40 trivia questions for 4th grade with answers

Questions for 9- and 10-year-olds on what 4th graders usually study: rocks, volcanoes and erosion, the human body, US geography, the trail west, multiplication, area and fractions, and word work. Easy ones make a warm-up; hard ones stretch a strong class. Every science and history answer links to its source, and every math answer shows the working. Printed without the answers, the set makes a review sheet for the class.

40 questions · Trivia questions for 4th grade with answers · answers included

Earth science

1
What are the three main kinds of rock?

easy

Answer
Igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.
Each kind forms in a different way, and over time one kind can turn into another.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igneous_rock?oldid=1370877236
2
Which kind of rock forms when melted rock, magma or lava, cools and hardens?

medium

Answer
Igneous rock.
Igneous comes from the Latin word for fiery.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igneous_rock?oldid=1370877236
3
Which kind of rock forms from bits of sand, mud and shells that are pressed and cemented together?

medium

Answer
Sedimentary rock.
It often forms in layers, and it is where most fossils are found.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sedimentary_rock?oldid=1360947242
4
Which kind of rock forms when heat and pressure change a rock that already exists?

hard

Answer
Metamorphic rock.
Marble is metamorphic rock made from limestone.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamorphic_rock?oldid=1375356834
5
What escapes from a volcano when it erupts?

easy

Answer
Lava, ash and gases.
Underground, melted rock is called magma. Once it flows out of the volcano, it is called lava.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcano?oldid=1380352685
6
What is a sudden shaking of the Earth's surface called?

easy

Answer
An earthquake.
It is also called a quake or a tremor.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthquake?oldid=1379800890
7
What is it called when water or wind carries soil and rock away to another place?

medium

Answer
Erosion.
Over millions of years, erosion can carve a canyon.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erosion?oldid=1369265866
8
Which river carved the Grand Canyon?

medium

Answer
The Colorado River.
The Grand Canyon is in Arizona.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon?oldid=1379768647
9
What is the science that studies fossils called?

hard

Answer
Paleontology.
A scientist who studies fossils is a paleontologist.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil?oldid=1378214793

Life and physical science

10
How many chambers does the human heart have?

easy

Answer
Four chambers.
The two upper chambers are the atria and the two lower ones are the ventricles.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart?oldid=1378398002
11
About how big is a person's heart?

easy

Answer
The size of a closed fist.
Make a fist to see the size of your own heart. It sits between your lungs.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart?oldid=1378398002
12
About how many bones does an adult have?

medium

Answer
206 bones.
A baby has about 270 bones, and some join together as the child grows.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_skeleton?oldid=1371735216
13
What is the longest bone in the human body?

medium

Answer
The femur, the thighbone.
It runs from the hip to the knee.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femur?oldid=1376167544
14
Copper wire carries electricity well. Which kind of material is copper?

medium

Answer
Metal.
Materials that do not let electricity pass, such as rubber and plastic, are insulators: that is why wires are coated in plastic.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electrical_conductor?oldid=1372832722

American geography

15
Which is the largest US state by area?

easy

Answer
Alaska.
It is bigger than Texas, California and Montana put together.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaska?oldid=1381575069
16
Which US state is made of 137 volcanic islands?

easy

Answer
Hawaii.
It is the only state that is not on the North American mainland.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaii?oldid=1381494937
17
How many Great Lakes are there?

easy

Answer
Five.
Remember them with HOMES: Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Lakes?oldid=1379976071
18
Which Great Lake is the largest freshwater lake in the world by area?

medium

Answer
Lake Superior.
Only two lakes in the world, both far deeper, hold more water.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Superior?oldid=1376960626
19
The Mississippi is the second-longest river in the US. Which river is longer?

medium

Answer
The Missouri.
The Missouri River flows into the Mississippi near St. Louis.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_River?oldid=1379869348
20
In which state does the Mississippi River begin, at Lake Itasca?

hard

Answer
Minnesota.
It flows south to the Gulf of Mexico.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi_River?oldid=1379869348
21
What is the largest mountain system in North America?

medium

Answer
The Rocky Mountains, the Rockies.
They run through the western United States and Canada.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountains?oldid=1381617468

Exploring the West

22
Sacagawea, a young Lemhi Shoshone woman, helped which expedition explore the West?

medium

Answer
The Lewis and Clark Expedition.
She was still in her teens.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sacagawea?oldid=1379665278
23
What did Pony Express riders carry across the country on horseback?

easy

Answer
Mail.
Riders handed the mail on to fresh riders and horses along the route, from Missouri to California, starting in 1860.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pony_Express?oldid=1381383712
24
Where was gold found in 1848, starting the California gold rush?

medium

Answer
Sutter's Mill, in Coloma.
James W. Marshall found it on January 24, 1848.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_gold_rush?oldid=1381721179
25
In 1869, at which place in Utah were the two halves of the first railroad across the country joined?

hard

Answer
Promontory Summit.
A golden "Last Spike" was tapped into place there on May 10, 1869.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_transcontinental_railroad?oldid=1381798904

Math

26
What is 7 × 8?

easy

Answer
56.
Seven eights: 8, 16, 24, 32, 40, 48, 56.
27
How many minutes are in 3 hours?

easy

Answer
180 minutes.
Each hour has 60 minutes, and 3 × 60 = 180.
28
What is 145 ÷ 5?

easy

Answer
29.
5 × 29 = 145: 5 × 20 = 100 and 5 × 9 = 45.
29
A rectangle is 6 cm long and 4 cm wide. What is its perimeter?

medium

Answer
20 cm.
Add all four sides: 6 + 4 + 6 + 4 = 20.
30
A rug is 5 feet long and 3 feet wide. What is its area?

medium

Answer
15 square feet.
Area is length × width: 5 × 3 = 15.
31
Which is bigger: 3/4 or 2/3?

medium

Answer
3/4.
In twelfths, 3/4 is 9/12 and 2/3 is 8/12, so 3/4 is bigger.
32
Round 4,627 to the nearest hundred.

medium

Answer
4,600.
The tens digit is 2, which is less than 5, so the hundreds stay at 6.
33
What are all the factors of 12?

medium

Answer
1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 12.
They are the numbers that divide 12 with nothing left over: 1 × 12, 2 × 6 and 3 × 4.
34
What is the smallest number that both 4 and 6 divide into evenly?

hard

Answer
12.
Multiples of 4: 4, 8, 12. Multiples of 6: 6, 12. The first one they share is 12.
35
How many degrees are in a right angle?

easy

Answer
90 degrees.
A right angle is a square corner, like the corner of a sheet of paper. Two of them make a straight line of 180 degrees.

Words and writing

36
What is a word that means the same, or nearly the same, as another word called?

easy

Answer
A synonym.
Big and large are synonyms.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synonym?oldid=1380113014
37
Hot and cold, up and down: what are pairs of words with opposite meanings called?

easy

Answer
Antonyms.
Antonyms are opposites; synonyms mean the same thing.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonym?oldid=1379615788
38
"Their", "there" and "they're" sound the same but have different meanings. What is each of these words called?

medium

Answer
A homophone.
Other homophones: to, too and two; flour and flower.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homophone?oldid=1379061292
39
Which part of speech describes a noun, like "tall" in "a tall tree"?

easy

Answer
An adjective.
Adjectives tell what kind, how many or which one: a tall tree, three cats, that hat.
40
What is the plural of "mouse"?

easy

Answer
Mice.
Some nouns change their spelling instead of adding -s: one tooth, two teeth; one goose, two geese.

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