Easy General Knowledge Quiz
Planets, oceans, animals and capitals: 15 easy general knowledge questions almost anyone can enjoy.
How many continents are there on Earth?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
7
The standard model taught in English-speaking countries counts seven continents: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. Some countries teach six by combining Europe and Asia or the Americas.
Asia alone holds roughly 60 percent of the world's population, while Antarctica has no permanent residents at all.
Which planet is the largest in our solar system?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Jupiter
Jupiter is by far the largest planet, with a diameter of about 143,000 km (89,000 miles), more than 11 times that of Earth. It has more than twice the mass of all the other planets combined.
Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a storm wider than Earth that has been observed for at least 150 years.
Who painted the Mona Lisa?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa in the early 1500s, working on it for years and keeping it with him until his death in France. It now hangs in the Louvre in Paris.
The painting was stolen from the Louvre in 1911 and was missing for more than two years before being recovered in Florence.
What is the capital city of Spain?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Madrid
Madrid has been Spain's capital since King Philip II moved his court there in 1561. It sits almost exactly in the centre of the country and is home to the royal palace and the national parliament.
At about 650 metres (2,130 feet) above sea level, Madrid is one of the highest capital cities in Europe.
How many days are there in a leap year?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
366
A leap year adds 29 February, bringing the total to 366 days so the calendar stays lined up with the Earth's orbit, which takes about 365.25 days.
Century years are only leap years if they divide by 400, which is why 2000 was a leap year but 1900 was not.
At what temperature does water freeze on the Fahrenheit scale?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
32 degrees
Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 0 degrees Celsius, and boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit at sea level.
Daniel Fahrenheit fixed his scale in 1724 using a freezing brine mixture as zero, which is why the water points fall on such odd looking numbers.
What is the name of the currency used in Japan?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Yen
Japan's currency is the yen, introduced in 1871 and today one of the most traded currencies in the world alongside the US dollar and the euro.
The yen symbol is shared with the Chinese yuan, though the two currencies are unrelated in value.
Which country is the largest in the world by land area?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Russia
Russia covers about 17 million square kilometres (6.6 million square miles), stretching across 11 time zones from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific. By land area China, the United States and Canada come next, in that order.
Russia is so wide that when people in Kaliningrad are eating breakfast, those in Kamchatka are already finishing dinner.
What is the largest animal ever known to have lived?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Blue whale
The blue whale can reach about 30 metres (98 feet) long and weigh up to 180 tonnes, larger than any dinosaur discovered so far. The whale shark is the largest fish and the African elephant the largest land animal.
A blue whale's heart is roughly the size of a small car, and its tongue alone can weigh as much as an elephant.
Which is the only mammal that can truly fly?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Bat
Bats are the only mammals capable of powered flight, flapping wings made of skin stretched between elongated finger bones. Flying squirrels, sugar gliders and colugos can only glide from tree to tree.
There are more than 1,400 bat species, making up roughly a fifth of all mammal species on Earth.
Which is the smallest country in the world by area?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Vatican City
Vatican City covers just 0.44 square kilometres (0.17 square miles), small enough to walk across in about 20 minutes. Monaco is the second smallest country, at roughly 2 square kilometres.
Vatican City became an independent state in 1929 under the Lateran Treaty signed between the Holy See and Italy.
How many minutes are there in a full day?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
1,440
A day has 24 hours and each hour has 60 minutes, so 24 multiplied by 60 gives 1,440 minutes. That works out to 86,400 seconds in a day.
Earth's rotation is gradually slowing, so scientists occasionally add a leap second to keep atomic clocks in step with the planet.
Which bird is the traditional symbol of peace?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Dove
The dove, often shown carrying an olive branch, has stood for peace since the story of Noah's Ark, and Picasso's 1949 lithograph made it the emblem of the World Peace Congress.
A white dove is a domesticated form of the rock pigeon, the same species that crowds city squares.
How many keys does a standard full-size piano have?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
88
A modern full-size piano has 88 keys: 52 white and 36 black, spanning just over seven octaves from the low A to the high C. Smaller keyboards often have 61 or 76 keys.
The Austrian maker Bösendorfer builds a concert grand with 97 keys, adding extra bass notes that are coloured black so pianists do not lose their place.
Which metal is a liquid at room temperature?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Mercury
Mercury is the only metal that is liquid at ordinary room temperature, melting at about minus 39 degrees Celsius (minus 38 Fahrenheit). Lead, tin and zinc are all solid until heated to several hundred degrees.
Mercury's old name quicksilver survives in its chemical symbol Hg, from the Greek-derived Latin hydrargyrum meaning liquid silver.
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All General Knowledge quizzes →About the Easy General Knowledge Quiz
Not every quiz needs to be brutal. This one covers the facts most adults half remember from school: there are seven continents, a leap year has 366 days, Japan pays in yen, and a full day holds exactly 1,440 minutes. Get those right and you are already well on your way.
The 15 questions mix geography, science, nature and a little music, starting with gentle openers and finishing with a few that make you pause before you click. It suits family game nights, classroom warm ups, pub quiz practice or anyone who simply wants an easy win with a short explanation after every answer.
You will find 15 multiple choice questions here, each with four options. Difficulty: Easy. Most people finish in about 6 minutes, and every answer comes with a short explanation and one extra fact worth keeping.
How to play
Read the question and pick one of the four answers. The correct answer is revealed straight away with a short explanation, then press Next question to keep going. At the end you get your score out of 15 and a full review of your round. Play again any time and the questions arrive in a fresh order. There is no timer and no account.
Good to know before you play
How easy is the Easy General Knowledge Quiz?
Most adults should score 10 or more out of 15. The first few questions are very gentle and the last few need a moment of thought.
What subjects does the quiz cover?
Geography, space, animals, currencies, temperature and music, all at a level you would meet in school or on a family quiz night.
Can children play this quiz?
Yes, older children from about age 10 will manage most of it, and there is a separate General Knowledge Quiz for Kids for younger players.
Answer key: all 15 questions with explanations
- How many continents are there on Earth?
7 The standard model taught in English-speaking countries counts seven continents: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. Some countries teach six by combining Europe and Asia or the Americas. Asia alone holds roughly 60 percent of the world's population, while Antarctica has no permanent residents at all. - Which planet is the largest in our solar system?
Jupiter Jupiter is by far the largest planet, with a diameter of about 143,000 km (89,000 miles), more than 11 times that of Earth. It has more than twice the mass of all the other planets combined. Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a storm wider than Earth that has been observed for at least 150 years. - Who painted the Mona Lisa?
Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa in the early 1500s, working on it for years and keeping it with him until his death in France. It now hangs in the Louvre in Paris. The painting was stolen from the Louvre in 1911 and was missing for more than two years before being recovered in Florence. - What is the capital city of Spain?
Madrid Madrid has been Spain's capital since King Philip II moved his court there in 1561. It sits almost exactly in the centre of the country and is home to the royal palace and the national parliament. At about 650 metres (2,130 feet) above sea level, Madrid is one of the highest capital cities in Europe. - How many days are there in a leap year?
366 A leap year adds 29 February, bringing the total to 366 days so the calendar stays lined up with the Earth's orbit, which takes about 365.25 days. Century years are only leap years if they divide by 400, which is why 2000 was a leap year but 1900 was not. - At what temperature does water freeze on the Fahrenheit scale?
32 degrees Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 0 degrees Celsius, and boils at 212 degrees Fahrenheit at sea level. Daniel Fahrenheit fixed his scale in 1724 using a freezing brine mixture as zero, which is why the water points fall on such odd looking numbers. - What is the name of the currency used in Japan?
Yen Japan's currency is the yen, introduced in 1871 and today one of the most traded currencies in the world alongside the US dollar and the euro. The yen symbol is shared with the Chinese yuan, though the two currencies are unrelated in value. - Which country is the largest in the world by land area?
Russia Russia covers about 17 million square kilometres (6.6 million square miles), stretching across 11 time zones from the Baltic Sea to the Pacific. By land area China, the United States and Canada come next, in that order. Russia is so wide that when people in Kaliningrad are eating breakfast, those in Kamchatka are already finishing dinner. - What is the largest animal ever known to have lived?
Blue whale The blue whale can reach about 30 metres (98 feet) long and weigh up to 180 tonnes, larger than any dinosaur discovered so far. The whale shark is the largest fish and the African elephant the largest land animal. A blue whale's heart is roughly the size of a small car, and its tongue alone can weigh as much as an elephant. - Which is the only mammal that can truly fly?
Bat Bats are the only mammals capable of powered flight, flapping wings made of skin stretched between elongated finger bones. Flying squirrels, sugar gliders and colugos can only glide from tree to tree. There are more than 1,400 bat species, making up roughly a fifth of all mammal species on Earth. - Which is the smallest country in the world by area?
Vatican City Vatican City covers just 0.44 square kilometres (0.17 square miles), small enough to walk across in about 20 minutes. Monaco is the second smallest country, at roughly 2 square kilometres. Vatican City became an independent state in 1929 under the Lateran Treaty signed between the Holy See and Italy. - How many minutes are there in a full day?
1,440 A day has 24 hours and each hour has 60 minutes, so 24 multiplied by 60 gives 1,440 minutes. That works out to 86,400 seconds in a day. Earth's rotation is gradually slowing, so scientists occasionally add a leap second to keep atomic clocks in step with the planet. - Which bird is the traditional symbol of peace?
Dove The dove, often shown carrying an olive branch, has stood for peace since the story of Noah's Ark, and Picasso's 1949 lithograph made it the emblem of the World Peace Congress. A white dove is a domesticated form of the rock pigeon, the same species that crowds city squares. - How many keys does a standard full-size piano have?
88 A modern full-size piano has 88 keys: 52 white and 36 black, spanning just over seven octaves from the low A to the high C. Smaller keyboards often have 61 or 76 keys. The Austrian maker Bösendorfer builds a concert grand with 97 keys, adding extra bass notes that are coloured black so pianists do not lose their place. - Which metal is a liquid at room temperature?
Mercury Mercury is the only metal that is liquid at ordinary room temperature, melting at about minus 39 degrees Celsius (minus 38 Fahrenheit). Lead, tin and zinc are all solid until heated to several hundred degrees. Mercury's old name quicksilver survives in its chemical symbol Hg, from the Greek-derived Latin hydrargyrum meaning liquid silver.
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