5th-Grade General Knowledge Quiz


Allison Lips

6 Min Quiz

Image: Caiaimage/Chris Ryan/OJO+/Getty Images

About This Quiz

As an adult, you may think that 5th grade was easy. After all, you were 10 about to turn 11. However, as time goes on, you forget much of the information you learned. While you may remember a considerable amount from your favorite subjects or work with some of the information every day at your job, other facts have been lost over the passage of time.

Even though you may have a vague recollection of math, science, English, and history, the facts that you were taught are still important. You may not use the words atoms or chlorophyll in everyday speech, but they are still helpful in understanding the world around you. You also probably don't bring up Rosa Parks, John Calvin, or Albert Einstein regularly either. However, they are all important figures and should be recognized as such. 

Can you ace this general knowledge quiz? Are you able to do mental math? Do you remember more than just the Alamo? Will you make your teachers proud? Will you fail and end up borrowing your kid's textbook? There's only one way to find out! This quiz will tell you which subjects you need a refresher course in!

Which American war occurred between the north and the south?

The American Civil War lasted from April 12, 1861 to April 9, 1865. During this time, the south seceded from the union to form the Confederate States of America.


Which famous general led the United States during the Revolutionary War?

General George Washington took control of the Continental Army in June 1775 under orders from Congress. During the war, Washington lost more battles than he won.


What dictator led Germany during World War II?

In 1918, Adolf HItler joined the German Workers' Party. On February 24, 1920, the party changed its name to the National Socialist German Workers' Party, which is also known as the Nazi party.


Which branch of government consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives?

The Legislative Branch was establish by Article I of the Constitution. Congress has 100 members, while the House of Representatives has 435 members.


Which of the following states was the first one?

On December 7, 1787, all 30 delegates at the Delaware Constitutional Convention unanimously voted to ratify the U.S. Constitution. The United States Constitution officially became the law of the land on March 4, 1789 when New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify it.


Which founding father led the Federalist Party?

The Federalist party and the Democratic-Republican Party were the first American political parties. Other prominent Federalists included John Jay, John Adams, John Marshal, and Rufus King.


What was the name given to the first 10 amendments to the Constitution?

The First Congress of the United States proposed 12 amendments on September 25, 1789. Only 10 were adopted. Currently, there are 27 amendments to the Constitution.


During which war was Francis Scott Key inspired to write the lyrics to '"The Star Spangled Banner?"

The Battle of New Orleans took place on January 8, 1915. It occurred after the United States and Great Britain agreed to end the war with the Treaty of Ghent.


The United States dropped the atomic bomb on which two Japanese cities?

On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped a bomb nicknamed "Little Boy" on Hiroshima. Three days later, "Fat Man" was dropped on Nagasaki. Over 200,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed in these attacks.


In 1954, which Supreme Court case declared that segregation in public schools was unconstitutional?

On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v. Board of Education that "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." All nine Supreme Court justices voted unanimously.


When the moon blocks the sun, what do we call it?

Lunar eclipses can only occur during a full moon. They happen when Earth's shadow is cast on the moon and the planet is between the moon and the sun.


What is the name of the green pigment that absorbs light for photosynthesis?

Joseph Bienaime Caventou and Pierre Joseph Pelletier first isolated chlorophyll in 1817. The name comes from the Greek chloros and phyllon. The latter means yellowish green, while the former means leaf.


Which simple machine consists of a beam that pivots at a fulcrum?

There are three classes of levers. Examples of levers include shovels and boat oars.


When a liquid turns into a gas, what does it do?

The three main states of matter are solid, liquid, and gas. A liquid that freezes becomes a gas. A gas that condenses becomes a liquid.


Which type of rock is formed from cooled magma or lava?

There are two types of igneous rocks: intrusive and extrusive. Intrusive rocks form below Earth's surface, whereas extrusive rocks are formed on the surface. Examples of igneous rocks are basalt, obsidian, pumice, and granite.


Which gas makes up 78 percent of the earth's atmosphere?

The majority of Earth's atmosphere is made of nitrogen and oxygen. Nitrogen makes up approximately 78 percent of the atmosphere. Oxygen accounts for almost 21 percent.


What consists of electrons, neutrons, and protons?

In 1897, J.J. Thomson discovered the atom. At the time, he was a physics professor at Cambridge University and made his discovery in the Cavendish Laboratory.


Which planet is the closest to the sun?

Mercury orbits the sun every 88 days. It is also the smallest planet in the solar system.


Which organ pumps blood around our circulatory system?

A normal adult heart at rest beats between 60 to 100 beats per minute. It also pumps approximately 2,000 gallons of blood a day.


Which substance is known as the universal solvent?

About 60 percent of an adult human is water. Water lubricates joints, regulates body temperature, and helps the body perform other essential tasks.


What is the area of a rectangle that is 5 inches by 4 inches?

The area of a rectangle is calculated by multiplying length times width. A square is a rectangle whose four sides are all the same length.


What do we call a squared plus b squared equals c squared?

In the Pythagorean theorem, a and b represent the two sides of a right triangle that contain the right angle. The c represents the third side, which is called the hypotenuse and is the opposite the right angle.


Which of the following is not a prime number?

A prime number is a positive natural number that is only divisible by itself and 1. A number that can be divided by more than those two numbers is called a composite number.


If you multiply 1/2 by 1/2, what do you get?

Equivalent fractions are two fractions that are the same proportion of a whole. For example, 5/10 is equivalent to 1/2.


What do you get when you simplify 40/100?

To simplify a fraction, divide the top and bottom by a common number. This is also called reducing the fraction.


Which digit is in the tens place in 6,232,932.185?

A place value is the value of a digit in reference to its position in a number. Only single digit numbers have a place value.


How many minutes are in 4 hours?

Babylonians used base 60. The Egyptians borrowed the counting system and used it to split up the day, which is why there are 60 seconds in a minute and 60 minutes in an hour.


On a flat coordinate plane, which point is known as the origin?

The origin is where the x-axis intersects with the y-axis. If there is a third axis (z), the origin is where all three axes intersect.


How many sides does a pentagon have?

The headquarters of the United States Department of Defense is called The Pentagon because it is five sided. It is located in Arlington, Virginia.


What is the official name for the top number in a fraction?

The bottom part of a fraction is called the denominator. It is number of total parts in a whole.


Which of the following words is an example of a verb?

Verbs are action words. They can also be altered to show tense.


Which word is an example of onomatopoeia?

Onomatopoeia is a word that is formed from a sound. Other examples of onomatopoeia are whoosh, meow, and thud.


A figure of speech that uses "like" or "as" is called a what?

Similes are used to draw a direct comparison. Metaphors are used to draw indirect comparisons and do not use "like" or "as."


Which word is an example of a contraction?

Contractions are often used in informal writing and in speech. They are a word or phrase that has lost one or more letters in the shortening process.


What is an example of a prefix?

A prefix is added to the beginning of a word to give it a new meaning. A suffix is added to the end of a word and does the same thing.


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