64 trivia questions for car rides and about cars
The first three sections are for reading aloud on a car ride: places and nature, road signs and highways, and other ways to travel. The last three are about cars: their history, how they work, and carmakers and records.
Updated
Car ride: places and nature
Which park became the world's first national park, in 1872?
easy
Yellowstone National Park.
President Ulysses S. Grant signed the law creating Yellowstone on March 1, 1872.
Source: National Park Service https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/historyculture/yellowstoneestablishment.htm
Which famous geyser in Yellowstone was named for erupting so regularly?
easy
Old Faithful.
Members of an 1870 expedition named it for its dependable eruptions.
Source: National Park Service https://home.nps.gov/articles/old-faithful-geyser.htm
Historic Route 66 ran about 2,400 miles from Chicago to which California city?
medium
Santa Monica.
Route 66 linked Chicago and Santa Monica, running through eight states.
Source: National Park Service https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/route-66-national.htm
What is the largest national park in the United States?
hard
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, in Alaska.
At more than 13 million acres, it is bigger than Vermont, New Hampshire and Rhode Island put together.
Source: National Park Service https://www.nps.gov/articles/getaway-wrst.htm
What is the name of the color the Golden Gate Bridge is painted?
medium
International Orange.
The bridge's International Orange paint was chosen to suit its setting and help it stand out in fog.
Source: National Park Service https://www.nps.gov/places/000/why-is-the-golden-gate-bridge-orange.htm
What is the deepest lake in the United States?
medium
Crater Lake, in Oregon.
Crater Lake formed in the collapsed top of a volcano and is the deepest lake in the country.
Source: National Park Service https://www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm
What kind of trees are the tallest in the world?
easy
Redwoods.
The coast redwoods of northern California are the tallest trees on Earth.
Source: National Park Service https://www.nps.gov/redw/index.htm
What is the name of the giant sequoia in California that is the largest tree in the world by volume?
hard
The General Sherman Tree.
The General Sherman Tree in Sequoia National Park holds about 52,500 cubic feet of wood, more than any other tree.
Source: National Park Service https://www.nps.gov/seki/learn/nature/sherman.htm
What is the longest river in the United States?
medium
The Missouri River.
The Missouri is the longest river system in the country; it joins the Mississippi near St. Louis.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey https://www.usgs.gov/centers/geosciences-and-environmental-change-science-center/science/missouri-river-corridor
Which of the Great Lakes holds the most water?
medium
Lake Superior.
Lake Superior is the largest of the Great Lakes by volume, and also the deepest and coldest.
Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency https://www.epa.gov/greatlakes/lake-superior
Which country shares the longest international border in the world with the United States?
easy
Canada.
The border between Canada and the United States runs 8,890 kilometers, the longest in the world.
Source: Statistics Canada https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/11-402-x/2012000/chap/geo/geo01-eng.htm
The Hoover Dam holds back which river?
medium
The Colorado River.
The dam stands in Black Canyon on the Colorado River, on the border of Arizona and Nevada.
Source: Bureau of Reclamation https://www.usbr.gov/lc/hooverdam/faqs/damfaqs.html
Why is the sky blue?
easy
Air scatters sunlight, and it scatters blue light more than the other colors.
Blue light travels as shorter, smaller waves, so the gases in the air bounce it around the sky more than other colors.
Source: NASA Space Place https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/blue-sky/en/
You see lightning, then count 5 seconds before you hear the thunder. About how far away was the lightning?
easy
About 1 mile.
The sound of thunder travels about a mile every 5 seconds, so divide the seconds you count by 5 to get the miles.
Source: National Weather Service https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning-science-overview
Car ride: road signs and highways
What shape is a stop sign?
easy
An octagon, with eight sides.
U.S. rules require the stop sign to be an octagon with white letters on red.
Source: Federal Highway Administration (MUTCD) https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2009/part2/part2b.htm
What shape is a yield sign?
easy
A triangle pointing down.
The yield sign is a downward-pointing triangle with a wide red border.
Source: Federal Highway Administration (MUTCD) https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2009/part2/part2b.htm
Which road sign is shaped like a pentagon, pointed at the top like a little house?
medium
The school sign.
The five-sided shape pointed at the top is kept for signs warning that a school is ahead.
Source: Federal Highway Administration (MUTCD) https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2009/part2/part2a.htm
A round yellow warning sign tells drivers that what is coming up?
medium
A railroad crossing.
The circle shape is used only for the sign that warns of a grade crossing, where the road crosses railroad tracks.
Source: Federal Highway Administration (MUTCD) https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2009/part2/part2a.htm
What shape is the No Passing Zone sign?
hard
A pennant: a long triangle lying on its side.
The No Passing Zone sign is the only one shaped like a pennant, with its long side horizontal.
Source: Federal Highway Administration (MUTCD) https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2009/part2/part2a.htm
What color are the signs that point the way to parks, campgrounds and other places for recreation?
medium
Brown, with white letters and symbols.
Signs for recreational and cultural places use white symbols or words on a brown background.
Source: Federal Highway Administration (MUTCD) https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2009/part2/part2m.htm
What color are most highway direction signs in the United States?
easy
Green, with white letters.
Guide signs that show routes, places and distances use white words on a green background.
Source: Federal Highway Administration (MUTCD) https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2009/part2/part2d.htm
On a two-way road, what color is the center line that separates traffic going in opposite directions?
easy
Yellow.
Yellow lines separate traffic moving in opposite directions; white lines separate lanes going the same way.
Source: Federal Highway Administration (MUTCD) https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/htm/2009/part3/part3a.htm
On U.S. Interstate highways, which way do routes with odd numbers run?
medium
North and south.
Odd-numbered Interstates run north and south, and even-numbered ones run east and west.
Source: Federal Highway Administration https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/highwayhistory/data/page07.cfm
What three colors are on the Interstate highway sign?
easy
Red, white and blue.
The Interstate marker is a red, white and blue shield with the route number.
Source: Federal Highway Administration https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/highwayhistory/data/page07.cfm
Which Interstate highway is the longest in the United States?
hard
I-90, which runs from Seattle to Boston.
I-90 crosses the northern United States from Seattle, Washington, to Boston, Massachusetts, a distance of more than 3,000 miles.
Source: Federal Highway Administration https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/highwayhistory/data/page07.cfm
On an Interstate highway, the mile markers count up from zero starting at which end of the route?
hard
The west or south end.
Mile markers start at the most westerly or southerly point, so the numbers grow as you drive east or north.
Source: Federal Highway Administration https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/highwayhistory/data/page07.cfm
In the United Kingdom, which side of the road do drivers keep to?
easy
The left.
The UK Highway Code tells drivers to keep to the left unless signs or markings say otherwise.
Source: GOV.UK (The Highway Code) https://www.gov.uk/guidance/the-highway-code/using-the-road-159-to-203
Car ride: trains, planes, ships and space
In 1869, what was driven into the track in Utah to mark the finish of the first railroad across the United States?
medium
A golden spike.
A ceremonial golden spike joined the Central Pacific and Union Pacific lines at Promontory Summit on May 10, 1869.
Source: National Park Service https://www.nps.gov/articles/getaway-gosp.htm
Which city opened the world's first underground railway, in 1863?
medium
London.
The Metropolitan Railway between Paddington and Farringdon in London opened in January 1863 as the world's first underground railway.
Source: Transport for London https://tfl.gov.uk/info-for/media/press-releases/2013/january/transformation-of-the-tube-network-continues-apace-during-historic-150th-year
In 1783, which three animals were the first passengers to fly in a hot air balloon?
easy
A sheep, a duck and a rooster.
The Montgolfier brothers sent the three animals up from Versailles, France, before any person had flown.
Source: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/montgolfier-brothers/nasm_A19680078000
In 1927, who became the first pilot to fly alone and nonstop across the Atlantic Ocean?
easy
Charles Lindbergh.
Lindbergh flew the Spirit of St. Louis from New York to Paris on May 20 and 21, 1927, something no one had done before.
Source: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum https://airandspace.si.edu/explore/stories/charles-lindbergh
In 1947, which airplane became the first to fly faster than the speed of sound?
hard
The Bell X-1.
On October 14, 1947, pilot Chuck Yeager flew the Bell X-1 at about 700 miles per hour, faster than sound.
Source: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/bell-x-1/nasm_A19510007000
What was the name of the passenger jet that flew people across the Atlantic at twice the speed of sound?
medium
The Concorde.
The Concorde was the first supersonic airliner in service and could cross the Atlantic in under four hours.
Source: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum https://airandspace.si.edu/collection-objects/concorde-fox-alpha-air-france/nasm_A20030139000
Which canal lets ships cross between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans without sailing around South America?
easy
The Panama Canal.
The Panama Canal cuts about 80 kilometers across Panama between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Source: Panama Canal Authority https://pancanal.com/en/history-of-the-panama-canal/
What was the name of the Apollo 11 lunar module that landed on the Moon in 1969?
medium
Eagle.
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin flew Eagle down to the Moon while Michael Collins stayed in orbit in Columbia.
Source: NASA https://www.nasa.gov/history/july-20-1969-one-giant-leap-for-mankind/
About how fast does the International Space Station travel?
medium
About 17,500 miles per hour.
At about 17,500 miles per hour, the station keeps falling toward Earth but moves fast enough to curve around it instead of hitting the ground.
Source: NASA https://www.nasa.gov/learning-resources/for-kids-and-students/what-is-microgravity-grades-5-8/
Cars: history and famous firsts
Who is credited with building the world's first automobile, patented in 1886?
easy
Carl Benz.
Carl Benz designed his Patent Motor Car in 1885 and filed for the patent on January 29, 1886.
Source: Mercedes-Benz Classic archive https://mercedes-benz-publicarchive.com/marsClassic/en/instance/ko/Benz-Patent-Motor-Car-1886---1894.xhtml?oid=4373
How many wheels did Carl Benz's first car have?
easy
Three.
Benz had not yet solved the problem of steering, so he built his first car with three wheels.
Source: Mercedes-Benz Classic archive https://mercedes-benz-publicarchive.com/marsClassic/en/instance/ko/Benz-Patent-Motor-Car-1886---1894.xhtml?oid=4373
In 1888, who made the first long-distance trip by car, driving with her two sons from Mannheim to Pforzheim in Germany?
medium
Bertha Benz, the wife of Carl Benz.
Bertha Benz and her sons Eugen and Richard took the trip in a Benz Patent Motor Car, the first long-distance journey in automotive history.
Source: Mercedes-Benz Classic archive https://mercedes-benz-publicarchive.com/marsClassic/en/instance/ko/Bertha-Benz-makes-the-worlds-first-long-distance-journey-in-a-car.xhtml?oid=4909524
In what year did Ford introduce the Model T?
medium
1908.
Ford Motor Company introduced the Model T on October 1, 1908, as an inexpensive, reliable car.
Source: The Henry Ford museum https://www.thehenryford.org/explore/blog/fords-model-t
What nickname was the Ford Model T known by?
medium
The Tin Lizzie.
The Model T was nicknamed the Tin Lizzie and was sold and built around the world.
Source: The Henry Ford museum https://www.thehenryford.org/explore/blog/fords-model-t
In 1913, Henry Ford began building cars on what new kind of production line?
easy
A moving assembly line.
By 1914 the moving assembly line turned out a Model T every 93 minutes, instead of 12 and a half hours per car.
Source: The Henry Ford museum https://askus.thehenryford.org/K12/faq/433848
Who invented the windshield wiper, patented in 1903?
medium
Mary Anderson.
Riding a New York trolley on a snowy day, Mary Anderson came up with a wiper blade the driver could work from inside.
Source: National Inventors Hall of Fame https://www.invent.org/inductees/mary-anderson
Around 1900, about what share of the vehicles on American roads were electric?
hard
About a third.
Electric cars were at their peak around 1900, and New York City even had a fleet of more than 60 electric taxis.
Source: U.S. Department of Energy https://www.energy.gov/articles/history-electric-car
Why is the Indianapolis Motor Speedway nicknamed the Brickyard?
easy
In 1909 its track was paved with 3.2 million bricks.
The 2.5-mile oval was repaved with 3.2 million bricks in the fall of 1909, which gave it the nickname.
Source: Indianapolis Motor Speedway https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/history/about-the-track
Ray Harroun won the first Indianapolis 500 in 1911 using a car part believed to be the first of its kind on any car. What was it?
medium
A rearview mirror.
His single-seat car had no room for the riding mechanic other cars carried, so Harroun fitted a mirror above the cowling.
Source: Indianapolis Motor Speedway https://www.indianapolismotorspeedway.com/history/first-500
Engineer Nils Bohlin perfected the three-point seat belt in 1959 and his company let everyone use the design for free. Which carmaker did he work for?
medium
Volvo.
Volvo gave the patent for the three-point belt free to the world, and it is credited with saving at least a million lives.
Source: Volvo Group https://www.volvogroup.com/en/about-us/heritage/three-point-safety-belt.html
Cars: how they work
In a gasoline engine, what part makes the spark that lights the fuel?
easy
The spark plug.
Fuel and air are mixed in the engine's combustion chamber and lit by a spark from the spark plug.
Source: Alternative Fuels Data Center (U.S. Department of Energy) https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/how-do-gasoline-cars-work
Gasoline engines light their fuel with a spark. What do diesel engines use instead?
hard
Compression: the air is squeezed until it is hot enough to light the fuel.
Diesel engines are compression-ignited, while gasoline engines are spark-ignited.
Source: Alternative Fuels Data Center (U.S. Department of Energy) https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/how-do-gasoline-cars-work
A hybrid car has a gasoline engine. What else helps drive it?
easy
One or more electric motors, powered by a battery.
Hybrids combine an engine with electric motors that run on energy stored in batteries.
Source: Alternative Fuels Data Center (U.S. Department of Energy) https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/how-do-hybrid-electric-cars-work
A regular hybrid car cannot be plugged in. How does its battery get charged?
medium
By regenerative braking and by the engine.
When the car slows down, regenerative braking turns its motion back into electricity for the battery, and the engine charges it too.
Source: Alternative Fuels Data Center (U.S. Department of Energy) https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/how-do-hybrid-electric-cars-work
Why does an all-electric car have no tailpipe?
easy
It burns no fuel, so it gives off no exhaust.
An all-electric car runs on electricity from its battery, so it has no exhaust and no fuel tank, fuel pump or fuel line.
Source: Alternative Fuels Data Center (U.S. Department of Energy) https://afdc.energy.gov/vehicles/how-do-all-electric-cars-work
What does a turbocharger do for an engine?
hard
It forces extra air into the engine's cylinders so more fuel can burn, which makes more power.
Turbochargers are compressors; the added air and fuel let a smaller engine make the power of a bigger one.
Source: FuelEconomy.gov (U.S. Department of Energy and EPA) https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/tech_engine_more.shtml
Where can you usually find the right tire pressure for a car?
medium
On a sticker in the driver's side door jamb or the glove box, and in the owner's manual.
Use the pressure on that sticker, not the maximum pressure printed on the side of the tire.
Source: FuelEconomy.gov (U.S. Department of Energy and EPA) https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/maintain.jsp
Above about what speed does a car's gas mileage usually start to drop quickly?
hard
About 50 miles per hour.
Every car is different, but gas mileage usually falls off fast above 50 mph.
Source: FuelEconomy.gov (U.S. Department of Energy and EPA) https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/driveHabits.jsp
Cars: carmakers, badges and records
What do the letters BMW stand for?
medium
Bayerische Motoren Werke, German for Bavarian Motor Works.
The Munich company took the name Bayerische Motoren Werke in 1917, and its products have carried the letters BMW ever since.
Source: BMW Group https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/usa/article/detail/T0017829EN_US/ninety-years-of-bmw-the-symbol-of-innovation?language=en_US
The four rings on the Audi badge stand for what?
medium
Four car companies that joined together in 1932: Audi, DKW, Horch and Wanderer.
The four brands merged to form Auto Union and chose four linked rings as its emblem.
Source: Audi https://www.audi.com/en/press-releases/history-of-the-four-rings-4093
The stars on the Subaru badge show which star cluster?
medium
The Pleiades.
Subaru is the Japanese name for the star cluster the Greeks called the Pleiades.
Source: Subaru of America https://media.subaru.com/pressrelease/333/1/origin-subaru
What animal is on the Lamborghini badge?
easy
A bull.
The classic Lamborghini badge shows a golden bull on a black background.
Source: Automobili Lamborghini https://www.lamborghini.com/en-en/history/logos
What animal is on the Ferrari badge?
easy
A prancing horse.
Ferrari's first car, the 125 S of 1947, already carried the prancing horse on its badge.
Source: Ferrari https://www.ferrari.com/en-EN/magazine/articles/it-started-with-a-sketch-the-prancing-horse-emblem
What does the German name Volkswagen mean in English?
easy
People's car.
Volkswagen means people's car, a name first given to the car later known as the Beetle.
Source: Volkswagen https://www.volkswagen-newsroom.com/en/history-3693
Before the Toyota group made cars, its founder Sakichi Toyoda became famous for inventing what kind of machine?
hard
A loom, a machine for weaving cloth.
His Type G Automatic Loom of 1924 was regarded as the best in the world, and the Toyota group grew from that work.
Source: Toyota https://global.toyota/en/company/profile/museums/sakichi/
What was the first product sold with the Honda name on it?
hard
A small engine that fits on a bicycle, the Honda A-Type.
Honda's first product, in 1947, was the A-Type auxiliary engine that could be attached to an ordinary bicycle.
Source: Honda https://global.honda/en/heritage/episodes/1947atype.html
In 1997, which car became the first to go faster than the speed of sound?
medium
Thrust SSC, driven by Andy Green.
In the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, the jet-powered Thrust SSC averaged 763 miles per hour, just over the speed of sound.
Source: Guinness World Records https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/737760-first-supersonic-car
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
Use this set with a group
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.