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Are You Smarter Than A 5th Grader? Prove It! (160 Questions)

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Have you ever looked at your child’s homework and thought, wow, what is THIS? Why does this math problem require three sheets of paper? Or, When did they start teaching coding in elementary school? You’re not alone! 

Do you think you’d pass 5th grade today?

In this article, we’ve compiled a list of 160 questions and answers you and your friends can use to test your academic skills and see if you really are smarter than 5th graders today. Not only can you know if you’re smarter, but this is also a creative icebreaker you can try to boost conversation and add an element of fun to your party or get-together!

What Are “Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader” Questions?

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader questions include a series of progressively harder questions curated from various subjects covered in standard curriculums for grades one through five, including:

  • Grammar & Spelling Questions
  • Geography Questions
  • Science Questions
  • English & Language Arts Questions
  • Social Studies Questions
  • Math Questions
  • History Questions
  • Trick Questions

Contestants of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader had to answer questions from each grade level to increase their cash prize. If they answered incorrectly, they had to admit they were indeed not smarter than a 5th grader. What a humbling experience!

You, too, can try your hand at answering these questions with our compiled list by grade level and subject. How might YOU measure up to today’s elementary school students? See how many questions you can answer correctly!

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader Grammar & Spelling Questions

1st Grade Grammar & Spelling Questions

  1. How do you spell the contraction of the words “will not”?

Won’t

  1. Complete this sentence: “I___afraid of spiders.”

Am

  1. Correctly punctuate this sentence: “I like cooking my sister and my cat.”

I like cooking, my sister, and my cat.

  1. Is the underlined word in this sentence a noun, adjective, or verb? “Bob’s shirt is green.”

Adjective

2nd Grade Grammar & Spelling Questions

  1. Identify the adverb in this sentence: “Sarah danced beautifully at her recital.”

Beautifully 

  1. How do you spell the word defined as an instrument you use to observe space?

Telescope

  1. Where do the commas belong in this date sequence? Tuesday April 24th 2001

Tuesday, April 24th, 2001

  1. Identify the predicate in this sentence: “The dog is running in the yard.”

Running in the yard

Curious to know what your intelligence type is? Watch our video below to find out:

3rd Grade Grammar & Spelling Questions

  1. Rewrite this sentence in the past tense: “She drinks juice.”

She drank juice.

  1. Identify the object in this sentence: “Joe shared his toy with Zack.”

Toy

  1. Spell the word defined as another way to say “the most angry.”

Angriest

  1. What is the antonym of the bottom?

The top

4th Grade Grammar & Spelling Questions

  1. Rewrite this sentence in the present perfect tense: “He played baseball for a long time.”

He has played baseball for a long time.

  1. Is this sentence about permission or ability? “Can you play the drums?”

Ability (“May I play the drums?” asks for permission.)

  1. Identify the prepositional phrase in this sentence: “I like the movie about the pirates.”

About the pirates

  1. Spell the word meaning the opposite of permanent.

Temporary

5th Grade Grammar & Spelling Questions

  1. Finish spelling the word that completes this sentence. “The detective will in_______ the crime.”

Investigate

  1. What is the subordinating conjunction in this sentence? “They lost the game because they didn’t practice. “

Because

  1. The figurative language in this sentence is called what? “He has a heart of gold.”

A metaphor

  1. What is the root word of the word “indecision”?

Decide

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader Geography Questions

1st Grade Geography Questions

  1. How many continents are there?

Seven

  1. What is the opposite of the East?

The West

  1. What kind of landform is made primarily of ice?

Glacier

  1. Which continent is the smallest?

Oceania

2nd Grade Geography Questions

  1. What is considered the most popular landmark in the U.S. (located in New York)?

The Statue of Liberty

  1. The state of Hawaii is surrounded by what ocean?

Pacific 

  1. What type of community is full of people and buildings and often called a city?

Urban

  1. Finish this list of earth’s natural resources: air, soil, minerals, fuels, plants, animals, and_______

Water

3rd Grade Geography Questions

  1. What is the name of the lines that run east to west across a map?

Latitude

  1. What divides the earth into the Western and Eastern hemispheres?

The Prime Meridian

  1. Where are the world’s highest mountains?

The Himalayas

  1. What is the capital of Illinois?

Springfield

4th Grade Geography Questions

  1. What geographical system helps you find a position on the map using longitude and latitude lines?

Coordinate system

  1. What line divides the earth around the middle?

Equator

  1. What four presidents are carved into Mount Rushmore?

Theodore Roosevelt, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Thomas Jefferson

  1. What’s the name of the longest river in the world?

Nile

5th Grade Geography Questions

  1. What is the capital of Brazil? 

Brasília

  1. How many countries are located in Africa?

54

  1. In which country are the most languages spoken?

Papua New Guinea

  1. Which country is closest to the Great Barrier Reef?

Australia

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader Science Questions

1st Grade Science Questions

  1. What creates sound?

Vibrations

  1. What kind of habitat do frogs primarily live in?

Wetlands

  1. Which animal is higher in the food chain, a lion or a zebra?

Lion

  1. Rain and snow are a form of what?

Precipitation

2nd Grade Science Questions

  1. Are reptiles warm-blooded or cold-blooded?

Cold-blooded

  1. On which part of a plant does photosynthesis take place?

The leaves

  1. What is the name of the force that keeps us grounded?

Gravity

  1. Which planet is closest to the sun?

Mercury

3rd Grade Science Questions

  1. How many bones are in the human body?

206

  1. Which two gasses make up most of the Earth’s atmosphere?

Nitrogen and Oxygen

  1. What is the name of the mutually beneficial relationship that a bee has with a flower?

Symbiotic

  1. What kind of clouds are in the sky during a thunderstorm?

Cumulonimbus

4th Grade Science Questions

  1. What is the name for what happens when a seed sprouts?

Germination

  1. Heat is a form of what kind of energy?

Thermal

  1. Weather that measures averages over a long period is called what?

Climate

  1. Solar energy, wind energy, hydro energy, tidal energy, geothermal energy, and biomass energy are examples of what kind of resources?

Renewable resources

5th Grade Science Questions

  1. Color, density, volume, and mass are properties of_____.

Matter

  1. An electrical current is made up of what kind of particles? 

Electrons

  1. What is the name for the scientific study of traits passed down from parents to their children?

Genetics

  1. The atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere are ecosystems part of the_____.

Biosphere

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader English & Language Arts Questions

1st Grade English & Language Arts Questions

  1. In the book Corduroy by Don Freeman, Corduroy finds himself waiting where?

A department store

  1. What is the title of a person who is telling a story?

Narrator

  1. A story about something that is made up is part of what genre?

Fiction

  1. Someone who writes a book is called what?

An author

2nd Grade English & Language Arts Questions

  1. What tense is a sentence that describes something happening right now?

Present tense

  1. “Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers” is an example of what?

Alliteration 

  1. Name the major story element missing from this list: _____, Setting, Problem, and Solution.

Character(s)

  1. The sequence of events within a story is called what?

Plot

3rd Grade English & Language Arts Questions

  1. A group of sentences centered around a single theme is called what?

A paragraph

  1. What genre of book or movie is based on imaginary, often futuristic scientific ideas?

Science Fiction

  1. A short story, often including a moral lesson and animals with human qualities, is called what?

A fable

  1. What is the name of the pig in Charlotte’s Web?

Wilbur

4th Grade English & Language Arts Questions

  1. How many syllables are in each line of a haiku?

Five, Seven, and Five

  1. What point of view is this sentence written in? “They went to the store.”

Third person

  1. In this sentence, is the underlined section the cause or effect? “She pushed me, and I fell.

Effect

  1. What is the name of a collection of classical stories related to religion or cultural traditions? 

Mythology

5th Grade English & Language Arts Questions

  1. What is it called when a character goes through a transformation journey in a story?

Character arc

  1. A grouping of lines within a poem is called what?

A stanza

  1. What is the youngest sister’s name in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe? 

Lucy Pevensie

  1. Name the figurative language used in this phrase: “Brave as a lion.”

Simile

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader Social Studies Questions

1st Grade Social Studies Questions

  1. How do you define community?

A group of people who work together

  1. Money people earn from work is called what?

Income

  1. Is food a want or a need?

Need (But hey, sometimes it’s a want, too!)

  1. A written true story about someone’s life is called what?

A biography

2nd Grade Social Studies Questions

  1. Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism are examples of what?

Religion

  1. In what kind of government are people allowed to vote?

Democracy

  1. Martin Luther King, Jr. was part of what movement?

The civil rights movement

  1. In what century are we living right now?

21st century

3rd Grade Social Studies Questions

  1. Women who protested for their right to vote refers to what?

Women’s suffrage

  1. If a lot of people want ice cream, but there isn’t enough, then____ is high, and ___ is low. 

Demand, Supply

  1. What do you call the collective customs, arts, behaviors, and social activities in a group?

Culture

  1. Who is known as the Father of the Constitution?

James Madison

4th Grade Social Studies Questions

  1. What is the name of the writing system used by Ancient Egyptians?

Hieroglyphics

  1. Someone with full rights and responsibilities as a nation member is called what?

A citizen

  1. The production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services refer to what?

Economy

  1. At which timezone is the state of Montana?

Mountain Standard Time

5th Grade Social Studies Questions

  1. What are the three branches of government?

Executive, Legislative, and Judicial

  1. The stripes on the U.S. flag represent what?

The 13 original British colonies in early America

  1. What act did Britain impose on American colonists requiring taxes on various papers, documents, publications, and playing cards?

The Stamp Act

  1. What is the legislative branch of the government responsible for?

Law-making

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader Math Questions

1st Grade Math Questions

  1. How many weeks are in a year?

52

  1. Identify the number in the tens place: 267

Six

  1. How many sides are on an octagon? 

Eight

  1. If a face clock reads a quarter past noon, what does that look like on an analog clock?

12:15 p.m.

2nd Grade Math Questions

  1. How much money is a quarter worth?

25 cents

  1. What is ⅓ of 90?

30

  1. 27+13= ____+30

10

  1. If Jimmy has $5.50 and then spends 75 cents on candy, how much money does he have left?

$4.75

3rd Grade Math Questions

  1. How many days are in the month of January?

30

  1. If a square is five inches on each side, what is the perimeter of the square?

20 inches

  1. What is the mean of 9, 3, 4, and 2?

4.5

  1. If Alex ate ½ the pie and Jenny ate ⅛ the pie, how much is left?

⅜ of the pie

4th Grade Math Questions

  1. How do you represent 13 ¾ with decimals?

13.75

  1. How many degrees is the angle where perpendicular lines intersect?

90° degrees

  1. What is the area of a rectangular room if one wall is 11 feet long and the other wall is 14 feet long? 

154 feet

  1. Identify the number in the hundred’s place: 339,256

2

5th Grade Math Questions

  1. At what temperature does water freeze?

32°F (0°C)

  1. How many hours and minutes are in 555 minutes?

9 hours and 15 minutes

  1. Round 8,932 to the nearest ten.

8,930

  1. If an ice cream shop sells 102 ice cream cones a day at $3 each, how much money will they make in 5 days?

$1,503

  1. If my closest neighbor lives 212 yards away from me, how many feet away does she live?

636

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader History Questions

1st Grade History Questions

  1. Who was the first president?

George Washington

  1. Who is famous for saying, “I have a dream.”

Martin Luther King, Jr.

  1. How many stars are on the American flag?

50

  1. In which country did the Olympics originate?

Greece

2nd Grade History Questions

  1. Who invented the telephone?

Alexander Graham Bell

  1. Where are the ancient pyramids located?

Egypt

  1. Which president is on the $5 bill?

Abraham Lincoln

  1. What are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution called?

The Bill of Rights

3rd Grade History Questions

  1. What were the names of Christopher Columbus’ ships?

Niña, Pinta, and Santa Maria

  1. What is Amelia Earhart famous for?

Being the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean

  1. To protest Britain’s taxes, early American’s dumped what into the Boston harbor?

Tea

  1. Who was the first Vice President?

John Adams

4th Grade History Questions

  1. Where was the first British settlement in America?

Jamestown, Virginia

  1. How long was the Civil War in the U.S.?

Four years

  1. Which country gifted the U.S. The Statue of Liberty?

France

  1. In what year did Abraham Lincoln issue the Emancipation Proclamation?

1863

5th Grade History Questions

  1. Who was president during the Revolutionary War?

George Washington

  1. Who was the first woman to serve as the Second Lady of the United States?

Abigail Adams

  1. In what year was the Bill of Rights ratified?

1791

  1. When was the Declaration of Independence written?

June 1776

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader Trick Questions

1st Grade Trick Questions

  1. If you cut a pizza in half twice (once vertically and again horizontally), how many pieces of pizza do you have?

Four

  1. What gets lost every time you stand up?

Your lap!

  1. If Joe has 2 dogs and Sarah has 3 cats, how many more cats does Sarah have than Joe?

Three

  1. If every year on Mars is double the length of a year on Earth, how old would Sally be on Mars if she is 10 years old on Earth?

20

2nd Grade Trick Questions

  1. How many sides are on a polygon?

Three or more

  1. If Sam is four feet tall and Meg is three and a half feet tall, how many inches taller is Sam than Meg?

Six inches

  1. Who first discovered America?

Leif Eriksson

  1. Which three letters are in every day of the week?

D-A-Y

3rd Grade Trick Questions

  1. Add one math symbol to this set of numbers so that it equals 800: 88888

888 – 88 = 800

  1. There are 49 candy bars in the bowl and 36 more small candy bars than large ones. How many small candy bars are in the bowl?

42.5

  1. What is 9 – 3 ➗⅓  + 1?

One

  1. If 1=4, 2=16, 3=64, then 4=____.

256

4th Grade Trick Questions

  1. If Lucy has 81 pieces of candy and wants to divide them up among herself and eight friends, how many pieces of candy will each of them get?

Nine

  1. If you get 25% of your work done now and 50% later, how much will you have done?

50%

  1. The plural of moose is what?

Moose

  1. If Stuart bought four apples, two oranges, one cantaloupe, and three mangos, how many melons does he have?

One

5th Grade Trick Questions

  1. When was the war of 1812?

1812

  1. On what date did the U.S. Congress vote to declare independence from Britain?

July 2, 1776 (Two days later, on July 4th, they voted to adopt the Declaration of Independence, and on August 2, 1776, the final document was signed.)

  1. Peanuts are not nuts; they are____.

Legumes

  1. Which layer of the Earth is liquid?

The outer core

How many questions did you answer right?! How do you compare to your friends?

Next Step: Master Social Skills

If you are someone who struggles to come up with ideas to break the ice at parties, ice-breaking games like Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader can boost conversation, add an element of fun to your get-togethers, and (maybe) help you feel more at ease!

Looking for other ideas you can try with your friends or colleagues? Leveling up your social skills can be a great bonus. Check out this goodie:

Communicate With Confidence

Do you struggle with small talk? Do you often run out of things to say or feel awkward and self-conscious in social situations?

💪 Speak so people listen,
🤐 No more awkward silences,
🚫 No more small talk.

How to Deal with Difficult People at Work

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I’ll show you my science-based approach to building a strong, productive relationship with even the most difficult people.

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