45 animals and nature trivia questions and answers

The bank begins with recognizable animals and life cycles, then reaches into anatomy, behavior, migration, ecology, plant water use, fungi, symbiosis, and survival adaptations.

Updated

Download or play this set

The prompt cards use 6 sheets, with up to 8 cards on each. Sets with answers include extra pages for the key.

Questions 1–20

  1. What is the largest animal alive today?

    easy

    The blue whale

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_whale?oldid=1364714839#Size

  2. Which mammals can truly fly rather than just glide?

    easy

    Bats

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bat?oldid=1363692147#Wings%2C_skin%2C_and_flight

  3. Which insects are mostly herbivorous as caterpillars and nectar-feeding as adults?

    easy

    Butterflies and moths

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lepidoptera?oldid=1365282564

  4. How many legs does a spider have?

    easy

    Eight

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spider?oldid=1364088427#Locomotion

  5. Which birds are flightless, semi-aquatic, and live almost exclusively in the Southern Hemisphere?

    easy

    Penguins

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penguin?oldid=1366050922

  6. What is a baby frog called?

    easy

    A tadpole

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tadpole?oldid=1355101489

  7. What do female kangaroos have so joeys can complete postnatal development?

    easy

    A pouch

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kangaroo?oldid=1359742626

  8. What sweet liquid do flowers produce to attract pollinators?

    easy

    Nectar

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nectar?oldid=1354827975#Etymology

  9. What kind of animals are dolphins?

    easy

    Marine mammals

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolphin?oldid=1362237439#Impacts_of_climate_change

  10. What nut does an oak tree bear?

    easy

    An acorn

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak?oldid=1365963308

  11. What is the fastest land animal?

    easy

    The cheetah

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheetah?oldid=1365632542

  12. Which black-and-white bear mainly eats bamboo?

    easy

    Giant panda

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_panda?oldid=1365397413#Diet

  13. How is an animal that eats both plants and meat classified?

    easy

    An omnivore

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnivore?oldid=1360714649

  14. Which rainforest layer contains trees that grow above the general canopy?

    hard

    The emergent layer

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rainforest?oldid=1351535519#Emergent_layer

  15. What are groups of lions called?

    easy

    Prides

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lion?oldid=1362805420

  16. Which came first in a frog’s life cycle: tadpole or froglet?

    easy

    Tadpole

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frog?oldid=1363064175#Metamorphosis

  17. How does an octopus usually move quickly through water?

    medium

    Water jet propulsion

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus?oldid=1354721353

  18. Which hard body structures are especially useful in preserving organisms?

    medium

    Exoskeletons

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exoskeleton?oldid=1355792955#Paleontological_significance

  19. Which animal builds dams that reshape streams?

    easy

    Beaver

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaver?oldid=1365293999#Infrastructure

  20. Between which grounds is bird migration a seasonal movement?

    easy

    Breeding and wintering grounds

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bird_migration?oldid=1365677065

Questions 21–40

  1. What type of animal is a Komodo dragon?

    easy

    A large reptile of the monitor lizard family Varanidae

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon?oldid=1362735935

  2. How many hearts does an octopus have?

    medium

    Three

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Octopus?oldid=1354721353#Circulatory_system

  3. A queen, workers, drones, and a hive all point to what kind of bees?

    easy

    Honey bees

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honey_bee?oldid=1364236029#Sexes_and_castes

  4. Which living birds lay the largest eggs?

    medium

    Common ostriches

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ostrich?oldid=1365340313

  5. Why can a camel survive for long periods with little water?

    hard

    A series of physiological adaptations

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camel?oldid=1365443029#Ecological_and_behavioral_adaptations

  6. What is the only continent without native ants?

    medium

    Antarctica

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant?oldid=1363713132#Distribution_and_diversity

  7. Which Australian marsupial is the only living representative of the family Phascolarctidae?

    hard

    The koala

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Koala?oldid=1365426480

  8. What color is a polar bear’s skin under its fur?

    medium

    Black

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bear?oldid=1360291696

  9. What is one hypothesized cue sea turtles use to find their hatching region?

    hard

    The Earth's magnetic field

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_turtle_migration?oldid=1344243328

  10. What is the relationship called when both species benefit?

    medium

    Mutualism

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mutualism_(biology)?oldid=1350061349#Intestinal_microbiota

  11. Which salamanders are used in research because they can regenerate body parts including limbs?

    medium

    Axolotls

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axolotl?oldid=1365469225

  12. What makes a platypus unusual among mammals besides its bill?

    easy

    Mammals that lay eggs

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platypus?oldid=1362452793

  13. Which microscopic animals can survive extreme drying by entering a tun state?

    medium

    Tardigrades

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tardigrade?oldid=1365589124#Dehydrated_'tun'_state

  14. How does the Komodo dragon rank among living lizards?

    easy

    The largest extant species of lizard

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon?oldid=1362735935

  15. What kind of organism is a lichen?

    hard

    A composite organism

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lichen?oldid=1365018936#Symbiotic_relation

  16. What is the most conspicuous trait of male narwhals?

    easy

    A long, spiralled tusk

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narwhal?oldid=1361625492#Tusk_and_dentition

  17. How does kleptoparasitism work?

    hard

    A feeding strategy where one animal deliberately steals food from another

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kleptoparasitism?oldid=1354935344#Strategy

  18. How can wood frogs survive partial freezing in winter?

    hard

    Urea and glucose act as cryoprotectants

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood_frog?oldid=1351167031#Cold_tolerance

  19. Name the process by which plants lose water vapor through their leaves.

    medium

    Transpiration

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpiration?oldid=1325504463

  20. Which bird has the greatest wingspan among living birds?

    hard

    The snowy albatross

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snowy_albatross?oldid=1360252723#Size

Questions 41–45

  1. How do mycorrhizal fungi help plants through their roots?

    hard

    The fungus supplies the plant with water and mineral nutrients

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mycorrhiza?oldid=1362851638#Definition

  2. Where do migratory monarchs originate?

    hard

    Southern Canada and the northern United States

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch_butterfly_migration?oldid=1364460333

  3. How is an animal colored in countershading?

    hard

    Darker on the top or upper side and lighter on the underside of the body

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Countershading?oldid=1352876025

  4. How do antlers change each year?

    hard

    Antlers are shed and regrown

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antler?oldid=1365024102

  5. When do plants using CAM open their stomata?

    hard

    At night, when temperatures are low

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crassulacean_acid_metabolism?oldid=1362788518#Biochemistry

How to play

Make clear whether the response should be an animal, a body feature, a behavior, or a biological process. When a common and scientific term both appear in accepted usage, score the concept rather than the pronunciation.

Plan the round and team scores

8 turns × 60 seconds = 8 minutes of play, plus instructions and breaks.

60

These are adjustable house rules. Pause whenever the group needs more time.

Team 1: 0

Team 2: 0