115 middle school trivia questions to challenge young minds

Trivia is a fun and interactive way to keep kids engaged while boosting their knowledge across multiple subjects. Whether you're a teacher looking to spice up a lesson plan, a parent planning a family game night, or a student who loves a good challenge, these 115 middle school trivia questions, featuring everything from geography trivia to science trivia, keep everyone guessing.

General knowledge trivia

1. What is the capital of France? (Answer: Paris)

2. How many continents are there on Earth? (Answer: Seven)

3. What is the longest river in the world? (Answer: Nile River)

4. What planet is known as the Red Planet? (Answer: Mars)

5. Who wrote the play, Romeo and Juliet? (Answer: William Shakespeare)

Science trivia

1. What is the chemical symbol for water? (Answer: H2O)

2. What part of the plant conducts photosynthesis? (Answer: Leaves)

3. What gas do humans breathe in to survive? (Answer: Oxygen)

4. What is the largest organ in the human body? (Answer: Skin)

5. What force pulls objects toward Earth? (Answer: Gravity)

History trivia

1. Who was the first president of the United States? (Answer: George Washington)

2. In what year did World War II end? (Answer: 1945)

3. What ancient civilization built the pyramids? (Answer: Egyptians)

4. Who was known for his “I Have a Dream” speech? (Answer: Martin Luther King Jr.)

5. What ship famously sank after hitting an iceberg in 1912? (Answer: Titanic)

Geography trivia

1. What is the largest ocean in the world? (Answer: Pacific Ocean)

2. Which country is home to the Great Wall? (Answer: China)

3. What is the smallest U.S. state? (Answer: Rhode Island)

4. Mount Everest is located on the border of which two countries? (Answer: Nepal and China)

5. What is the longest river in the U.S.? (Answer: Missouri River)

Math trivia

1. What is the square root of 144? (Answer: 12)

2. What is the perimeter of a square with 5-inch sides? (Answer: 20 inches)

3. What is ¾ as a decimal? (Answer: 0.75)

4. How many degrees are in a triangle? (Answer: 180 degrees)

5. If a pizza is cut into 8 equal slices and you eat 3, what fraction remains? (Answer: 5/8)

Space trivia

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1. What is the hottest planet in our solar system? (Answer: Venus)

2. How many moons does Mars have? (Answer: Two—Phobos and Deimos)

3. What is the name of the first man to walk on the Moon? (Answer: Neil Armstrong)

4. Which planet has the most rings? (Answer: Saturn)

5. What is the closest star to Earth? (Answer: The Sun)

Literature trivia

1. Who wrote The Hobbit? (Answer: J.R.R. Tolkien)

2. What is the name of Sherlock Holmes’s assistant? (Answer: Dr. John H. Watson)

3. In which book series would you find the character Katniss Everdeen? (Answer: The Hunger Games)

4. What kind of animal is Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia? (Answer: A lion)

5. Who wrote Charlotte’s Web? (Answer: E.B. White)

Animals trivia

1. What is the fastest land animal? (Answer: Cheetah)

2. How many legs does a spider have? (Answer: Eight)

3. What is a baby goat called? (Answer: A kid)

4. What is the largest mammal on Earth? (Answer: Blue whale)

5. What type of animal is a Komodo dragon? (Answer: Lizard)

Sports trivia

1. How many players are on the field for a standard soccer team? (Answer: Eleven)

2. What sport is Michael Jordan famous for? (Answer: Basketball)

3. In which sport would you perform a "double axel"? (Answer: Figure skating)

4. What is the national sport of Japan? (Answer: Sumo wrestling)

5. Which country won the FIFA World Cup in 2022? (Answer: Argentina)

Music trivia

1. Who is known as the "King of Pop"? (Answer: Michael Jackson)

2. What instrument does a pianist play? (Answer: Piano)

3. Who sang "Rolling in the Deep"? (Answer: Adele)

4. What is the name of the four-member band that became famous in the 1960s from Liverpool, England? (Answer: The Beatles)

5. Which classical composer became deaf later in life but continued to compose music? (Answer: Ludwig van Beethoven)

6. Who was the lead singer of the band Queen? (Answer: Freddie Mercury)

Technology trivia

1. What does "www" stand for in a website address? (Answer: World Wide Web)

2. Who founded Microsoft? (Answer: Bill Gates and Paul Allen)

3. What year was the first iPhone released? (Answer: 2007)

4. What was the name of the first search engine? (Answer: Archie, created by Alan Emtage, a student at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, in 1990)

5. What social media platform is known for short, 280-character posts? (Answer: Twitter/X)

Food trivia

1. What is the main ingredient in guacamole? (Answer: Avocado)

2. Which country is famous for inventing pizza? (Answer: Italy)

3. What sweet substance do bees produce? (Answer: Honey)

4. What vegetable is known to make you cry when you cut it? (Answer: Onion)

5. What is the most popular ice cream flavor in the U.S.? (Answer: Vanilla)

Movies & TV trivia

1. What is the name of the wizarding school in Harry Potter? (Answer: Hogwarts)

2. Who is the voice of Buzz Lightyear in Toy Story? (Answer: Tim Allen)

3. What is the name of the robot in Star Wars that is gold and speaks multiple languages? (Answer: C-3PO)

4. In The Lion King, what is the name of Simba’s father? (Answer: Mufasa)

5. What year was the first Star Wars movie released? (Answer: 1977)

6. What is the name of Harry Potter’s pet owl? (Answer: Hedwig)

7. Who lives in a pineapple under the sea? (Answer: SpongeBob SquarePants)

8. Which superhero is known as the "Caped Crusader"? (Answer: Batman)

9. What is the name of the toy cowboy in Toy Story? (Answer: Woody)

Health & human body trivia

1. How many bones are in the adult human body? (Answer: 206)

2. What organ pumps blood through the body? (Answer: Heart)

3. Which vitamin do you get from sunlight? (Answer: Vitamin D)

4. What is the human body’s largest internal organ? (Answer: Liver)

5. What part of the body helps you balance? (Answer: Inner ear)

Mythology trivia

1. Who is the king of the Greek gods? (Answer: Zeus)

2. What is the name of Thor’s hammer in Norse mythology? (Answer: Mjolnir)

3. Which Roman god is equivalent to the Greek god Poseidon? (Answer: Neptune)

4. Who is the Egyptian god of the underworld? (Answer: Osiris)

5. In Greek mythology, who is known for slaying Medusa? (Answer: Perseus)

Inventions & discoveries trivia

1. Who invented the telephone? (Answer: Alexander Graham Bell)

2. What discovery is Marie Curie famous for? (Answer: Radioactivity)

3. What is the name of the first artificial satellite launched into space? (Answer: Sputnik 1)

4. Who developed the theory of relativity? (Answer: Albert Einstein)

5. Which invention revolutionized printing in the 15th century? (Answer: The printing press, by Johannes Gutenberg)

Language & grammar trivia

1. What is the term for a word that has the opposite meaning of another word? (Answer: Antonym)

2. What punctuation mark is used to indicate possession? (Answer: Apostrophe)

3. What is the plural form of "mouse"? (Answer: Mice)

4. What do you call a word that sounds the same but has a different meaning, like "pair" and "pear"? (Answer: Homophone)

5. What is the only letter that is not found in any U.S. state name? (Answer: Q)

Transportation trivia

1. What is the name of the first mass-produced hybrid car? (Answer: Toyota Prius)

2. What is the name of the train that connects London to Paris through an underwater tunnel? (Answer: Eurostar)

3. What do you call the section of road designed specifically for bicycles? (Answer: Bike lane)

4. What company manufactures the 747 jumbo jet? (Answer: Boeing)

5. Which mode of transport uses a gondola? (Answer: A ski lift or Venetian boat)

Video games trivia

1. What is the best-selling video game of all time? (Answer: Minecraft)

2. What is the name of the character that collects rings in a popular Sega game? (Answer: Sonic the Hedgehog)

3. In which game do players compete in a battle royale on an island? (Answer: Fortnite)

4. What classic arcade game features a yellow character eating dots? (Answer: Pac-Man)

5. What does "NPC" stand for in gaming? (Answer: Non-Player Character)

Famous landmarks trivia

1. What famous tower in Italy leans to one side? (Answer: The Leaning Tower of Pisa)

2. Where can you find the Statue of Liberty? (Answer: New York, USA)

3. What is the name of the giant stone statues on Easter Island? (Answer: Moai)

4. What landmark is known as "Big Ben"? (Answer: The clock tower of the Palace of Westminster in London)

5. What is the tallest building in the world? (Answer: Burj Khalifa in Dubai)

Weather & climate trivia

1. What scale is used to measure the intensity of hurricanes? (Answer: Saffir-Simpson Scale)

2. What type of precipitation falls as ice pellets? (Answer: Hail)

3. What is the driest desert on Earth? (Answer: Atacama Desert in Chile)

4. What is a tornado over water called? (Answer: Waterspout)

5. What is the main gas in Earth’s atmosphere? (Answer: Nitrogen)

Riddles & brain teasers

1. I speak without a mouth and hear without ears. I have no body, but I come alive with the wind. What am I? (Answer: An echo)

2. The more you take, the more you leave behind. What are they? (Answer: Footsteps)

3. What has to be broken before you can use it? (Answer: An egg)

4. I am tall when I’m young, and short when I’m old. What am I? (Answer: A candle)

5. What comes once in a minute, twice in a moment, but never in a thousand years? (Answer: The letter 'M')

Ways to use middle school trivia for fun and learning

1. Classroom trivia competitions

Teachers can use these questions as part of a fun end-of-week challenge. Divide students into teams and award small prizes to the winning group.

2. Family game night

Turn trivia into a bonding activity at home. Parents and kids can take turns asking each other questions to see who comes out on top.

3. Brain break activities

Studies show that quick trivia breaks can refresh the brain and improve focus. Try using a few trivia questions as a warm-up before diving into a new lesson.

4. Study group challenges

Students can test each other before big tests with trivia questions related to the subjects they’re studying.

5. Online trivia games

Create an online quiz using these questions on platforms like Kahoot! or Quizlet to make learning even more interactive.

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