Easy Science Quiz!

By: John Miller
Estimated Completion Time
4 min
Easy Science Quiz!
Image: WALTER ZERLA/Cultura/Getty Images

About This Quiz

We humans use various scientific methods to explore Earth and even the outer reaches of the solar system and beyond. And as we all know, there are still many scientific mysteries waiting to be unveiled not only in our environments, but within our own bodies and minds, too. Were you really paying attention in your slate of science classes? Take this easy science quiz and prove it!

From Earth science like geology to life sciences like botany and ecology, there is a vast treasure trove of knowledge in our shared experiences. Do remember botany terms like “xylem” and “photosynthesis,” and could you really explain them to a fifth-grader? Do you understand basic animal classifications? And do you know what advantages mammals might have over their cold-blooded cousins?

How about astronomy? Can you pinpoint various stars and constellations high above our home on Earth? And do you understand how the chemical elements up there are so very similar to the ones found in your own bones? 

Are you a scientific Renaissance man or someone who preferred to sleep in class? Take this easy science quiz now!

How many bones are there in an adult human body?
36
98
206
872
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

You have fewer as they meld together. Adult humans have 206 bones when it's all said and done.

When it's safely streaming in the body, human blood is always which color?
Blue
Red
Green
Gray
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Because veins often look bluish, there's a misconception that human blood is blue until it's exposed to the environment. That's not true -- human blood is always red.

Pure gold has a lot of interesting properties. Can you name one?
It can be molded with bare hands.
It has no conductivity at all.
It is essentially worthless.
It's incredibly toxic.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The purest gold is also the softest. So soft, in fact, that you can push and pull it like clay with your bare hands.

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Conifers, like pine trees, always grow in triangular shape. Why is that?
To increase trunk strength
To maximize photosynthesis
To ward off pess
To improve root structure
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Conifers use needles (instead of bigger leaves) for photosynthesis. With their triangular shape, the trees maximize light exposure all the greatest number of needles.

It's a quirk of biology. Babies do which action a lot less than adults?
Urinating
Crying
Eating
Blinking
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Babies aren't big blinkers -- they often only blink a couple of times per minute. And scientists aren't sure why that’s the case.

It's not a trick question. How do chemical elements vary from place to place in the universe?
The same elements are found everywhere.
Mars elements are far different than those on other planets.
It depends on how alien races scattered them.
Earth is home to elements found here and only here.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The same chemical elements are found most everywhere in the universe. These elements give scientists a starting point for comparisons and type of scientific experiments.

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Pineapples and tomatoes are alike in this way. They're both what?
Offshoots of corn
Ectothermic
Berries
Mammals
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

There are many different types of berries on Earth … and only a few have "berry" in the name. Tomatoes? A berry. The same goes for pineapples, oranges and a lot more.

What do Venus and Mercury have in common?
Their atmospheres are identical.
They don't have moons.
They have nothing in common.
Their surface temperatures are exactly the same.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

All of our solar system's planets have at least one moon. Except for Venus and Mercury … they have no moons at all.

Human teeth are as hard as what?
Copper
Shark teeth
Diamond dust
Steel
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Just keep in mind that you're in over your head when you're swimming. Humans and sharks have teeth that are roughly the same toughness. But we do not advise that you test this theory in the water.

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Photosynthesis is a highly tuned process. Plants use it to turn light into what?
Calcium
Xylem
Chlorophyll
Bark
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Plants use light to generate chlorophyll, a greenish pigment that makes light absorption possible in the first place. This pigment is necessary for photosynthesis.

It's faster than a Corvette. How long does it take light to travel from the sun to Earth?
Three weeks, give or take a day
Roughly a day
Perhaps 4 seconds
About 8 minutes
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The sun is about 93 million miles away from Earth. Light travels at about 186,000 mph … meaning it takes about 8 minutes to cover the distances from there to here.

In evolutionary terms, which of the following creatures has been around the longest?
Elephants
Alligators
Cockroaches
Humans
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Cockroaches are living example of durability under all conditions. They've been around for 280 million years … that's tens of millions of years earlier than even the earliest dinosaurs.

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Sometimes, names are confusing. The killer whale is actually what sort of animal?
A dolphin
A big fish
A pachyderm
Well, it's a whale.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Killer whales aren't whales. It's the largest type of dolphin … and it can be as long as 30 feet. Expert divers can swim with killer whales and even train them to do various tricks.

Can you finish this scaly fact? The Komodo dragon is the largest ______ on Earth.
Fish
Lizard
Tectonic plate
Snake
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

They really are like dragons. Komodo dragons are Earth's heaviest lizards. Some of them can top 130 pounds, and they sometimes have an aggressive streak.

They're common tools in news stations. What does a barometer measure?
Wind speed
Height
Temperature
Atmospheric pressure
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Barometers are critical tools for measuring atmospheric pressure. As this pressure rises and falls, weather forecasters can generate accurate predictions for a variety of conditions.

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It's strange but true. Compared to air, how does sound travel in water?
Much slower but much farther
10 times slower
The same speed
Four times faster
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

You think sound travels fast through air? Try underwater -- when submerged, sounds travel about four times faster than those that are above the waves.

Sunshine has to work to get to your skin. How does air affect light?
Air refracts light at a right angle
Air speeds up light.
Air slows down light.
Air changes the consistency of light.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Light is an energy beam made up of particles. Those particles slow down a tiny bit when they strike air, and even more when they try to pass through water.

Which chemical element -- by mass -- makes up most of the human body?
Oxygen
Potassium
Iron
Sodium
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The most common element in the human body, by mass, is oxygen. Oxygen makes up about 65% of your total mass.

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When women become pregnant, they slowly build up a lot more of what vital substance?
Adrenaline
Nerve cells
Blood
Niacin
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Pregnant women must support their own needs as well as those of a tiny fetus. She'll have 50% more blood in her body by the time week 20 rolls around.

It might not be what you think. What do camels store in their humps?
Fat
Nitrogen
Pure table salt
Water
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

In popular legend, camels store water in their humps. But the humps are actually high in fat, which the camel burns when caloric intake is too low.

It's a rarity in nature. Which chemical element is liquid at room temperature?
Helium
Chromium
Mercury
Iron
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Mercury is one of just two elements that are liquid at room temperature, one reason it is used in thermometers. The other is bromine.

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How many times per year does the human heart beat?
About 300,000 times
About 1 million times
About 3 million times
About 30 million times
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The human heart is an incredible bit of natural engineering. Each year, it beats about 30 million times -- more than 100,000 times every day.

Don't let words fool you. The peanut is NOT what sort of thing?
An underground product
A salty snack
A foundation of certain food items
A nut
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Peanuts aren't nuts. They're a type of legume … or bean. But if you call it "bean butter" people will look at you funny.

The sounds just bounce around. Which animal is renowned for its use of echolocation?
Raccoon
Bear
Brown recluse spider
Dolphin
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Dolphins emit a vast array of clicks, whistles and other sounds. Those sounds are often an aspect of echolocation, in which the sounds bounce off underwater objects and return to the dolphin, which uses this information to locate various prey or obstacles.

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It's all around you, right now. What's the most common chemical element in the universe?
Hydrogen
Sodium
Helium
Gold
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Hydrogen, sweet hydrogen, is the most common chemical element. Without it (combined with oxygen) we'd have no water to drink.

It's dark at the bottom. How many Empire State Buildings could you stack in an AVERAGE part of the ocean?
Just one
Two
Eight
About 29
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Earth's oceans are crazy deep, on average more than 12,000 feet down. That's roughly eight Empire State Buildings … but there are places more than three times deeper.

Some people can't do it if they try. What's one unique trait about hamsters?
They can break glass by chirping.
They have no intestines.
They can jump 10 times higher than their height.
They blink one eye at a time.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Almost all animals blink … and most of them move both eyelids at once. But hamsters are odd, blinking just one eye at a time, giving them a cute winking look.

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Lightning strikes deliver about 300 kilovolts per bolt. What percentage of lightning strikes are fatal to humans?
About 10%
About 30%
About 80%
Nearly all
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

The human body can withstand massive blasts of voltage -- about 90% of strike victims survive. Sadly, many of them experience permanent suffering from the strike.

The platypus generates venom, which it can inject via a spur on the hind foot. What's a common reaction when the venom is used on a human?
Severe bleeding
Incredible pain
No real reaction
Immediate death
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Platypus venom is an odd phenomenon in part because so few mammals create venom of any kind. When it hits a human, the stings are very painful but not lethal.

You're going to need some jigsaw puzzles to pass the time. If astronauts travel to Mars, how long will one leg of the journey take?
Close to a decade
About three years
Maybe a month
More than half a year
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Mars is a tantilizing destination for many scienists. If astronauts do get to blast off for Mars, it will take them more than half a year -- or even eight months -- to get there.

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You know lightning is very powerful. How hot does a bolt get?
Around 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit
Around 600 degrees Fahrenheit
Around 12,000 degrees Fahrenheit
Around 54,000 degrees Fahrenheit
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Lightning kills about 50 Americans each year … so you know it's deadly. It's also hot -- about 54,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

A "supercell" can be deadly. Why?
It layers various type of keratin.
It's resistant to antibiotics.
It has super tough walls.
It's a type of storm.
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

A supercell is a notorious type of thunderstorm. Supercells can pummel the Earth for hours on end, spitting hail, lightning … and tornadoes.

Start hammering away. The vast majority of known elements are what?
Gases
Liquids
Metals
Fire
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

We humans have discovered 118 elements. Roughly three-quarters of those elements are metals, many of which we use in vital tools in our everyday lives.

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Call them snakes of the sea. How often can a dolphin shed and regenerate its top layer of skin?
Every two hours
Every two weeks
Every two months
Every two years
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

Dolphin skin is amazingly smooth and soft. Why? The creature quickly sloughs off old dead skin cells, regenerating them every few hours.

It's a fascinating phase. "Triple point" is a phrase used to describe what?
Explosive elements
Mammal anatomy
An inverted wormhole
Phases of matter
Correct Answer
Wrong Answer

At just the right combination of pressure and temperature, some elements reach their "triple point," in which they exhibit traits of gas, liquid and solid … all at once. In many cases, the triple point can be created in lab environments.

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