Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader Questions to Put You to the Test

School’s back in session, and we've got a few Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader questions to kick things off.

Published April 29, 2024
Education, question with group of children in classroom and raise their hands to answer.

Week after week the Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? gameshow made us question whether we should go back to elementary school. Brush up on your childhood expertise with these Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? questions. Let's see just how much of what your teachers taught you actually stuck.

Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? Questions 

For all the game shows that graced network television, nothing made us question our common sense more than Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? If you've had a burning desire to put your noggin to the test, you're in luck. We've got some Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? questions hard enough to make you beg to be held back another year. 

1st-Grade Questions

If you thought we’d take things easy on you with our 1st-grade questions, you’re probably right. Starting our list of Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? questions with this early elementary roundup should help ease you back into the swing of things.

Which is the closest star to Earth?

The sun

What makes flamingoes turn pink?

The shrimp they eat

What is 4x4?

16

Instead of leaves, what do Christmas trees sprout on their branches?

Needles

The feathery sprouts on the sides of an axolotl’s head are what body part?

Gills

Where will the minute hand be on the clock when it’s 4:00 pm?

Pointing to 12

What is 15x15?

225

What is the largest mammal on Earth?

The blue whale

How many continents are there?

Seven

2nd-Grade Questions

We’re taking things a step up with our 2nd-grade questions. While we’re confident that you’ll be able to ace this category, there may be a few questions that'll trip you up.

How many planets are in our solar system?

8

What parts of speech are sometimes, often, and badly?

Adverbs

If Drew has five apples and three oranges and gives four apples to his neighbor, Jamie, and two oranges to his other neighbor, Joe, how many apples and oranges does he have left?

1 apple and 1 orange

Two quarter notes are equal to what musical measurement?

A half note

Martin Luther King Jr. championed what social movement?

The Civil Rights Movement

What type of animal is a salamander?

An amphibian

If something costs $1.74 and you give the cashier $2, which coins would you get back in change?

1 quarter and 1 penny

Nouns that you capitalize are known as what?

Proper nouns

3rd-Grade Questions 

Now, here’s where the going gets tough. Think back to your 3rd-grade experiences, and you’ll probably remember learning cursive and running with scissors when your teacher’s back was turned. Unfortunately for you, this is where that good old-school curriculum memory starts to fail most of us.

What type of triangle has two sides of equal length?

Isosceles

Who pioneered agricultural innovation and invented peanut butter?

George Washington Carver

What year was the Louisiana Purchase finalized?

1803

What are the three branches of American government?

The executive, legislative, and judicial

The tundra, rainforest, and desert fall under what scientific category?

Biomes

What is the capital of South Dakota?

Pierre

The Earth’s crust is made up of what structures?

Plates

Which planet’s axial tilt causes it to rotate almost 100% on its side?

Uranus

What are the clumped groups of lines in a poem called?

Stanzas

Related: 45+ 90s Trivia Questions That Are Da Bomb 

4th-Grade Questions

We’re at the stage in these Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? questions where we start to question how good our memory really is. And once you take a crack at them, we’re sure you will, too.

What chemical compound do plants absorb?

Carbon dioxide

What galaxy is our solar system in?

The Milky Way

What parts of speech are aboard, above, under, and upon?

Prepositions

What 1862 Act granted 160 acres of land in the American West to settlers in exchange for five years of residence?

The Homestead Act

What do the horizontal lines, aka parallels, on a map, measure?

The latitude

What machine is unfinished pottery fired in?

A kiln

An object that’s in motion is exerting what kind of energy?

Kinetic

What type of cloud produces thunderstorms?

Cumulonimbus

What makes plants look green?

The chlorophyll in their cells

The Preamble to the United States Constitution starts with what phrase?

We the People of the United States

5th-Grade Questions 

Pat yourself on the back, because you’ve nearly made it! Graduation is just around the corner — so long as you can ace these deceptively easy questions.

Which British cruise liner was sunk by a German U-boat in 1915?

The Lusitania

What is the type of rhyme where two words sound similar but not exactly the same?

Near rhyme

What is the powerhouse of the cell?

Mitochondria

What are the four states of matter?

Solids, liquid, gas, and plasma

What is ⅛ + ¾?

What are the five main layers of the atmosphere?

The troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere 

Which layer is immediately beneath the Earth’s crust?

The mantle

What unique weather event precipitated by erosion decimated the American prairies in the 1930s?

The Dust Bowl

What years did the American Civil War take place?

1961-1965

Million-Dollar Questions

In true Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? fashion, we have to close out our list with some hard-hitting but elementary-age-appropriate million-dollar questions. Wrack your brain for the answers to these prize-winning questions and see how many you can knock out of the park.

Which map projection is considered the most distorted one of all time?

The Gall-Peters Projection

The study of tree rings and other tree-related phenomena is called what?

Dendrochronology

What city does the Prime Meridian run through?

Greenwich, England

What volcanic eruption sent the world into a volcanic winter in 1883?

The Krakatoa eruption

How many feet are in a mile?

5,280

Instead of the Metric System, America follows which measurement system?

Imperial

What is at the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs?

Self-actualization

What is the name of the first ever successfully cloned animal?

Dolly

See You at Graduation

You did it! Your final grades have come back, and you passed by the skin of your teeth. So, grab your graduation caps and get ready to celebrate!

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Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader Questions to Put You to the Test