48 trivia questions for 2nd grade with answers

Questions for 7- and 8-year-olds on what 2nd graders usually study: life cycles and animal homes, solids, liquids and gases, land and water, America, place value, coins, time and word work. Science answers link to their source, math answers show the working, and printed without the answers the set makes a review sheet.

48 questions · Trivia questions for 2nd grade with answers · answers included

Updated 29 Oct 2026

Animals and plants

1
Where do frogs usually lay their eggs?

easy

Answer
Water, such as a pond.
A clump of frog eggs is called frogspawn.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frog?oldid=1381001026
2
What do most frog tadpoles eat: plants or bugs?

medium

Answer
Plant matter, often soft and rotting.
Once they grow into frogs, they switch to eating insects and other small animals.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tadpole?oldid=1379420313
3
As a tadpole turns into a frog, what happens to its tail?

medium

Answer
Absorbed into the body.
It does not fall off; it shrinks away a little at a time.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tadpole?oldid=1379420313
4
Besides breathing with its lungs, how else can a frog take in oxygen?

hard

Answer
Through the skin.
Slimy mucus keeps a frog's skin damp.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frog?oldid=1381001026
5
When a seed starts to grow into a new plant, what is that called?

medium

Answer
Germination.
Bean seeds sprout fast, so classes often grow them in a cup by a window.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germination?oldid=1366328442
6
Seeds travel to new places to grow. Besides animals and water, what can carry a seed, like a dandelion's fluffy one?

easy

Answer
The wind.
Burrs hitch a ride on animal fur, and a coconut can float across the sea.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seed_dispersal?oldid=1381782504
7
Bees carry a fine powder, often yellow, from flower to flower, and it helps plants make seeds. What is it?

easy

Answer
Pollen.
Wind, birds, bats and butterflies can carry it too.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollination?oldid=1381579351
8
Which part of a flowering plant grows around its seeds, like an apple or a tomato?

medium

Answer
The fruit.
To a plant scientist, a pumpkin counts as one too.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fruit?oldid=1381930298
9
What is the natural home where an animal or plant lives and finds what it needs called?

easy

Answer
A habitat.
Ponds, deserts and forests each give a home to different animals and plants.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitat?oldid=1378839197
10
Some animals, such as bats, spend the cold months in a deep, sleep-like rest to save energy. What is it called?

medium

Answer
Hibernation.
Before it starts, an animal must store up enough energy to last the whole winter.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hibernation?oldid=1382399473
11
Many birds fly to warmer places each fall and come back in the spring. What is this trip called?

medium

Answer
Migration.
Most of these trips run between the north and the south.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_migration?oldid=1381887515
12
When an animal's colors help it blend in with its background so it is hard to see, what is that called?

medium

Answer
Camouflage.
A lion's tan coat helps it hide in tall grass.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camouflage?oldid=1373904062

Solids, liquids and gases

13
Which state of matter keeps its own shape, like a rock or a block of wood?

easy

Answer
A solid.
Its tiny particles are packed tightly and held in place.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_matter?oldid=1381481463
14
Milk poured from a carton takes the shape of the glass. Which state of matter is the milk?

easy

Answer
A liquid.
Pour it into a bowl and it takes the bowl's shape instead, but there is still the same amount.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_matter?oldid=1381481463
15
Which state of matter spreads out to fill its whole container, like the air inside a balloon?

medium

Answer
A gas.
Its particles are far apart and move about freely.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/State_of_matter?oldid=1381481463
16
An ice cube left in the sun turns into water. What is that change called?

easy

Answer
Melting.
Butter and chocolate do the same thing when they get warm.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melting?oldid=1378391931
17
At what temperature does water freeze on the Fahrenheit scale?

medium

Answer
32 °F, or 0 °C.
That is why puddles turn to ice on a cold winter night.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freezing?oldid=1375976884
18
When water boils away from a pot on the stove, what does it turn into?

medium

Answer
Water vapor, or steam.
It mixes into the air, where you cannot see it.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_vapor?oldid=1378793830

Land, water and Earth's spin

19
What do we call land that rises high above the land around it, higher than a hill?

easy

Answer
A mountain.
Mount Everest is the highest one on Earth.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain?oldid=1355628335
20
What is the long, low land between hills or mountains called?

easy

Answer
A valley.
Many have a river or a stream running through them.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valley?oldid=1377543917
21
What is a piece of land with water all around it called?

easy

Answer
An island.
Land as big as Australia is called a continent instead.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island?oldid=1380300191
22
What is land with water on most sides, joined to the mainland on only one side, called?

hard

Answer
A peninsula.
Florida is one. The largest in the world is the Arabian Peninsula.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peninsula?oldid=1368279174
23
Snow that piles up for many years can pack into a huge mass of ice that slowly moves over land. What is it called?

medium

Answer
A glacier.
About a tenth of all the land on Earth is covered by this kind of ice.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacier?oldid=1382085380
24
Is the water in a river usually fresh or salty?

medium

Answer
Fresh.
Rivers flow downhill into an ocean, a lake or another river.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River?oldid=1373574441
25
How many oceans are usually named on Earth?

medium

Answer
5.
They are the Pacific, the Atlantic, the Indian, the Southern and the Arctic Oceans.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ocean?oldid=1382360701
26
Earth keeps spinning, so each side turns toward the Sun and then away from it. What does this spinning cause?

easy

Answer
Day and night.
On the dark side, moonlight and starlight are what is left.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Night?oldid=1381344700

America

27
Who lives and works in the White House?

easy

Answer
The president of the United States.
It stands in Washington, D.C., the nation's capital.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_House?oldid=1381763768
28
Which room in the White House is named for its shape, like a stretched-out circle?

medium

Answer
The Oval Office.
It sits at one corner of the West Wing.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oval_Office?oldid=1381292111
29
The Fourth of July honors the day in 1776 when America adopted which famous paper?

easy

Answer
The Declaration of Independence.
That day became the birthday of the United States of America.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(United_States)?oldid=1377826674
30
On the night of the Fourth of July, what fills the sky with booms and bright colors?

easy

Answer
Fireworks.
Parades, picnics and barbecues fill the daytime.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Independence_Day_(United_States)?oldid=1377826674
31
What do the 13 stripes on the American flag stand for?

medium

Answer
The 13 colonies.
The stars stand for the states.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_United_States?oldid=1378919390
32
On which date each year is Flag Day?

hard

Answer
June 14.
On that day in 1777, Congress chose the first flag of stars and stripes.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_United_States?oldid=1378919390

Math

33
What number has 6 hundreds, 0 tens and 4 ones?

medium

Answer
604.
600 + 0 + 4 = 604; the 0 holds the tens place so the 6 stays in the hundreds.
34
What is 46 + 37?

medium

Answer
83.
6 + 7 = 13, so write the 3 and carry 1 ten; then 4 + 3 + 1 = 8 tens.
35
What is 72 − 28?

hard

Answer
44.
Take away 30 to get 42, then add back the 2 you took too many: 42 + 2 = 44.
36
How many quarters make one dollar?

easy

Answer
4 quarters.
A quarter is 25 cents, and 25 + 25 + 25 + 25 = 100 cents.
37
You have 2 dimes and 3 nickels. How much money is that?

medium

Answer
35 cents.
A dime is 10 cents and a nickel is 5 cents: 10 + 10 + 5 + 5 + 5 = 35.
38
The hour hand is between the 3 and the 4, and the minute hand points to the 9. What time is it?

medium

Answer
3:45.
Count by fives from the 12 to the 9: 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 minutes.
39
How many inches are in 1 foot?

easy

Answer
12 inches.
A school ruler is usually exactly 1 foot long, and 3 feet make a yard.
40
Is 17 an even number or an odd number?

easy

Answer
Odd.
17 things cannot be split into pairs: 8 pairs leave 1 over. Numbers ending in 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9 are all like that.
41
An array has 3 rows with 5 stickers in each row. How many stickers are there?

easy

Answer
15 stickers.
Add the rows: 5 + 5 + 5 = 15, or 3 × 5 = 15.
42
How many sides does a pentagon have?

easy

Answer
5 sides.
It has the same number of corners as sides. The Pentagon building near Washington, D.C., has this shape.

Words

43
Which contraction is short for "I am"?

easy

Answer
I'm.
The apostrophe takes the place of the letter a.
44
What is the plural of "baby"?

medium

Answer
Babies.
When a word ends in a consonant and y, change the y to i and add -es: puppy, puppies.
45
Which two words join to make the compound word "snowman"?

easy

Answer
Snow and man.
Raincoat, backpack and playground are compound words too.
46
What is the opposite of "tall"?

easy

Answer
Short.
Words with opposite meanings, like hot and cold, are called antonyms.
47
Which word means about the same as "happy": glad or sad?

easy

Answer
Glad.
Words with the same meaning, like big and large, are called synonyms.
48
In ABC order, which word comes first: "snake" or "sand"?

medium

Answer
Sand.
Both start with s, so look at the second letter: a comes before n.

Timer and team scores

Seconds per turnTurns in the session

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Pause whenever the group needs more time.

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Team Lime's turn

Team Lime: 0

Team Violet: 0

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Read a prompt, allow thinking time, then invite an answer or a pass. For a timed round, choose a turn length before starting. A host can keep the printed answers out of view until the round ends.

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