48 American trivia questions with answers

Questions about the United States for a Fourth of July party, a 250th-anniversary event or a class, for ages 10 and up: symbols and songs, food and sport, landmarks, inventors, how the government works and the country's 250th birthday. Each of the six sections makes a round, and every answer links to its source.

48 questions · American trivia questions with answers · answers included

Updated 28 Oct 2026

Symbols and songs

1
In 2016, which big grazing animal became the national mammal of the United States?

easy

Answer
The American bison.
A wild bull can weigh up to 2,800 pounds.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_bison?oldid=1382404723
2
Which flower is the national floral emblem of the United States?

easy

Answer
The rose.
It is also the national flower of Luxembourg.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_symbols_of_the_United_States?oldid=1378157463
3
Which Latin motto on the Great Seal means "Out of many, one"?

medium

Answer
E pluribus unum.
Its 13 letters are taken as a nod to the 13 colonies that became the first states.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E_pluribus_unum?oldid=1353792866
4
Since 1956, what has been the official national motto of the United States?

medium

Answer
"In God We Trust."
The phrase first appeared on US coins in 1864.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_God_We_Trust?oldid=1372176664
5
Which two words were added to the Pledge of Allegiance in 1954?

medium

Answer
"Under God."
Congress formally adopted the Pledge in 1942, fifty years after it was first written.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pledge_of_Allegiance?oldid=1381186067
6
From 1912 to 1959, how many stars were on the American flag?

medium

Answer
48.
It was the first flag whose law set the stars in neat rows: six rows of eight.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_United_States?oldid=1378919390
7
In 1795 the flag grew to 15 stars and 15 stripes. Which two new states did that honor?

hard

Answer
Vermont and Kentucky.
In 1818 Congress cut the stripes back to honor the original colonies and gave each new state a star instead.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_United_States?oldid=1378919390
8
The tune of "The Star-Spangled Banner" was first written for a gentlemen's club in which city?

hard

Answer
London.
The song, called "The Anacreontic Song," was already popular in America before the anthem's words were set to it.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Star-Spangled_Banner?oldid=1382183924

Food, sport and fun

9
Which sport has long been called "America's national pastime"?

easy

Answer
Baseball.
By 1856, newspapers in New York were already using the nickname.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baseball?oldid=1379829239
10
Hollywood, the heart of the American movie business, is a neighborhood of which city?

easy

Answer
Los Angeles.
Its name has come to stand for the whole American film industry.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood,_Los_Angeles?oldid=1381145572
11
On Groundhog Day, February 2, what does it mean if the groundhog sees its shadow?

easy

Answer
Winter will go on for six more weeks.
The most famous weather groundhog is Punxsutawney Phil, in Pennsylvania.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day?oldid=1378032414
12
When it went up in 1923, what word did the Hollywood Sign spell out?

medium

Answer
Hollywoodland.
Each letter was 50 feet tall.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Sign?oldid=1382404872
13
After Thanksgiving, which yearly event is the biggest day for eating in America?

medium

Answer
Super Bowl Sunday.
It often draws the biggest TV audience of any American broadcast all year.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Bowl?oldid=1382322885
14
Which horse race for three-year-olds is run each May at Churchill Downs in Louisville?

medium

Answer
The Kentucky Derby.
It is the first leg of the Triple Crown.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentucky_Derby?oldid=1378597334
15
In which city was Coca-Cola invented, in 1886?

medium

Answer
Atlanta.
Its inventor, John Pemberton, sold the rights to it just two years later.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca-Cola?oldid=1382077324
16
Which Massachusetts chef is credited with inventing the chocolate chip cookie in the 1930s?

hard

Answer
Ruth Graves Wakefield.
She and her husband ran the Toll House Inn, a hotel and restaurant in Whitman, Massachusetts.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate_chip_cookie?oldid=1381302400

Land and landmarks

17
The Golden Gate Bridge links Marin County with which California city?

easy

Answer
San Francisco.
The bridge opened to the public on May 27, 1937.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gate_Bridge?oldid=1373898858
18
In which city does the Gateway Arch, the tallest arch in the world, stand?

easy

Answer
St. Louis, Missouri.
It was built as a monument to the country's push west and is nicknamed the Gateway to the West.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gateway_Arch?oldid=1382104430
19
About how deep is the Grand Canyon at its deepest?

medium

Answer
Over a mile.
Its rock walls show nearly two billion years of Earth's history.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Canyon?oldid=1382100079
20
What is the highest mountain in the lower 48 states?

medium

Answer
Mount Whitney, in California.
The first climbers reached its top in 1873.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Whitney?oldid=1370266413
21
Which national park is the hottest, driest and lowest in the country?

medium

Answer
Death Valley.
It is also the largest national park in the lower 48 states.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Valley_National_Park?oldid=1382099144
22
Niagara Falls sits on a river that carries water from Lake Erie into which other Great Lake?

medium

Answer
Lake Ontario.
The biggest of its three falls, Horseshoe Falls, straddles the border with Canada.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niagara_Falls?oldid=1381156308
23
Which national park protects the longest known cave system in the world?

hard

Answer
Mammoth Cave.
More than 426 miles of its passages have been mapped.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mammoth_Cave_National_Park?oldid=1379202907
24
Denali, the highest peak in North America, takes its name from a Koyukon word meaning what?

hard

Answer
High, or tall.
The Koyukon people who live around the mountain have called it Denali for centuries.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denali?oldid=1381656573

Inventions and firsts

25
Before they built airplanes, what kind of shop did the Wright brothers run?

easy

Answer
A bicycle shop.
They opened it in 1892, and the money it made paid for their flying experiments.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_brothers?oldid=1380109954
26
Thomas Edison was nicknamed the Wizard of which New Jersey place, home of his laboratory?

medium

Answer
Menlo Park.
Edison's name is on 1,093 US patents.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Edison?oldid=1381361637
27
Where on the Moon did Apollo 11 land in July 1969?

medium

Answer
The Sea of Tranquility.
The mission's command module, Columbia, is now at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_11?oldid=1381597284
28
In 1961, who became the first American to travel into space?

medium

Answer
Alan Shepard.
Ten years later he walked on the Moon and hit two golf balls there.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Shepard?oldid=1380960516
29
Which American inventor created the cotton gin in 1793?

medium

Answer
Eli Whitney.
His machine used wire hooks to pull the cotton through a screen, leaving the seeds behind.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cotton_gin?oldid=1381555962
30
The first Ferris wheel was built for an 1893 world's fair in which city?

medium

Answer
Chicago.
It was meant to rival the Eiffel Tower, the star of the Paris fair of 1889.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferris_Wheel_(1893)?oldid=1377839868
31
In 1873, Levi Strauss and tailor Jacob Davis patented work pants made stronger with what?

hard

Answer
Copper rivets.
In 1890 the company began calling its riveted pants "501."
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Levi_Strauss_%26_Co.?oldid=1382344238
32
What did engineer Willis Carrier invent in 1902?

hard

Answer
Modern air conditioning.
In 1915 he started his own heating and cooling company.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willis_Carrier?oldid=1377481079

How the government works

33
As of 2026, how many senators sit in the US Senate?

easy

Answer
100.
Every state gets two, whatever its population.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate?oldid=1382107302
34
As of 2026, how many justices sit on the Supreme Court?

easy

Answer
9.
The size of the court was last changed in 1869.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States?oldid=1381462654
35
Which amendment to the Constitution protects freedom of speech, of religion and of the press?

medium

Answer
The First Amendment.
It also protects the right to gather peacefully and to petition the government.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution?oldid=1380680219
36
How long is one term for a member of the House of Representatives?

medium

Answer
2 years.
There is no limit on how many terms a representative can serve.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives?oldid=1382317066
37
As of 2026, how many voting members does the House of Representatives have?

medium

Answer
435.
The number has stood there since 1913, apart from a few years after Alaska and Hawaii joined.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_House_of_Representatives?oldid=1382317066
38
As of 2026, how many times has the Constitution been amended since it took effect in 1789?

medium

Answer
27 times.
It is the oldest written national constitution still in force anywhere in the world.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_States?oldid=1381340946
39
What is the bronze statue on top of the Capitol dome called?

hard

Answer
The Statue of Freedom.
It stands 19 and a half feet tall and weighs about 15,000 pounds.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Statue_of_Freedom?oldid=1362732191
40
Until which year did the Supreme Court have no building of its own?

hard

Answer
1935.
Its first meeting place was the Royal Exchange in New York City.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_States?oldid=1381462654

America at 250

41
What is the long word for the 250th anniversary of the United States?

easy

Answer
Semiquincentennial.
The big day was July 4, 2026, counted from the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Semiquincentennial?oldid=1382386811
42
On July 4, 2026, matches from which worldwide soccer tournament were played in two US cities?

easy

Answer
The FIFA World Cup.
The 250th celebrations also included the world's largest-ever fireworks display, on the National Mall.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Semiquincentennial?oldid=1382386811
43
In which year did the country celebrate its 200th birthday, the Bicentennial?

medium

Answer
1976.
A special American Freedom Train toured the 48 mainland states for 21 months.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Bicentennial?oldid=1380050623
44
For the country's 100th birthday in 1876, which city held the first official world's fair in the United States?

medium

Answer
Philadelphia.
The telephone and the typewriter were among the inventions shown there.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centennial_Exposition?oldid=1369497440
45
In which year did Congress set up the commission to plan the 250th birthday?

medium

Answer
2016.
A 2020 law let the US Mint redesign coins for 2026.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Semiquincentennial?oldid=1382386811
46
Which New Year's Eve tradition got its first summer edition, set for July 3, 2026, to count down to the 250th birthday?

medium

Answer
The Times Square ball drop.
Parties went on inside One Times Square on July 4 and 5.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Semiquincentennial?oldid=1382386811
47
On July 4, 2026, the US Navy held Sail250, a parade of ships from many nations. In which harbor?

hard

Answer
New York Harbor.
It took in OpSail 2026, a gathering of tall sailing ships.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Semiquincentennial?oldid=1382386811
48
Federal law named four "leading cities" for the 250th celebrations. Which one is in South Carolina?

hard

Answer
Charleston.
South Carolina set up its own anniversary commission in 2018 and planned battle reenactments.
Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Semiquincentennial?oldid=1382386811

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