You found our list of Science-themed trivia questions & answers.

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Looking to host your next epic trivia night, and need a little help coming up with some questions? Well look no further! Whether it’s for your next Pub Quiz, family-fun night, teambuilding, or whatever else the occasion, we hope you’ll enjoy these trivia questions. We’ve included the answer as well as 4 possible multiple choice options for each question - so whatever format you prefer, we’ve got you covered.

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This list contains Science-themed trivia questions across the following categories:

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• Anatomy
• Animals
• Biology
• Chemistry
• Dinosaurs
• Engineering
• Geology/Gems
• Inventions
• The Periodic Table
• Space

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Science Trivia Questions

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Anatomy

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1. How long is the lifespan of a human red blood cell?

Answer: 120 days

a) 60 days

b) 90 days

c) 120 days

d) 150 days

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2. What is the longest type of cell in the body?

Answer: Nerve Cell (or Neuron)

a) Muscle cell

b) Skin cell

c) Nerve Cell

d) Red blood cell

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3. Pyrogen, typically produced by bacteria, causes what type of illness?

Answer: Fever

a) Cold

b) Fever

c) Rash

d) Sore throat

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4. Where would you find your pinna?

Answer: Ear

a) Hand

b) Foot

c) Ear

d) Nose

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5. Which is the rarest blood type in humans?

Answer: AB negative

a) A negative

b) B positive

c) AB negative

d) O negative

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6. The masseter, the strongest muscle in the human body, is commonly known as what?

Answer: Jaw muscle

a) Biceps

b) Calf muscle

c) Jaw muscle

d) Thigh muscle

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7. How many bones are there in a human foot?

Answer: 26

a) 24

b) 26

c) 28

d) 30

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8. What is the human body's biggest organ?

Answer: Skin

a) Liver

b) Heart

c) Lungs

d) Skin

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9. The word "muscle" comes from a Latin word meaning what?

Answer: Little mouse

a) Strong

b) Bundle

c) Little mouse

d) Flexor

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10. In what year were fingerprints first used to solve a crime?

Answer: 1892

a) 1875

b) 1889

c) 1892

d) 1901

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Animals

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1. What is the only mammal capable of true flight (not gliding)?

Answer: Bat

a) Flying fox

b) Colugo

c) Flying squirrel

d) Bat

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2. Which animal possesses the largest brain relative to its body size?

Answer: Sperm whale

a) Elephant

b) Sperm whale

c) Dolphin

d) Gorilla

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3. What is the name of the smallest species of penguin?

Answer: Little blue penguin (also known as the fairy penguin)

a) Little blue penguin

b) Adélie penguin

c) Chinstrap penguin

d) Gentoo penguin

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4. Which insect holds the record for the fastest flying insect in the world?

Answer: Dragonfly

a) Dragonfly

b) Hawk moth

c) Housefly

d) Bee

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5. What is the name of the small, elusive mammal native to Australia that is capable of laying eggs?

Answer: Platypus

a) Platypus

b) Kangaroo

c) Tasmanian devil

d) Koala

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6. Which bird species is known for its ability to mimic chainsaws and other mechanical sounds?

Answer: Lyrebird

a) Mockingbird

b) Lyrebird

c) Parrot

d) Starling

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7. What is the only species of bear found in the Southern Hemisphere?

Answer: Spectacled bear

a) Polar bear

b) Brown bear

c) Spectacled bear

d) Panda bear

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8. Which animal has the most complex eyesight in the animal kingdom?

Answer: Mantis shrimp

a) Mantis shrimp

b) Eagle

c) Owl

d) Cuttlefish

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9. What is the name of the largest living species of turtle, known for its distinctive ridged shell and often found in tropical and subtropical oceans?

Answer: Leatherback sea turtle

a) Loggerhead turtle

b) Leatherback sea turtle

c) Green sea turtle

d) Hawksbill turtle

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10. Which creature holds the record for the longest migration journey of any animal?

Answer: Arctic tern

a) Sockeye salmon

b) Monarch butterfly

c) Humpback whale

d) Arctic tern

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Biology

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1. What is the collective name of animals and plants that live on a lake bottom?

Answer: Benthos

a) Plankton

b) Nekton

c) Benthos

d) Neuston

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2. What is the hardest substance in the human body, found in the teeth?

Answer: Enamel

a) Dentin

b) Enamel

c) Cementum

d) Pulp

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3. Of the three smallest bones in the human body, which one is also referred to as the Hammer?

Answer: Malleus

a) Incus

b) Malleus

c) Stapes

d) Cochlea

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4. ______ is the world's tallest grass.

Answer: Bamboo

a) Whea

tb) Bamboo

c) Olympus Grass

d) Sugarcane

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5. Wombats, which are short-legged burrowing marsupials, are unique for producing feces in what shape?

Answer: Cube

a) Sphere

b) Cylinder

c) Pyramid

d) Cube

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6. Along with the platypus, what is the name of the other egg-laying mammal known for its spiny exterior?

Answer: Echidna

a) Hedgehog

b) Armadillo

c) Echidna

d) Pangolin

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7. In what year was the structure of DNA discovered?

Answer: 1953

a) 1945

b) 1953

c) 1961

d) 1970

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8. Which type of living organism produces most of the Earth's oxygen?

Answer: Phytoplankton (Plankton is also acceptable)

a) Algae

b) Moss

c) Trees

d) Phytoplankton

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9. Entomology is the study of what?

Answer: Insects

a) Blood

b) Insects

c) Bones

d) Soil

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10. Despite their long necks, giraffes have the same number of neck vertebrae as humans. How many do they have?

Answer: Seven

a) Five

b) Six

c) Seven

d) Eight

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Chemistry

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1. Which chemical causes the burning taste sensation when eating chilies?

Answer: Capsaicin

a) Piperine

b) Saponin

c) Allicin

d) Capsaicin

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2. Who invented the first battery?

Answer: Alessandro Volta

a) Alessandro Volta

b) Michael Faraday

c) Nikola Tesla

d) Thomas Edison

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3. What is the term for the temperature and pressure at which water, ice, and steam coexist in equilibrium?

Answer: Triple Point

a) Sublimation point

b) Condensation point

c) Critical point

d) Triple point

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4. What color is liquid oxygen, which is commonly used in medical applications and as a component in rocket fuel?

Answer: Blue

a) Clear

b) Green

c) Blue

d) Yellow

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5. At what temperature does salt water typically boil?

Answer: 102°C (216°F) [Any answer within 5°C or 10°F is acceptable]

a) 98°C (208°F)

b) 102°C (216°F)

c) 105°C (221°F)

d) 110°C (230°F)

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6. The word "explosion" comes from the Latin word "explosio" or "explodere," meaning what?

Answer: To drive out

a) To drive out

b) To expand rapidly

c) To ignite

d) To burst forth

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7. From which animal droppings can Saltpeter, a key ingredient in gunpowder, be extracted?

Answer: Bat

a) Horse

b) Rat

c) Bat

d) Camel

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8. Which mineral is commonly known as "fool's gold"?

Answer: Pyrite

a) Quartz

b) Pyrite

c) Galena

d) Calcite

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9. What does TNT stand for?

Answer: Trinitrotoluene

a) Tetra-nitrate-triphosphate

b) Tetra-nitride-tetrachloride

c) Tetra-nitro-toluene

d) Tri-nitro-toluene

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10. What unit of temperature is most commonly used by scientists?

Answer: Kelvin

a) Celsius

b) Fahrenheit

c) Rankine

d) Kelvin

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Dinosaurs

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1. What was the largest dinosaur ever discovered?

Answer: Argentinosaurus

a) Tyrannosaurus Rex

b) Argentinosaurus

c) Stegosaurus

d) Velociraptor

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2. What was the name of the small, bird-like dinosaur known for its distinctive sickle-shaped claw on each foot?

Answer: Velociraptor

a) Velociraptor

b) Dilophosaurus

c) Archaeopteryx

d) Deinonychus

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3. What dinosaur is called the "Good Mother Lizard" due to its nesting habits?

Answer: Maiasaura

a) Maiasaura

b) Oviraptor

c) Troodon

d) Deinonychus

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4. What was the name of the dinosaur with a bony club at the end of its tail, used for defense?

Answer: Ankylosaurus

a) Ankylosaurus

b) Stegosaurus

c) Nodosaurus

d) Euoplocephalus

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5. What dinosaur has a large bony frill on its head and spikes on its tail?

Answer: Stegosaurus

a) Velociraptor

b) Argentinosaurus

c) Stegosaurus

d) Ankylosaurus

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6. Which dinosaur has sharp, serrated teeth and powerful bite?

Answer: Tyrannosaurus Rex

a) Spinosaurus

b) Stegosaurus

c) Triceratops

d) Tyrannosaurus Rex

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7. What dinosaur is famous for having three horns on its face?

Answer: Triceratops

a) Tyrannosaurus Rex

b) Brachiosaurus

c) Triceratops

d) Allosaurus

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8. Among dinosaurs, which one is popularly referred to as the "duck-billed dinosaur" due to its unique mouth structure?

Answer: Hadrosaurus

a) Hadrosaurus

b) Ankylosaurus

c) Parasaurolophus

d) Deinonychus

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9. Which dinosaur is known for its long, slender body and long neck?

Answer: Diplodocus

a) Diplodocus

b) Ankylosaurus

c) Parasaurolophus

d) Pteranodon

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10. Which dinosaur is believed to have had an elongated, narrow skull and rows of sharp teeth suited for catching fish?

Answer: Ichthyosaurus

a) Triceratops

b) Ichthyosaurus

c) Ankylosaurus

d) Velociraptor

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Engineering

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1. ENIAC, one of the earliest electronic general-purpose computers, was primarily designed to calculate what?

Answer: Artillery firing tables

a) Weather anomalies

b) Artillery firing tables

c) Code (for code breaking)

d) Financial models

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2. How many zeros are there in a googol?

Answer: 100

a) 20

b) 50

c) 100

d) 1,000

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3. In what century was the first mechanical clock invented?

Answer: 1300s

a) 1200s

b) 1300s

c) 1400s

d) 1500s

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4. Sonar is a technique used to detect objects underwater. What is it short for?

Answer: Sound Navigation and Ranging

a) Sound Navigation and Ranging

b) Silent Navigation and Radar

c) Sea Navigation and Radar

d) Sea Navigation and Ranging

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5. How long is the Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge in China, which holds the title of the longest bridge in the world?

Answer: 164.8 kilometers (102.4 miles) [Any answer within 25 km / 20 miles is acceptable]

a) 100 kilometers (62 miles)

b) 145.6 kilometers (90.5 miles)

c) 164.8 kilometers (102.4 miles)

d) 200 kilometers (124.3 miles)

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6. Which inventor created blueprint photography, initially as a way to avoid writing out multiple copies of his own notes?

Answer: John Herschel

a) Louis Daguerre

b) William Henry Fox Talbot

c) John Herschel

d) George Eastman

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7. What does LHC, the world’s largest machine, stand for?

Answer: Large Hadron Collider

a) Linear High Collider

b) Large Hadron Collider

c) Large Hyper Collider

d) Linear Hadron Collider

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8. What device was responsible for the accidental discovery of the microwave oven when it melted a chocolate bar?

Answer: Radar magnetron

a) X-ray tube

b) Radio transmitter

c) Radar magnetron

d) Electric coil

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9. The word "engineer" is derived from the Latin words "ingeniare," meaning "to contrive or devise," and "ingenium," which means what?

Answer: Cleverness

a) Cleverness

b) Precision

c) Strength

d) Resourcefulness

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10. In what year was the first satellite put into orbit?

Answer: 1957

a) 1955

b) 1957

c) 1959

d) 1961

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Geology / Gems‍

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1. What is the name of the scale used to measure the hardness of minerals?

Answer: Mohs scale

a) Richter scale

b) Mohs scale

c) Beaufort scale

d) Scoville scale

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2. What is the phenomenon called when a mineral exhibits different colors when viewed from different angles?

Answer: Pleochroism

a) Iridescence

b) Pleochroism

c) Chatoyancy

d) Asterism

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3. When magma or lava cools and solidifies, what type of rock is formed?

Answer: Igneous rock

a) Sedimentary rock

b) Igneous rock

c) Metamorphic rock

d) Obsidian

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4. Which mineral is the primary source of aluminum?

Answer: Bauxite

a) Hematite

b) Bauxite

c) Galena

d) Sphalerite

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5. Olivine is the most common mineral in which layer of the Earth?

Answer: Mantle

a) Crust

b) Mantle

c) Outer Core

d) Inner Core

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6. Which mineral is known for its fluorescence under ultraviolet light and is often used in making fluorescent lamps?

Answer: Calcite

a) Fluorite

b) Calcite

c) Barite

d) Sphalerite

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7. What process describes the change of a rock into a different rock through heat, and often with elevated pressure or in the process of chemically activated fluids?

Answer: Metamorphism

a) Erosion

b) Sedimentation

c) Metamorphism

d) Crystallization

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8. What geological feature is formed when limestone dissolves, leaving a depression in the ground?

Answer: Sinkhole

a) Mesa

b) Pothole

c) Sinkhole

d) Trench

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9. What is the official birthstone for the month of April?

Answer: Diamond

a) Emerald

b) Sapphire

c) Ruby

d) Diamond

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10. What is the common name for the volcanic glass formed from the rapid cooling of lava without crystal growth?

Answer: Obsidian

a) Pumice

b) Obsidian

c) Tuff

d) Basalt

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Inventions

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1. What British inventor is credited for developing the concept of the world's first programmable computer, the Analytical Engine, in the 1830s?

‍Answer: Charles Babbage

a) Alan Turing

b) Ada Lovelace

c) Charles Babbage

d) John von Neumann

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2. Who invented the first mass-produced, practical sewing machine in 1846, revolutionizing the textile industry?

‍Answer: Elias Howe

a) Isaac Singer

b) Elias Howe

c) Walter Hunt

d) Barthélemy Thimonnier

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3. What French chemist and microbiologist is credited with a namesake discovery that revolutionized food preservation?

‍Answer: Louis Pasteur

a) Louis Pasteur

b) Alexander Fleming

c) Marie Curie

d) Antoine Lavoisier

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4. Known for her pioneering research on radioactivity, who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize?

‍Answer: Marie Curie

a) Stephanie Kwolek

b) Rosalind Franklin

c) Marie Curie

d) Ada Lovelace

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5. What Austrian neurologist is credited with inventing psychoanalysis, a clinical method for treating psychopathology through dialogue between a patient and a psychoanalyst?

‍Answer: Sigmund Freud

a) Alfred Adler

b) Carl Jung

c) Wilhelm Reich

d) Sigmund Freud

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6. Name the company that introduced the first commercially available lithium-ion battery in 1991.

‍Answer: Sony

a) Panasonic

b) Sony

c) Duracell

d) Energizer

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7. What is the name of the French physicist who invented the electric battery and discovered several elements, including sodium and potassium?

‍Answer: Antoine Lavoisier

a) Joseph-Louis Lagrange

b) Jacques Charles

c) Antoine Lavoisier

d) André-Marie Ampère

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8. In what year was the World Wide Web invented, revolutionizing the way information is shared on the internet?

‍Answer: 1989

a) 1979

b) 1984

c) 1989

d) 1991

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9. What scientist developed the first successful polio vaccine in the 1950s?

‍Answer: Jonas Salk

a) Jonas Salk

b) Albert Sabin

c) Edward Jenner

d) Alexander Fleming

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10. What inventor is credited with the discovery of penicillin in 1928?

‍Answer: Alexander Fleming

a) Alexander Fleming

b) Louis Pasteur

c) Marie Curie

d) Antoine Lavoisier

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The Periodic Table

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1. After hydrogen, what is the second most abundant element in the universe?

Answer: Helium

a) Oxygen

b) Carbon

c) Neon

d) Helium

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2. What is the element with the highest melting point?

Answer: Tungsten

a) Titanium

b) Tungsten

c) Rhenium

d) Tantalum

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3. Copper is essential for creating which color in fireworks?

Answer: Blue

a) Red

b) Green

c) Blue

d) Yellow

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4. The element Neon comes from the Greek word “neos”, meaning?

Answer: New

a) Light

b) Invisible

c) New

d) Bright

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5. Which element was discovered by Marie Curie, and is named after her native country?

Answer: Polonium

a) Radium

b) Polonium

c) Francium

d) Curium

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6. The Boron group includes Boron, Aluminum, Gallium, Indium, Thallium, and which element?

Answer: Nihonium

a) Polonium

b) Nihonium

c) Francium

d) Radium

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7. Which is the only metal that is a liquid at room temperature?

Answer: Mercury

a) Lead

b) Gold

c) Silver

d) Mercury

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8. When burned, what color of flame does potassium nitrate produce?

Answer: Purple

a) Red

b) Green

c) Blue

d) Purple

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9. Neodymium is notably used in the production of what?

Answer: Magnets

a) Batteries

b) Magnets

c) Semiconductors

d) Catalysts

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10. Which was the first noble gas to be discovered?

Answer: Argon

a) Helium

b) Krypton

c) Xenon

d) Argon

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Space

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1. What is the name of the closest star to Earth, besides the Sun?‍

Answer: Proxima Centauri

a) Sirius

b) Alpha Centauri

c) Proxima Centauri

d) Betelgeuse

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2. Which planet in our solar system has the most moons?

‍Answer: Jupiter

a) Jupiter

b) Saturn

c) Uranus

d) Neptune

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3. What is the name of the largest volcano in our solar system, located on Mars?

‍Answer: Olympus Mons

a) Mount Etna

b) Mauna Kea

c) Olympus Mons

d) Mount Vesuvius

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4. Which space mission successfully landed humans on the Moon for the first time?

‍Answer: Apollo 11

a) Apollo 11

b) Mercury-Atlas 6

c) Voyager 1

d) Mars Pathfinder

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5. What is the term for the point in a planet's orbit around the Sun where it is closest to the star?

‍Answer: Perihelion

a) Aphelion

b) Perihelion

c) Equinox

d) Solstice

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6. What is the name of the spacecraft launched by NASA in 2006 to study Pluto and the Kuiper Belt objects?

‍Answer: New Horizons

a) Galileo

b) Juno

c) Cassini

d) New Horizons

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7. In the movie "Deep Impact," what was the name of the meteor headed towards Earth?

‍Answer: Wolf-Biederman.

a) Messiah

b) Wolf-Biederman

c) Jensen-Bisach

d) Smith-Johnson

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8. What is the largest known planet outside our solar system?

‍Answer: WASP-17b

a) Kepler-22b

b) WASP-17b

c) HD 209458b

d) TrES-4

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9. Which spacecraft conducted the first flyby of Jupiter and Saturn, providing crucial data and images of these gas giants?

‍Answer: Voyager 1

a) Voyager 1

b) Voyager 2

c) Juno

d) Cassini

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10. What is the approximate age of the universe, according to current scientific estimates?

‍Answer: 13.8 billion years

a) 4.6 billion years

b) 13.8 billion years

c) 20 billion years

d) 100 billion years

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