home
Menu
Create
Random
0
0
0
thumbnail

Science General Knowledge #2

Can you answer these random questions from the realm of science?
Quiz by
Quizmaster
Featured Quiz
Rate:
Last updated: June 10, 2025
You have not attempted this quiz yet.
More quiz info >>
First submittedMay 15, 2016
Times taken118,652
Average score70.0%
Rating4.48
Quiz and answer stats >>
Shared scores >>
5:00
Enter answer here
0
 / 20 guessed
The quiz is paused. You have remaining.
Scoring
You scored / = %
This beats or equals % of test takers also scored 100%
The average score is
Your high score is
Your fastest time is
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
Question
Answer
What "ology" is the study of prehistoric life?
Paleontology
What is the largest planet in the solar system?
Jupiter
What is the most common element in the Earth's atmosphere?
Nitrogen
What is the scientific name of the human species?
Homo sapiens
What is missing in this sequence: Order, Class, ______, Kingdom
Phylum
In the equation E=mc2 what does c represent?
Speed of light
What type of cells have axons and dendrites?
Nerve cells
In humans, what organ produces eggs?
Ovary
What does a hypothesis become once it has been rigorously tested and verified?
Theory
What is thought to be the heaviest species of animal that has ever lived?
Blue whale
What is lava called when it is below the Earth's surface?
Magma
What never decreases, according to the Second Law of Thermodynamics?
(Hint: starts with e)
Entropy
What layer of the atmosphere starts at about 10km above the surface of the Earth?
Stratosphere
What is defined as exactly −273.15 °C?
Absolute zero
What does the average adult have 206 of?
Bones
What scientific theory describes the process of continental drift?
Plate tectonics
What region of the Earth can be found between the crust and the core?
Mantle
The prefix mega represents 1 million. What prefix represents 1 billion?
Giga
What disease is caused by the Yersinia pestis bacteria?
Plague
What is a single particle of light called?
Photon
Save Your Stats
Your Next Quiz
International Scientific Units
You won't find any feet, pounds, or gallons in this quiz.
Random Symbol to Element
The answers change every time. Match the symbol to its element in the periodic table.
Word Chain - Science
Try to guess these connected words related to science.
U.S. First Lady First Names - Sudden Death
Click on the first names of first ladies of the United States. But three wrong guesses ends the quiz.
79 Comments
TomatosRaafatos
+10
Level 76
Jul 20, 2016
Please accept palaeontology as a correct spelling
Instrumental
+17
Level 70
Aug 24, 2016
"What never decreases, according to the Second Law of Thermodynamics?"

Correction: "What never decreases in a closed system, according to the Second Law of Thermodynamics?"

tom88
+3
Level 77
Aug 24, 2016
or "what never decreases without adding energy to a system?"
bb11145
+9
Level 46
Apr 21, 2018
... and starts with 'e' to keep you from writing 'liver' or 'butterscotch pudding'.
SevenNationArmy
+13
Level 25
Jun 22, 2019
Well i would say that the question is correct. The total entropy in the universe never decreases (because we assume the universe is a closed system). So the sum of all entropy never decreases.
Wholeload
+1
Level 66
Sep 3, 2025
thanks for the info!!
Miqueas
+7
Level 73
Aug 24, 2016
I don't want to sound pedantic or anything, but was I the only one who found this very easy?
TarsTarkas
+4
Level 74
Aug 24, 2016
No, you weren't.
amangla
+1
Level 58
Aug 24, 2016
Definitely not.
amangla
+1
Level 58
Aug 24, 2016
100% with 2:40 left. Great quiz!!!
WelshWizard
+40
Level 89
Aug 24, 2016
I don't want to sound pedantic or anything, but I'm not sure about your use of the word 'pedantic'.
Malbaby
+3
Level 70
Aug 24, 2016
+1
Miqueas
+2
Level 73
Aug 24, 2016
I can't be 100% sure, but google translate says I used it right. Care to expand?
Swanbabe
+19
Level 37
Aug 26, 2016
An instance of pedantry, i feel, would be the correction of the second law of thermodynamics, which i think closed system expresses as well as isolated system.

Pedantic most simply expressed is the need to correct minor mistakes, of questionable significance.

Expressing the ease with which you did the quiz might be appear arrogant or hubristic, perhaps even disdainful of these peons who found it more of a challenge.

Personally, i found it to be well weighted and moderately challenging; good quiz.

Miqueas
+6
Level 73
Aug 29, 2016
Mhm, very informative, thank you, I guess the word "pedante" in Spanish doesn't literally translate to pedantic in English, will bear it in mind next time.
zoidberg
+2
Level 40
Aug 24, 2016
Ran out of time!! Dammit
plattitude
+1
Level 94
Aug 24, 2016
Wow, I must have typed theory or theorem half a dozen times before it was accepted. Wonder how I was misspelling it?
Algernon
+2
Level 74
Aug 24, 2016
A tad more leeway on the spelling of palaeontology would be nice.

As would me knowing Phylum was spelt with a "Ph" and not an "F". Doh!

LarryLovage
+6
Level 55
Aug 25, 2016
We aren't Homo Sapiens because there are a lot of us. Each one of us is still a Homo Sapiens. The word is Sapiens, and the 's' is integral to the word. And in fact I can't imagine anybody who knows the answer isn't going to type Sapiens.
Swanbabe
+1
Level 37
Aug 26, 2016
Technically, should be homosapian-sapian, if i was being pedantic :P
JackintheBox
+4
Level 82
Apr 22, 2020
sapiens* sapiens*
WelshWizard
+4
Level 89
Apr 28, 2020
No, it shouldn't. It's Homo sapiens. Genus capitalised, species not.
Xtrordinary
+3
Level 75
Aug 3, 2024
Homo sapiens sapiens would be a subspecies, not species
ruftytufty
+1
Level 77
Apr 29, 2020
The question should ask for the name of the modern human species. There have been quite a few.
ponnuki
+8
Level 57
Aug 27, 2016
I disagree with the 'theory' question. A theory usually is wider than a single verified hypothesis, that can at best be the core of it. And conversely, something can become a theory while its core hypotheses still need further testing and confirmation.
sciencyguy
+1
Level 45
May 10, 2017
I'm with you. But the spirit of the question works...just with a little shoulder shrug.
Bellmaster
+1
Level 76
Aug 27, 2016
Anyone else get the thermodynamics one because of "The Second Law" album by Muse?
FlickerP
+1
Level 79
Jul 26, 2022
Got the album. Didn't get the answer
ctleng76
+1
Level 65
Apr 5, 2024
Me! I know I have learned that at one point in a past Physics class, but that was a few decades ago!
jimthefish
+2
Level 27
Apr 3, 2017
Tectonic plates are the things, Plate tectonics is the theory.
Djilas
+1
Level 86
Nov 9, 2017
Coat for mantle? :D In my language it's the same word.
Timbenz
+1
Level 24
Nov 22, 2017
It is actually homo sapien sapien
TheCrusher
+4
Level 70
Mar 1, 2018
If you're gonna nitpick, at least write it the right way, with the S at Sapiens. ;)
Sifhraven
+1
Level 76
Feb 1, 2020
2x sapien=sapiens :D
WelshWizard
+7
Level 89
Apr 28, 2020
Nope. Homo sapiens. It asks for the species. The extra 'sapiens' would refer to the subspecies, which is generally not used in evolutionary literature.
IvanAndonov
+1
Level 63
Apr 19, 2018
In the previous quiz I played I put aspartam instead of aspartame, in this one enthropy instead of entropy, neither accepted. I know it's not easy for quizmasters to anticipate alternative spellings, but...
Tigerman
+3
Level 32
Sep 6, 2018
So it takes " plague" but not bubonic plague ?
POOCH
+1
Level 71
Oct 23, 2018
I think bubonic plague is only one of the types of plague that the virus can cause. It's like playing Jeopardy - sometimes it doesn't pay to be too specific.
ing
+2
Level 73
Feb 1, 2020
It's "Jeopardy!", including the exclamation mark. (example of being pedantic for the commenters above)
AbiA
+3
Level 88
Oct 23, 2021
It’s a bacterium not a virus.
Quizmaster
+3
Level ∞
Mar 13, 2020
Bubonic plague would have worked. Maybe you spelled in wrong.
fuanacdc
+2
Level 89
Feb 22, 2023
Tried Black Plague first and that didn't take
ctleng76
+2
Level 65
Apr 5, 2024
Technically the word "plague" doesn't refer to a specific virus and probably isn't an accurate answer for this question to begin with.
kingutz
+3
Level 55
Nov 20, 2018
Accept celerity for the c in E=mc^2
Lilylee
+6
Level 79
Nov 20, 2018
"In this house, we obey the laws of thermodynamics!"
CardinalSin
+2
Level 82
Nov 20, 2018
At the risk of being accused of pedantry, could I ask for Tera to be accepted as alternative to Giga in the "billion" question? The American billlion is a thousand million. The British one follows the original French billion (though the French have now changed) which is a million million. Even though the BBC decided a few decades ago to "capitulate" and use the American billion, that is still not universally accepted in UK.
TWM03
+4
Level 72
Feb 14, 2019
It is universally accepted in the UK. Are you sure you aren't thinking of France not accepting it?
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Mar 13, 2020
Older British people still sometimes use the long scale even though the British government changed to the short scale sometime in the 1970s.
vincc
+4
Level 57
Nov 21, 2018
i love reading the comments , no one is reading them who matters , to the point that you people are clearly signalling your supreme intelligence , by invoking special words like pedantry trying to out intellectualize each other , im older , stop it ! there is no one to impress
TWM03
+3
Level 72
Feb 14, 2019
"No one is reading them who matters" - so, you don't matter?
kalbahamut
+1
Level 79
Apr 5, 2019
We're not trying to impress anyone. Why are you so insecure that you feel the only reason to leave a comment would be to impress others?
dunkinggandalf2
+3
Level 72
Oct 16, 2020
The comments are at least half the fun on the jetpunk!
kalbahamut
+1
Level 79
Aug 28, 2022
not that there aren't those determined to try and ruin it
WelshWizard
+3
Level 89
Apr 28, 2020
Strictly, being pedantic, Homo sapiens should be italicised, if you can do that in the answers!
RobNobody
+2
Level 80
Apr 5, 2024
You can.
MrFatFat
+1
Level 45
Jul 11, 2025
How?
Highlander29
+4
Level 78
Apr 28, 2020
Hah, I'm happily typing "theorem" and getting nowhere.....didn't even think to put theory
Margles1
+2
Level 39
Apr 28, 2020
I knew Paleontology because I am a “Friends” fan, 😂. I honestly would not have known it otherwise.

I’m sure I was taught the word in school back in the day, but I obviously forgot it.

nitjijobi
+2
Level 48
Jul 2, 2020
I didn't know the English word because in my country we were taught the Latin terms. So I typed "ovarium" instead of "ovary" lol
Findlay
+1
Level 80
May 5, 2021
Entropy is kinda an important concept. I feel like more people should know it.
spongepat
+1
Level 22
Jul 6, 2021
13/20. HOLLY SWISS!!!
spidette
+1
Level 2
Sep 18, 2021
16/20 it s good but i can have 100% if the quizz are in french because i doesnt understand 2 questions and the 2 others, i doesn t put the good spelling
PinguAlien
+1
Level 17
Jul 26, 2022
Could "light velocity" be accepted for c in E=mc^2 ?
RobNobody
+2
Level 80
Jul 26, 2022
No, because velocity is a vector value, meaning it has both magnitude and direction, such as "80 miles per hour due north." Speed, on the other hand, is a scalar value, meaning it only has a magnitude, such as "300,000 kilometers per second."
mjsinn
+4
Level 67
Jul 26, 2022
really hate the theory question. a theory is an explanation of a mechanism based on several results; a hypothesis is a yes-no way to ask a question.
Islandcarver
+2
Level 83
Jul 26, 2022
I second a dislike about the theory question. Theory is used to formulate a hypothesis by deduction, using terms that can be observed empirically and subjected to a test. The results are then used to elaborate or develop theory by induction using terms that are more abstract, whereas the hypothesis itself can be discarded and forgotten.
Denouement
+1
Level 71
Sep 20, 2022
Maxwell's Demon would like a word with the Quizmaster...
betseg
+1
Level 58
Jan 22, 2023
absolute zero isn't "approximately" -273.15 ºC, celcius scale was defined to put absolute zero at -273.15 exactly
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Jun 10, 2025
Fixed.
casiopea
+2
Level 54
Mar 28, 2023
It should accept "Black Plague" for plague
PitifulExcuse
+3
Level 65
Apr 7, 2024
plague was sometimes called the black death but there's no such thing as the 'black plague'
Mlydo
+2
Level 62
May 18, 2023
i think it should accept 0Kalvin for absolute zero; i wasnt familiar with the term absolute zero (english isnt my first language) but i knew that this temperature corresponds to 0 degrees Kalvin
EnlightWolif
+2
Level 51
Mar 8, 2024
I guessed "ionosphere", "magnetosphere", "exosphere" and "endosphere". But ðe most sensible one, nope, not at all
SpartanLlama
+2
Level 79
Apr 5, 2024
Haha stratosphere was the only one I could think of
Radmanmn
+2
Level 57
Mar 11, 2025
I would like to see theorem accepted as an answer. Like the quiz!
9876542
+3
Level 37
Apr 4, 2025
Did you hear about the scientist who accidentally froze himself at -273 C?

Yeah, he's 0 K now.

Myk
+1
Level 74
Feb 8, 2026
How about accepting tropopause as well as stratosphere?
BerndDasBrot2
+1
Level 47
Mar 12, 2026
Could you accept "light" for "speed of light"?
Bonifratz
+1
Level 54
Apr 23, 2026
To nitpick a bit, in empirical science, hypotheses aren't "verified". Instead, alternative hypotheses are repeatedly falsified.
Similar Quizzes by Tag
Science General Knowledge
Quiz series by Quizmaster
...
Copyright H Brothers Inc, 2008–2026
Contact Us | Go To Top | View Mobile Site | Site Map