Megan Moran

5th grade trivia quiz

Could you pass 5th grade? These 5th grade trivia questions and answers cover what American kids learn around age 10, from the colonies and the Constitution to US geography, science, quick math and grammar. Grown-ups, here's your chance to find out: are you smarter than a 5th grader?

A free quiz from Megan Moran.

Paper-cut illustration of a classroom desk with books, a globe, an apple and a chalkboard
Pick an answer to start20 to go

  1. Question 1 of 20US historyEasy

    In what year did the Continental Congress adopt the Declaration of Independence?

  2. Question 2 of 20MathEasy

    How many degrees are in a right angle?

  3. Question 3 of 20US historyMedium

    Who was the main author of the Declaration of Independence?

  4. Question 4 of 20Grammar and vocabularyEasy

    Which word is the verb in this sentence: "The happy dog ran home"?

  5. Question 5 of 20US geographyHard

    How many US states share a border with Mexico?

  6. Question 6 of 20Earth scienceMedium

    When water vapor in the air cools and turns into tiny liquid droplets, what is that called?

  7. Question 7 of 20US historyMedium

    Jamestown, founded in 1607 as the first permanent English settlement in North America, is in which present-day state?

  8. Question 8 of 20Life scienceEasy

    Animals that eat only plants are called what?

  9. Question 9 of 20US historyHard

    How many amendments does the US Constitution have?

  10. Question 10 of 20MathMedium

    What is the volume of a box that is 2 inches long, 3 inches wide and 4 inches tall?

  11. Question 11 of 20Grammar and vocabularyMedium

    In the sentence "She sang beautifully," what part of speech is "beautifully"?

  12. Question 12 of 20Earth scienceEasy

    What causes day and night on Earth?

  13. Question 13 of 20Grammar and vocabularyHard

    Which of these words is spelled correctly?

  14. Question 14 of 20US geographyMedium

    Which is the only one of the five Great Lakes that lies entirely within the United States?

  15. Question 15 of 20Life scienceMedium

    In a food chain, plants that make their own food using sunlight are called what?

  16. Question 16 of 20MathHard

    Using the correct order of operations, what is 3 + 4 × 2?

  17. Question 17 of 20US geographyEasy

    Which ocean lies along the East Coast of the United States?

  18. Question 18 of 20US historyMedium

    What are the first ten amendments to the US Constitution called?

  19. Question 19 of 20Earth scienceHard

    What is the main cause of Earth's seasons?

  20. Question 20 of 20Grammar and vocabularyMedium

    What does the prefix "pre-" mean, as in "preview" or "preheat"?

Answer all 20 to see your score.

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Show all the answers, with the facts behind them
  1. In what year did the Continental Congress adopt the Declaration of Independence? 1776Congress actually voted for independence on July 2. John Adams predicted that date would be celebrated with bells and bonfires for generations.
  2. How many degrees are in a right angle? 90Put two right angles side by side and you get a straight line, which measures 180 degrees.
  3. Who was the main author of the Declaration of Independence? Thomas JeffersonHe wrote it on a portable wooden lap desk that he designed himself. The desk is now kept at the Smithsonian.
  4. Which word is the verb in this sentence: "The happy dog ran home"? ran"Ran" is an irregular past-tense verb. We say "ran," not "runned," just as we say "swam," not "swimmed."
  5. How many US states share a border with Mexico? FourThey are California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. The whole border stretches about 1,954 miles (3,145 km).
  6. When water vapor in the air cools and turns into tiny liquid droplets, what is that called? CondensationIt's why a cold glass of lemonade "sweats" on a hot day, and it's how clouds form high in the sky.
  7. Jamestown, founded in 1607 as the first permanent English settlement in North America, is in which present-day state? VirginiaIt was named after King James I of England. Tobacco, first grown successfully there around 1612, became the colony's big money-maker.
  8. Animals that eat only plants are called what? HerbivoresCows are a good example. Their single stomach is split into four sections, which helps them break down tough grass.
  9. How many amendments does the US Constitution have? 27The 27th Amendment, about lawmakers' pay, was first proposed in 1789 but wasn't ratified until 1992, more than 200 years later.
  10. What is the volume of a box that is 2 inches long, 3 inches wide and 4 inches tall? 24 cubic inchesVolume is length times width times height, so doubling just one side of this box would double its volume.
  11. In the sentence "She sang beautifully," what part of speech is "beautifully"? AdverbLots of these words end in -ly, but not all of them: "soon," "very" and "often" belong to the same group.
  12. What causes day and night on Earth? Earth rotatingAt the equator, the ground moves at about 1,000 mph (1,600 km/h), but we don't feel it because everything moves along with us.
  13. Which of these words is spelled correctly? NecessaryA handy memory trick: the word has one collar and two sleeves, meaning one C and two S's.
  14. Which is the only one of the five Great Lakes that lies entirely within the United States? Lake MichiganIts eastern shore has the world's largest collection of freshwater sand dunes, and it joins Lake Huron through the Straits of Mackinac.
  15. In a food chain, plants that make their own food using sunlight are called what? ProducersTiny ocean organisms called phytoplankton do the same job. NOAA says the ocean makes roughly half of Earth's oxygen.
  16. Using the correct order of operations, what is 3 + 4 × 2? 11Many students remember the order with PEMDAS: Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication and Division, then Addition and Subtraction.
  17. Which ocean lies along the East Coast of the United States? Atlantic OceanIt is getting wider by about 1 inch (2.5 cm) a year as the seafloor spreads apart along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
  18. What are the first ten amendments to the US Constitution called? The Bill of RightsJames Madison drafted them, and they were ratified in 1791. They protect freedoms such as speech, religion and a free press.
  19. What is the main cause of Earth's seasons? The tilt of Earth's axisEarth is actually closest to the Sun in early January, during winter in the Northern Hemisphere.
  20. What does the prefix "pre-" mean, as in "preview" or "preheat"? BeforeIts opposite is "post-," meaning after, as in "postwar" or "postscript," the P.S. at the end of a letter.
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