General Knowledge Quiz for Kids
Spiders, rainbows, penguins and nursery rhymes: 15 fun questions written for kids aged 7 to 12.
How many legs does a spider have?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
8
All spiders have eight legs, which is one of the easiest ways to tell them apart from insects, which have six. Spiders belong to a group of animals called arachnids, along with scorpions and ticks.
Most spiders also have eight eyes, although some have six and a few cave-dwelling species have none at all.
What is the name of the hard covering that protects a tortoise?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Shell
A tortoise's shell is made of bone covered by plates of keratin, the same material as your fingernails, and it is joined to the animal's spine and ribs.
A tortoise cannot crawl out of its shell, because the shell is part of its skeleton.
What colour do you get when you mix red and yellow paint?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Orange
Mixing red and yellow paint makes orange. Red, yellow and blue are called primary colours because you cannot make them by mixing other paints, while orange, green and purple are secondary colours.
Mix all three primary colours together and you usually end up with a muddy brown, which is why artists keep their brushes clean.
Which animal is often called the King of the Jungle?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Lion
The lion has been called the King of the Jungle for centuries because of its strength and its proud looking mane. Oddly, lions do not live in jungles at all but on the open grasslands of Africa.
A lion's roar is so loud it can be heard up to 8 km (5 miles) away across the savanna.
Which is the fastest land animal in the world?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Cheetah
A cheetah can sprint at around 100 km/h (60 mph) in short bursts, faster than any other land animal. Its long legs, bendy spine and tail that works like a rudder help it chase down prey.
Cheetahs get tired very quickly and usually give up a chase after about 20 or 30 seconds.
In the nursery rhyme, who sat on a wall and had a great fall?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Humpty Dumpty
Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, had a great fall, and all the king's horses and all the king's men could not put him back together again. The rhyme has been sung in England for more than 200 years.
The rhyme never actually says Humpty Dumpty is an egg; that idea became popular after the illustrations in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass.
Which sea creature has eight arms?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Octopus
An octopus has eight arms covered in suckers that it uses to crawl, grab food and even taste things. A squid has eight arms plus two longer tentacles, a crab has ten legs, and most starfish have five arms.
Octopuses are so clever that some have learned to open jars and squeeze through gaps no bigger than their eyeball.
What is a baby kangaroo called?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Joey
A baby kangaroo is called a joey. It is born tiny, about the size of a jelly bean, and crawls into its mother's pouch where it stays safe and drinks milk for months while it grows.
Kangaroos cannot walk backwards, which is one reason Australia chose the animal for its coat of arms as a symbol of moving forward.
How many colours are there in a rainbow?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Seven
Rainbows are usually described as having seven colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, which you can remember with the name Roy G. Biv.
Isaac Newton chose seven colours partly because he wanted the number to match the seven notes of a musical scale.
Which part of a plant takes in water from the soil?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Roots
Roots grow down into the soil and soak up water and minerals, which then travel up the stem to the leaves. Roots also hold the plant firmly in the ground so wind and rain cannot knock it over.
Carrots, beetroot and radishes are all roots, so when you eat them you are eating the part of the plant that was underground.
How many years are there in a century?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
100
A century is 100 years, which is why the 1900s are called the twentieth century. The word comes from the Latin centum meaning one hundred, the same root as cent and centimetre.
Ten years make a decade and a thousand years make a millennium, so there are ten centuries in every millennium.
Which is the biggest continent in the world?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Asia
Asia is the largest continent by far, covering about 44 million square kilometres (17 million square miles) and holding more than half of all the people on Earth. Africa is the second biggest.
Asia has both the highest point on land, Mount Everest, and the lowest, the shore of the Dead Sea.
Which of these birds cannot fly?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
Penguin
Penguins have wings, but they use them as flippers for swimming instead of flying. Their bodies are heavy and streamlined for zooming through cold water, where they catch fish and squid.
Emperor penguins can dive deeper than 500 metres (1,640 feet) and hold their breath for more than 20 minutes.
How many strings does a violin have?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
4
A violin has four strings, usually tuned to the notes G, D, A and E. The player draws a bow across them or plucks them with a finger to make the strings vibrate and sing.
A guitar has six strings and a harp can have more than 40, so the violin gets a lot of music out of just four.
How many months of the year have 31 days?
Got a hunch? Pick the answer that feels right.
7
Seven months have 31 days: January, March, May, July, August, October and December. Four months have 30 days, and February has 28, or 29 in a leap year.
You can check this on your knuckles: each knuckle is a 31-day month and each dip between them is a shorter month.
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All General Knowledge quizzes →About the General Knowledge Quiz for Kids
Did you know a spider has eight legs, a cheetah can sprint faster than a car on a city street, and a baby kangaroo is called a joey? Kids collect facts like these, and this quiz gives them a chance to show off what they know.
The 15 questions are written for children aged roughly 7 to 12 and cover animals, space, colours, shapes, nursery rhymes and the natural world. The first few are easy confidence builders, the middle ones take a little thinking, and the last couple might even stump a grown up. Each answer comes with a short, friendly explanation, so it works just as well as a learning tool at home or in the classroom.
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
What age is the General Knowledge Quiz for Kids aimed at?
It is written for children aged about 7 to 12, with the easiest questions first and a few trickier ones near the end for older kids.
Does the quiz need any reading help?
Younger children may need an adult to read the questions aloud, but the answers are short and the explanations are written in plain, friendly language.
Can we use this quiz in a classroom?
Yes, it works well as a warm up or end of lesson game, and the explanations give teachers a quick fact to build on for every question.
Answer key: all 15 questions with explanations
- How many legs does a spider have?
8 All spiders have eight legs, which is one of the easiest ways to tell them apart from insects, which have six. Spiders belong to a group of animals called arachnids, along with scorpions and ticks. Most spiders also have eight eyes, although some have six and a few cave-dwelling species have none at all. - What is the name of the hard covering that protects a tortoise?
Shell A tortoise's shell is made of bone covered by plates of keratin, the same material as your fingernails, and it is joined to the animal's spine and ribs. A tortoise cannot crawl out of its shell, because the shell is part of its skeleton. - What colour do you get when you mix red and yellow paint?
Orange Mixing red and yellow paint makes orange. Red, yellow and blue are called primary colours because you cannot make them by mixing other paints, while orange, green and purple are secondary colours. Mix all three primary colours together and you usually end up with a muddy brown, which is why artists keep their brushes clean. - Which animal is often called the King of the Jungle?
Lion The lion has been called the King of the Jungle for centuries because of its strength and its proud looking mane. Oddly, lions do not live in jungles at all but on the open grasslands of Africa. A lion's roar is so loud it can be heard up to 8 km (5 miles) away across the savanna. - Which is the fastest land animal in the world?
Cheetah A cheetah can sprint at around 100 km/h (60 mph) in short bursts, faster than any other land animal. Its long legs, bendy spine and tail that works like a rudder help it chase down prey. Cheetahs get tired very quickly and usually give up a chase after about 20 or 30 seconds. - In the nursery rhyme, who sat on a wall and had a great fall?
Humpty Dumpty Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, had a great fall, and all the king's horses and all the king's men could not put him back together again. The rhyme has been sung in England for more than 200 years. The rhyme never actually says Humpty Dumpty is an egg; that idea became popular after the illustrations in Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass. - Which sea creature has eight arms?
Octopus An octopus has eight arms covered in suckers that it uses to crawl, grab food and even taste things. A squid has eight arms plus two longer tentacles, a crab has ten legs, and most starfish have five arms. Octopuses are so clever that some have learned to open jars and squeeze through gaps no bigger than their eyeball. - What is a baby kangaroo called?
Joey A baby kangaroo is called a joey. It is born tiny, about the size of a jelly bean, and crawls into its mother's pouch where it stays safe and drinks milk for months while it grows. Kangaroos cannot walk backwards, which is one reason Australia chose the animal for its coat of arms as a symbol of moving forward. - How many colours are there in a rainbow?
Seven Rainbows are usually described as having seven colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, which you can remember with the name Roy G. Biv. Isaac Newton chose seven colours partly because he wanted the number to match the seven notes of a musical scale. - Which part of a plant takes in water from the soil?
Roots Roots grow down into the soil and soak up water and minerals, which then travel up the stem to the leaves. Roots also hold the plant firmly in the ground so wind and rain cannot knock it over. Carrots, beetroot and radishes are all roots, so when you eat them you are eating the part of the plant that was underground. - How many years are there in a century?
100 A century is 100 years, which is why the 1900s are called the twentieth century. The word comes from the Latin centum meaning one hundred, the same root as cent and centimetre. Ten years make a decade and a thousand years make a millennium, so there are ten centuries in every millennium. - Which is the biggest continent in the world?
Asia Asia is the largest continent by far, covering about 44 million square kilometres (17 million square miles) and holding more than half of all the people on Earth. Africa is the second biggest. Asia has both the highest point on land, Mount Everest, and the lowest, the shore of the Dead Sea. - Which of these birds cannot fly?
Penguin Penguins have wings, but they use them as flippers for swimming instead of flying. Their bodies are heavy and streamlined for zooming through cold water, where they catch fish and squid. Emperor penguins can dive deeper than 500 metres (1,640 feet) and hold their breath for more than 20 minutes. - How many strings does a violin have?
4 A violin has four strings, usually tuned to the notes G, D, A and E. The player draws a bow across them or plucks them with a finger to make the strings vibrate and sing. A guitar has six strings and a harp can have more than 40, so the violin gets a lot of music out of just four. - How many months of the year have 31 days?
7 Seven months have 31 days: January, March, May, July, August, October and December. Four months have 30 days, and February has 28, or 29 in a leap year. You can check this on your knuckles: each knuckle is a 31-day month and each dip between them is a shorter month.
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