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40 trivia questions for work

General knowledge questions for a quiz break at work or the start of a team meeting, none of them needing specialist knowledge. Ask five at a time, in teams or solo.

Updated · 40 questions

40 questions · Trivia questions for work · answers included

Trivia questions for work

Choose a score button to add a point. Scores last for this page visit.

Space shows the answer. Arrow keys move. Keys 1 to 6 add a team point. F fills the screen. Escape closes play.

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Showing 40 of 40

General knowledge

  1. What is the most common pack of playing cards used today?

    easy

    Answer

    The standard 52-card deck

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_52-card_deck?oldid=1361841647

  2. Which direction does a compass point halfway between north and east?

    easy

    Answer

    Northeast

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Points_of_the_compass?oldid=1364748457

  3. What does a barometer measure?

    medium

    Answer

    Atmospheric pressure

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barometer?oldid=1365704103#Mercury_barometers

  4. What is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers?

    easy

    Answer

    A prime number

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_number?oldid=1363371252

  5. Which calendar date is known as April Fools’ Day?

    easy

    Answer

    The 1st of April

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_Fools'_Day?oldid=1365593059

Inventions and discovery

  1. Which office invention fastens papers with a small bent wire?

    easy

    Answer

    A paper clip

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paper_clip?oldid=1356536849

  2. What links a keyboard, a ribbon, and a carriage return?

    easy

    Answer

    A typewriter

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typewriter?oldid=1365428254

  3. What technology was Percy Spencer’s microwave oven based on?

    medium

    Answer

    British radar technology

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_oven?oldid=1365212135

  4. Which device turns sunlight directly into electricity?

    medium

    Answer

    A solar cell

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_cell?oldid=1361196839

History

  1. What did Gutenberg invent a method for mass-producing around 1440?

    easy

    Answer

    Movable type

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Printing_press?oldid=1364130523

  2. Which writing material gave ancient Egypt the English word paper?

    easy

    Answer

    Papyrus

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papyrus?oldid=1364919057

Food and drink

  1. Which spice has a golden yellow color due to curcumin?

    medium

    Answer

    Turmeric

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turmeric?oldid=1363742127#Phytochemistry

  2. Which nut is used to make marzipan?

    medium

    Answer

    Almond meal

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marzipan?oldid=1365875925

  3. Why does bread dough expand while it proves?

    medium

    Answer

    Carbon dioxide gas

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proofing_(baking_technique)?oldid=1341505165#Dough_processes

  4. Which five tastes are generally recognized by modern science?

    medium

    Answer

    Salt, sweet, sour, bitter, and umami

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taste?oldid=1365818554#Functional_structure

  5. What is the main ingredient in guacamole?

    easy

    Answer

    Avocado

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guacamole?oldid=1364820069#Composition_and_nutrients

Music

  1. What is the highest female classical singing voice?

    medium

    Answer

    Soprano

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soprano?oldid=1352922856

  2. What Italian dynamic marking means "soft"?

    medium

    Answer

    Piano

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamics_(music)?oldid=1363925464#Purpose_and_interpretation

  3. How does a cappella singing differ from accompanied singing?

    easy

    Answer

    Without any instrumental accompaniment

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_cappella?oldid=1365603117

Sport

  1. What color jersey is worn by the leader of the Tour de France?

    medium

    Answer

    Yellow

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_jersey_statistics?oldid=1365978446

  2. How many minutes are played in a standard soccer match before added time?

    easy

    Answer

    90 minutes

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_football?oldid=1365398893

  3. Which four tournaments make up tennis’s Grand Slam?

    medium

    Answer

    Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grand_Slam_(tennis)?oldid=1363991952#Tournaments

  4. How many track and field events make up a decathlon?

    easy

    Answer

    10 track and field events

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Decathlon?oldid=1365854135

Geography

  1. Which continent contains the Sahara Desert?

    easy

    Answer

    Africa

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sahara?oldid=1362700122

  2. What is the capital of Kenya?

    medium

    Answer

    Nairobi

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nairobi?oldid=1365483999

  3. Which country has coastlines on the Atlantic, Pacific, and Arctic oceans?

    medium

    Answer

    Canada

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Canada?oldid=1365163186

  4. How does a fjord form?

    medium

    Answer

    A glacier cuts a U-shaped valley

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fjord?oldid=1364094600#Formation

Art

  1. How did pointillists build images?

    medium

    Answer

    Small, distinct dots of color

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pointillism?oldid=1331243871

  2. Which Spanish artist co-founded Cubism with Georges Braque?

    easy

    Answer

    Pablo Picasso

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Picasso?oldid=1365390373#Rose_Period%3A_1904%E2%80%931906

  3. Which ancient sculpture was discovered without its arms on the island of Milos?

    medium

    Answer

    The Venus de Milo

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venus_de_Milo?oldid=1362156819#Discovery

Mythology

  1. Which hero completed twelve labors?

    easy

    Answer

    Heracles

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Labours_of_Hercules?oldid=1365952767#Aftermath

  2. What task was Sisyphus condemned to repeat forever?

    easy

    Answer

    Push an immense boulder up a hill

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sisyphus?oldid=1363155348

Language and words

  1. What is a group of lines in a poem called?

    medium

    Answer

    A stanza

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanza?oldid=1307347128

  2. How does an oxymoron combine ideas?

    medium

    Answer

    Concepts with opposite meanings

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxymoron?oldid=1341701285

Chemistry

  1. Which element gives table salt the first half of its chemical name, sodium chloride?

    easy

    Answer

    Sodium

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_chloride?oldid=1361150387

  2. Which metal is the primary constituent of bronze?

    medium

    Answer

    Copper

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bronze?oldid=1364724780

Space and astronomy

  1. How long does sunlight take to reach Earth, approximately?

    medium

    Answer

    About 8.3 minutes

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunlight?oldid=1364119502

  2. Which space telescope launched in 1990 and transformed astronomy from low Earth orbit?

    easy

    Answer

    The Hubble Space Telescope

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_Space_Telescope?oldid=1366001248

U.S. states

  1. Which Great Lake is located fully within the United States?

    medium

    Answer

    Lake Michigan

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Michigan?oldid=1365842153

  2. Which state's official motto is Live Free or Die?

    easy

    Answer

    New Hampshire

    Source: Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_Free_or_Die?oldid=1365755949

Plan the round and team scores

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

60

Pause whenever the group needs more time.

Team Lime is acting

Team Lime: 0

Team Violet: 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.