Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? 50 Questions
Last updated: July 2026 · Every answer fact-checked
The Fox game show that premiered in 2007 — hosted by Jeff Foxworthy — asked adults to answer elementary-school questions for cash. Here are 50 in the same spirit, grouped by grade from 1st to 5th. Keep score as you go, tap any question to reveal the answer, and check the rubric at the end. No help from actual fifth graders.
1st Grade
1 Question: Math: What is 9 + 6?
Answer: 15
2 Question: Spelling: What letter is silent in the word 'knee'?
Answer: K
3 Question: Science: What do caterpillars turn into?
Answer: Butterflies (or moths)
4 Question: Reading: What do we call the person who writes a book?
Answer: The author
5 Question: Science: Which is a mammal — a frog, a shark, or a dolphin?
Answer: A dolphin
6 Question: Geography: What do we call a huge area of salt water covering most of Earth?
Answer: An ocean
7 Question: Math: How many sides does a rectangle have?
Answer: Four
8 Question: Science: What season do leaves change color and fall?
Answer: Fall (autumn)
9 Question: Music: How many letters are used to name musical notes (A through what)?
Answer: Seven (A–G)
10 Question: Health: How many baby teeth do kids have?
Answer: 20
2nd Grade
1 Question: Math: What is 100 − 47?
Answer: 53
2 Question: Science: What are clouds made of?
Answer: Tiny water droplets (water vapor condensed)
3 Question: Grammar: Is 'quickly' a noun, verb, or adverb?
Answer: An adverb
4 Question: Geography: What are the names of the seven big landmasses on Earth called?
Answer: Continents
5 Question: History: Who is on the US penny?
Answer: Abraham Lincoln
6 Question: Science: What force pulls things toward the ground?
Answer: Gravity
7 Question: Math: How many minutes are in an hour and a half?
Answer: 90
8 Question: Reading: What do we call a story passed down that explains nature using gods or magic?
Answer: A myth
9 Question: Science: What planet do we live on, and what star does it orbit?
Answer: Earth; the Sun
10 Question: Art: What are the three primary colors of paint?
Answer: Red, yellow, blue
3rd Grade
1 Question: Math: What is 7 × 8?
Answer: 56
2 Question: Science: Solid, liquid, gas — what's the process called when a solid becomes a liquid?
Answer: Melting
3 Question: Geography: What imaginary line circles the Earth exactly halfway between the poles?
Answer: The equator
4 Question: Grammar: What punctuation joins two related complete sentences — it looks like a period over a comma?
Answer: A semicolon
5 Question: History: What ship brought the Pilgrims to America in 1620?
Answer: The Mayflower
6 Question: Science: What part of the plant makes food using sunlight?
Answer: The leaves
7 Question: Math: What is the perimeter of a square with 5-inch sides?
Answer: 20 inches
8 Question: Reading: What's the 'lesson' of a fable called?
Answer: The moral
9 Question: Science: What simple machine is a seesaw an example of?
Answer: A lever
10 Question: Geography: The Mississippi River empties into what body of water?
Answer: The Gulf of Mexico
4th Grade
1 Question: Math: What is 1/2 + 1/4?
Answer: 3/4
2 Question: Science: What's the name for an animal with a backbone?
Answer: A vertebrate
3 Question: History: What document, signed in 1776, declared America's independence?
Answer: The Declaration of Independence
4 Question: Grammar: In 'The dog chased the ball,' what is the subject?
Answer: The dog
5 Question: Science: What are the three states of water you can see in a kitchen?
Answer: Ice (solid), water (liquid), steam (gas)
6 Question: Geography: What's the capital of the United States?
Answer: Washington, D.C.
7 Question: Math: What's a polygon with six sides called?
Answer: A hexagon
8 Question: Science: What organ do fish use to breathe underwater?
Answer: Gills
9 Question: History: Who was the US President during the Civil War?
Answer: Abraham Lincoln
10 Question: Math: Round 3,467 to the nearest hundred.
Answer: 3,500
5th Grade
1 Question: Math: What is 15% of 200?
Answer: 30
2 Question: Science: What's the powerhouse of the cell?
Answer: The mitochondria
3 Question: Geography: What are the five oceans? (Name all five.)
Answer: Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Arctic, Southern
4 Question: History: What were the 13 original British territories in America called?
Answer: The 13 colonies
5 Question: Grammar: What's the plural of 'cactus'?
Answer: Cacti (or cactuses)
6 Question: Math: What's the least common multiple of 4 and 6?
Answer: 12
7 Question: Science: What gas do plants release during photosynthesis?
Answer: Oxygen
8 Question: Civics: How many US Senators are there in total?
Answer: 100 (two per state)
9 Question: Math: A triangle's angles always add up to how many degrees?
Answer: 180
10 Question: Science: What's the largest planet — and the hottest? (Half point each.)
Answer: Jupiter (largest); Venus (hottest)
How Did You Do?
- 45–50 Certified genius — or there's a fifth grader helping you.
- 40–44 Officially smarter than a 5th grader. Take the win.
- 30–39 You'd survive middle school. Barely.
- 20–29 Time for a refresher course.
- 0–19 "…I am not smarter than a 5th grader."
The magic number is 40 out of 50 — clear that and you can officially say you're smarter than a 5th grader.
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