The General Science Quiz

Estimated Completion Time
3 min
The General Science Quiz
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About This Quiz

Remember what discoveries made Einstein, Darwin, Galileo and Marie Curie famous? Know which elements make up the air you breathe or the bulk of the Earth on which you walk? How much do you know about Earth's celestial neighbors, or how the movement of our planet impacts your daily life? If you think you can still recall the basics of various branches of science, take our quiz to test your IQ!

If you're like most adults, you spent around 12 years of your young life sitting in science classes -- not to mention any scientific studying you did in college or grad school. That's a whole lot of time spent memorizing the basics of chemistry, biology, physics and earth sciences. Yet for so many people, these basic subjects are just a long-ago blur, and recalling specific details or facts related to the field of science can be a real challenge, even for inquisitive minds.

Yet science is so much more than a subject studied in school. It provides the basic framework for the rules that govern our lives -- from the gravity that keeps our feet planted on the ground to the movement of the tides, the weather, seasons and the stars in the sky. 

Think you can score big on this general science quiz? Check out these questions to see how much you remember!

Which of these planets is Earth's closest neighbor?
Venus
Neptune
Mercury
Jupiter
Who came up with the idea that E=MC^2?
Marie Curie
Stephen Hawking
Bill Gates
Albert Einstein
Which of these is not one of the five Kingdoms of Life?
Mammalia
Fungi
Plantae
Animalia

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Which of these elements is most common in the air we breathe?
Silicon
Nitrogen
Carbon
Hydrogen
What does a light year measure?
Time
Velocity
Distance
Mass
What are the building blocks that make up everything on Earth called?
Nuclei
Mitochondria
Atoms
Gravitrons

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Isaac Newton came up with three laws of _______.
Motion
Gravity
Relativity
Acceleration
What is the most common element that makes up the structure of the Earth itself?
Gold
Mercury
Iron
Helium
About how far would you have to dig though land to break past the crust of the Earth into the mantle?
Three miles
25 miles
350 miles
4,000 miles

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At what temperature Celsius does water freeze?
0 degrees
32 degrees
50 degrees
100 degrees
A piece of space debris that crash lands on Earth is called a _______________.
Comet
Meteorite
Asteroid
Dwarf planet
What feature of a sound wave determines how loud the sound is?
Amplitude
Frequency
Length
Range

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Which of these would a herbivore prefer to eat?
Steak
Salmon
Kale
Chicken
This is the only planet in the solar system that spins clockwise.
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Which of these phrases is most closely associated with Albert Einstein?
Gravity
Relativity
Motion
Plutonium

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Which of these most strongly impacts ocean tides?
The planet Venus
The moon
The sun
The North Star
The moons of this planet are named for Galileo.
Earth
Uranus
Jupiter
Mars
How fast does sound travel?
343 meters per second
1,254 meters per second
45,000 meters per second
7 light years per second

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For what is Jonas Salk remembered?
Pasteurization
Antibiotics
Polio vaccine
Theory of relativity
What types of waves do cellphones use?
Microwaves
Radio waves
Light waves
Ocean waves
Which of these serves as the basic building block in the body?
Cells
Mitochondria
Nuclei
Alkenes

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Who wrote "On the Origin of Species"?
Louis Pasteur
Albert Einstein
Jane Goodall
Charles Darwin
Velocity is _______.
The same as speed
Speed in a given direction
The same as mass
Equal to mass times weight
How many bones are in an adult body?
180
206
259
312

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What percentage of the Earth is covered by water?
20 percent
50 percent
71 percent
95 percent
Who discovered penicillin?
Alexander Fleming
Jonas Salk
Marie Curie
Ben Carson
Heliocentric theory puts this at the center of the universe.
Moon
Earth
Sun
Hell

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What are the byproducts of photosynthesis?
Oxygen and water
Sunlight and carbon dioxide
Sunlight and water
Mercury and water
Which of these is an example of a deciduous tree?
Pine
Fur
Spruce
Elm
What is the name of the Galaxy in which we live?
Messier 81
Whirlpool
Randolph
Milky Way

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Which of these elements did Marie Curie discover?
Platinum
Silver
Helium
Radium
Which of these pH values is considered neutral?
-10
0
7
12
How long does it take the Earth to revolve around the sun?
24 hours
30 days
365 days
7 years

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Which of these particles has a negative charge?
Electron
Neutron
Proton
All three
Toward which of these fields is Nikola Tesla known for contributing?
Animal science
Medicine
Physics
Electricity