rings record ancient weather. Source: National Park Service
C: Yellowstone. Its geysers and hot springs were a big reason it was protected. Source: National Park Service
C: 88 days. That makes Mercury the fastest planet in our solar system. Source: NASA Science
A: volume. This giant sequoia holds about 52,500 cubic feet of wood. Source: National Park Service

🦉 Big round: ages 12 and up (grades 6 and up)

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1.As Earth spins, which layer's motion creates Earth's magnetic field?
- A the liquid outer core
- B the solid inner core
- C the crust
2.What was the name of the Apollo 11 lunar module that landed on the Moon?
- A Falcon
- B Eagle
- C Columbia
3.In autumn, what does a tree send to its leaves to take apart chlorophyll?
- A a spark of electricity
- B rainwater
- C an enzyme
4.Hurricanes north of the equator spin in which direction?
- A counterclockwise
- B clockwise
- C back and forth
5.The Hawaiian Islands formed as the Pacific Plate moved over what?
- A a hotspot in the mantle
- B a plate boundary
- C a deep ocean trench
6.What does a light-year measure?
- A a brightness
- B a distance
- C a length of time
7.Pollination moves pollen from a flower's anther to which part?
- A the root
- B the sepal
- C the stigma
8.Which earthquake waves usually arrive first at a faraway place?
- A P waves
- B S waves
- C surface waves
9.What is the name of Pluto's largest moon?
- A Charon
- B Titan
- C Triton
10.Of the world's roughly 1,400 crop plants, about what share need animals to pollinate them?
- A almost 80%
- B about 5%
- C about 25%

🔑 Show the answers

A: the liquid outer core. The outer core is liquid metal, while the inner core is solid. Source: U.S. Geological Survey
B: Eagle. It set down in a flat, dark plain called the Sea of Tranquility. Source: NASA
C: an enzyme. Once the green is gone, yellow and orange pigments that were hidden show through. Source: National Park Service
A: counterclockwise. South of the equator they spin the other way, because of Earth's rotation. Source: NASA Space Place
A: a hotspot in the mantle. The islands get older and more worn down the farther they are from the hotspot. Source: U.S. Geological Survey
B: a distance. One light-year is about 6 trillion miles, how far light goes in a year. Source: NASA Science
C: the stigma. The anther is the male part that makes pollen; the stigma is the female part that receives it. Source: USDA Forest Service
A: P waves. P stands for primary; the slower S, or secondary, waves arrive later. Source: U.S. Geological Survey
A: Charon. Charon is about half the size of Pluto, so the pair is often called a double planet. Source: NASA Science
A: almost 80%. Visits from bees and other pollinators also give bigger, tastier fruit. Source: USDA Forest Service

For the host

Try the round before a science unit and again after it. The second score is the fun one.

Read each question and its three answers aloud, or press ▶ Play and Peabody reads them; a tap shows the answer, a line about it and where it comes from.
On a phone, pass it round: one question per team, a star for each right answer. On a laptop or a TV, press 📺 Big screen.
On paper, print the cards, one answer sheet per team and the key on its own page.

Where these questions come from

Each question was written by Peabody in its own words and checked against one page, named under its answer. The pages we used for these rounds:

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