72 general knowledge trivia questions, by category (with answers)
Here are 72 general knowledge trivia questions with answers, organized into six categories so you can build balanced rounds: geography, history, science, language and literature, arts and culture, and sports and leisure. Each question lists its answer right after it, ready to read aloud, print, or load into an auto-scoring quiz. The difficulty is spread across categories so everyone finds a round they're good at. The full list is below.
Good general-knowledge trivia spreads the difficulty around so no single person dominates and everyone finds at least one category they're strong in. The set below is split into six classic categories, each with its answer attached, so you can build balanced rounds or pull a quick mix. Use them for trivia night, a classroom review game, a pub quiz, or a team energizer.
Geography
- What is the capital of France? — A: Paris
- Which is the longest river in South America? — A: The Amazon
- What is the largest country in the world by area? — A: Russia
- On which continent is the country of Kenya? — A: Africa
- What is the capital of Italy? — A: Rome
- Which country has the city of Mumbai? — A: India
- What is the smallest continent? — A: Australia
- What strait separates Europe from Africa? — A: The Strait of Gibraltar
- What is the capital of South Korea? — A: Seoul
- Which mountain is the tallest in Africa? — A: Mount Kilimanjaro
- What is the largest lake in the world by surface area? — A: The Caspian Sea
- Which country is shaped like a boot? — A: Italy
History
- Who was the first man to walk on the Moon? — A: Neil Armstrong
- In which year did the Titanic sink? — A: 1912
- Who was the British Prime Minister during most of World War II? — A: Winston Churchill
- What ancient wonder still stands in Egypt? — A: The Great Pyramid of Giza
- Which empire was ruled by Julius Caesar? — A: The Roman Empire
- In what year did the French Revolution begin? — A: 1789
- Who was the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom? — A: Margaret Thatcher
- What war was fought between the North and South in the U.S.? — A: The Civil War
- Who led India's independence movement through nonviolence? — A: Mahatma Gandhi
- What year did the Berlin Wall fall? — A: 1989
- Which explorer is credited with reaching the Americas in 1492? — A: Christopher Columbus
- What was the name of the ship the Pilgrims sailed on? — A: The Mayflower
Science
- What is the chemical symbol for gold? — A: Au
- How many planets are in our solar system? — A: Eight
- What is the largest organ in the human body? — A: The skin
- What is H2O more commonly known as? — A: Water
- What force pulls objects toward the Earth? — A: Gravity
- What is the boiling point of water in Celsius? — A: 100 degrees
- Which gas do plants release during photosynthesis? — A: Oxygen
- What is the smallest unit of matter? — A: The atom
- What planet is famous for its rings? — A: Saturn
- What is the human body's largest internal organ? — A: The liver
- What is the term for animals that eat only plants? — A: Herbivores
- What galaxy do we live in? — A: The Milky Way
Run one category per round and let teams pick their 'expert' to lead it. Rotating which player answers for the group keeps quieter members involved and turns a solo memory test into a team game — which is what makes general-knowledge trivia work for mixed crowds.
Language & literature
- Who wrote 'Pride and Prejudice'? — A: Jane Austen
- How many letters are in the English alphabet? — A: 26
- What language has the most native speakers? — A: Mandarin Chinese
- Who wrote the 'Harry Potter' series? — A: J.K. Rowling
- What is a word that reads the same backward called? — A: A palindrome
- Which novel begins 'Call me Ishmael'? — A: Moby-Dick
- What is the plural of 'cactus'? — A: Cacti (or cactuses)
- Who wrote '1984'? — A: George Orwell
- What do you call a word that imitates a sound, like 'buzz'? — A: Onomatopoeia
- In what language was the original Bible's New Testament written? — A: Greek
- Who created the character Sherlock Holmes? — A: Arthur Conan Doyle
- What is the longest-running word in 'antidisestablishmentarianism' an example of? — A: A very long English word
Arts & culture
- Who painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel? — A: Michelangelo
- What instrument has 88 keys? — A: The piano
- Which artist cut off part of his own ear? — A: Vincent van Gogh
- What is the art of beautiful handwriting called? — A: Calligraphy
- How many strings does a standard violin have? — A: Four
- What dance originated in Argentina? — A: The tango
- Who composed 'The Four Seasons'? — A: Antonio Vivaldi
- What is the most visited art museum in the world? — A: The Louvre
- What color do you get by mixing blue and yellow? — A: Green
- What is a group of singers called? — A: A choir
- Which painting features a swirling night sky? — A: The Starry Night
- What is the traditional Japanese art of paper folding? — A: Origami
Sports & leisure
- How many players are on a soccer team on the field? — A: Eleven
- In which sport would you perform a slam dunk? — A: Basketball
- How many rings are on the Olympic flag? — A: Five
- What sport uses a shuttlecock? — A: Badminton
- How often are the Summer Olympic Games held? — A: Every four years
- In tennis, what is a score of zero called? — A: Love
- What sport is known as 'the king of sports' globally? — A: Soccer (football)
- How many holes are on a standard golf course? — A: Eighteen
- What board game uses kings, queens, and pawns? — A: Chess
- In which sport do you 'spike' and 'set'? — A: Volleyball
- What is the maximum score in ten-pin bowling? — A: 300
- Which country hosts Wimbledon? — A: England (the United Kingdom)
Turn these into an auto-scored quiz
Once you have more than a handful of players, scoring by hand gets messy fast. A free quiz maker lets you paste each question, mark the correct answer, assign points, and have it grade every entry the instant someone submits — complete with an immediate score and a leaderboard. Formkii's quiz maker supports multiple-choice questions, optional countdown timers, shuffled question order to discourage copying, and per-question analytics so you can see which questions stumped the room. That turns the categories above into a reusable, self-grading general-knowledge quiz.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a general knowledge trivia question?
General knowledge questions cover widely shared facts across many fields — geography, history, science, language, arts, and sports — rather than one specialized topic. The best ones are things a typical adult might reasonably know or guess, which keeps a mixed group competitive and engaged.
How do you make a balanced trivia quiz?
Spread questions across several categories and mix easy, medium, and hard within each round so no single player's expertise decides the game. A common structure is six rounds of 10 to 12 questions, one per category, which keeps scores close and gives everyone a chance to lead.
How many questions should a trivia night have?
A full trivia night usually runs 40 to 60 questions split into four to six themed rounds, with short breaks for scoring. For a quick classroom or team round, 10 to 15 questions is plenty. Match the count to your time: budget roughly one minute per question with discussion.
How do you score a general knowledge quiz quickly?
Use an online quiz tool that grades automatically as soon as players submit, rather than swapping answer sheets and tallying by hand. Automatic scoring removes disputes, produces an instant leaderboard, and lets you run trivia for a large or remote group without a dedicated scorekeeper.
Are these trivia questions suitable for classrooms?
Yes. The categories map closely to school subjects, so they work well as review games or warm-ups. For students, lean on the geography, science, and language rounds, and consider an auto-graded quiz so every student answers and gets instant feedback.