November 12, 2025
All adults have gone through the 5th grade, but how much of what they learned in the 5th grade do they remember? If they were asked questions that 5th graders are learning now, would they know the answers? That’s what the game “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader” finds out! The premise of the game is pretty simple, you’re asked questions that a 5th grader would know, and then you find out how your knowledge compares.
This game was popularized as it became a hit game show on TV. If you’ve had fun watching it, try playing! While it may seem easy, you’d be surprised at how many questions you’d get wrong even if you already graduated from high school!
How to Play Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader
In this game, adults try to answer questions from real elementary school textbooks, covering subjects like math, science, reading, geography, and history. Each contestant works through a series of questions that become harder as the prize money increases. In the show, there are several 5th-grade students onstage that can help by sharing their own answers. Contestants also get special lifelines, like “Peek” which lets them see a student’s answer, “Copy” which automatically uses the student’s answer, and “Save” which rescues them if they get a question wrong but the student gets it right.
However, to play at home, you can simply treat these questions like trivia and see which you get right. Not all of the questions are from the 5th grade, many are learned earlier in elementary school. If you’re ready to go through some questions, see the list below!
General Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader Questions
- How many stars are on the American flag?
Answer: 50 - What are the three branches of the U.S. government?
Answer: Legislative, Executive, Judicial - How many stripes are on the American flag?
Answer: 13 - What color are the stars on the American flag?
Answer: White - What are the three primary colors?
Answer: Red, blue, yellow - What is a baby sheep called?
Answer: Lamb - Who invented the light bulb?
Answer: Thomas Edison - How many quarts are in a gallon?
Answer: 4 - How many hours are in three days?
Answer: 72 - What is the main ingredient in bread?
Answer: Flour - Which ocean borders California?
Answer: Pacific Ocean - What is the main ingredient in guacamole?
Answer: Avocado - What is a group of wolves called?
Answer: Pack - Who is the author of “Harry Potter”?
Answer: J.K. Rowling - Who wrote “Green Eggs and Ham”?
Answer: Dr. Seuss - What is the name of the fairy in “Peter Pan”?
Answer: Tinker Bell - How many years are in a century?
Answer: 100 - How many months are in a year?
Answer: 12 - How many months have 31 days?
Answer: Seven - What are the five vowels in the English alphabet?
Answer: A, E, I, O, U - Who was the first man to walk on the moon?
Answer: Neil Armstrong - What galaxy is Earth located in?
Answer: Milky Way - What country gifted the Statue of Liberty to the U.S.?
Answer: France - What color do you get when you mix red and blue?
Answer: Purple - What is the plural of “goose”?
Answer: Geese - What is the opposite of “north”?
Answer: South - What do we call molten rock after it erupts?
Answer: Lava - What do we call a word with the opposite meaning of another word?
Answer: Antonym - What is a word that sounds the same but means something different?
Answer: Homophone - What is the fastest land animal?
Answer: Cheetah - What sport uses a puck?
Answer: Hockey - What are animals called that sleep during winter?
Answer: Hibernating animals - Who wrote “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer”?
Answer: Mark Twain - What country is famous for pizza and pasta?
Answer: Italy - If a movie starts at 6:45 PM and ends at 8:10 PM, how long is it?
Answer: 1 hour 25 minutes - Which U.S. state has the most people?
Answer: California - If one notebook costs $2.75, how much do 4 notebooks cost?
Answer: $11.00 - What do we call animals that eat only plants?
Answer: Herbivores - What ancient civilization used hieroglyphics?
Answer: Egyptians - What line divides the Earth into Northern and Southern Hemispheres?
Answer: The Equator - True or False: The Pacific Ocean is larger than the Atlantic Ocean.
Answer: True - True or False: Antarctica is a desert.
Answer: True - True or False: Frogs are reptiles.
Answer: False (they are amphibians) - True or False: A meter is longer than a yard.
Answer: True - True or False: Dolphins are mammals.
Answer: True - True or False: All birds can fly.
Answer: False (ostriches, emus, penguins cannot) - True or False: The Amazon Rainforest is the largest rainforest in the world.
Answer: True - True or False: Penguins live at the South Pole.
Answer: True - True or False: Hurricanes form over warm ocean water.
Answer: True - True or False: Elephants are the only mammals that cannot jump.
Answer: True
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader Math Questions
- What is 9 × 7?
Answer: 63 - What is the square root of 49?
Answer: 7 - What is 25% of 200?
Answer: 50 - What is 50% of 300?
Answer: 150 - What is 100 ÷ 5?
Answer: 20 - What is 12 × 12?
Answer: 144 - How many inches are in a foot?
Answer: 12 - How many feet are in a yard?
Answer: 3 - How many grams are in a kilogram?
Answer: 1,000 - How many degrees are in a right angle?
Answer: 90 - How many zeros are in one million?
Answer: Six - What is 9 × 6?
Answer: 54 - What number is represented by the Roman numeral “X”?
Answer: 10 - How many minutes are in one hour?
Answer: 60 - How many sides does a hexagon have?
Answer: Six - What is 8 × 11?
Answer: 88 - What is the perimeter of a square with sides 6 inches long?
Answer: 24 inches - What is the area of a rectangle that’s 8 inches by 4 inches?
Answer: 32 square inches - How many sides does a pentagon have?
Answer: 5 - What is the sum of the angles in a triangle?
Answer: 180 degrees - What is the fraction 2/4 simplified?
Answer: 1/2 - What is 10 squared?
Answer: 100 - What is 5 cubed?
Answer: 125 - How many centimeters are in a meter?
Answer: 100 - What is 2 to the power of 5?
Answer: 32
History Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader Questions
- Who was the first President of the United States?
Answer: George Washington - Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
Answer: Thomas Jefferson - What year did the American Civil War end?
Answer: 1865 - Who was the 16th President of the United States?
Answer: Abraham Lincoln - Who was the second President of the United States?
Answer: John Adams - What country gifted the Statue of Liberty to the United States?
Answer: France - What ship did the Pilgrims sail to America on?
Answer: Mayflower - Who invented the telephone?
Answer: Alexander Graham Bell - Who discovered electricity with a kite experiment?
Answer: Benjamin Franklin - Who was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean?
Answer: Amelia Earhart - Who wrote the play “Romeo and Juliet”?
Answer: William Shakespeare - Who painted the Mona Lisa?
Answer: Leonardo da Vinci - Who painted “Starry Night”?
Answer: Vincent van Gogh - Who signed the Emancipation Proclamation?
Answer: Abraham Lincoln - Who was the first Vice President of the United States?
Answer: John Adams - What country was ruled by the Pharaohs?
Answer: Egypt - Who was the first Emperor of Rome?
Answer: Augustus Caesar - Who was the first man to walk on the moon?
Answer: Neil Armstrong - What year did the U.S. declare independence?
Answer: 1776 - What city was the first capital of the United States?
Answer: Philadelphia - Who was president during the Great Depression and World War II?
Answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt - What ancient empire was ruled by Julius Caesar?
Answer: Roman Empire - Who gave the “I Have a Dream” speech?
Answer: Martin Luther King Jr. - What U.S. President is on the $1 bill?
Answer: George Washington - What U.S. President is on the penny?
Answer: Abraham Lincoln
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader Science Questions
- What planet is known as the Red Planet?
Answer: Mars - How many planets are in our solar system?
Answer: Eight - What planet is closest to the sun?
Answer: Mercury - What planet is known for its rings?
Answer: Saturn - What is the process by which plants make their own food?
Answer: Photosynthesis - What gas do plants breathe in that humans exhale?
Answer: Carbon dioxide - What gas do humans need to survive?
Answer: Oxygen - What are the three states of matter?
Answer: Solid, liquid, gas - What is the chemical symbol for water?
Answer: H2O - What is the chemical symbol for oxygen?
Answer: O - What is the chemical symbol for sodium?
Answer: Na - What is the largest bone in the human body?
Answer: Femur - How many bones are in the adult human body?
Answer: 206 - What force keeps us on the ground?
Answer: Gravity - What organ pumps blood?
Answer: Heart - What organ helps you breathe?
Answer: Lungs - What organ controls your thoughts?
Answer: Brain - What is the boiling point of water in Fahrenheit?
Answer: 212°F - What is the freezing point of water in Celsius?
Answer: 0°C - What is the hardest natural substance on Earth?
Answer: Diamond - What is the Earth’s primary source of energy?
Answer: The Sun - What is the process of liquid turning to vapor called?
Answer: Evaporation - What planet is nicknamed the “Blue Planet”?
Answer: Earth - What layer of the Earth do we live on?
Answer: Crust - What is Earth’s natural satellite?
Answer: The Moon
Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader Geography Questions
- What is the capital of France?
Answer: Paris - What is the capital of Japan?
Answer: Tokyo - What is the capital of Germany?
Answer: Berlin - What is the capital of China?
Answer: Beijing - What is the capital of Italy?
Answer: Rome - What is the capital of Russia?
Answer: Moscow - What is the capital of the United States?
Answer: Washington, D.C. - What continent is Egypt located on?
Answer: Africa - How many continents are there?
Answer: Seven - What is the largest country in the world by area?
Answer: Russia - What is the largest ocean on Earth?
Answer: Pacific Ocean - What is the longest river in the world?
Answer: Nile River - What mountain range runs through South America?
Answer: Andes Mountains - What country is known for maple syrup?
Answer: Canada - What country has the Great Wall?
Answer: China - What U.S. state is known as the Sunshine State?
Answer: Florida - In what U.S. state is the Grand Canyon located?
Answer: Arizona - What’s the largest country in South America?
Answer: Brazil - What continent is home to the Sahara Desert?
Answer: Africa - What ocean touches the east coast of the U.S.?
Answer: Atlantic Ocean - What continent is also a country?
Answer: Australia - What is the capital of England?
Answer: London - What is the world’s tallest mountain?
Answer: Mount Everest - What is the longest river in the U.S.?
Answer: Missouri River - What country borders the U.S. to the north?
Answer: Canada