Sample pickThe red maple, known for its deep scarlet leaves in fall, is the state tree of which state?
Fall Trivia Questions for Adults, in Five Rounds: how it works
A question is already on the card. Read it aloud, tap the choice the table settles on, then press Check answer for the right one and a line on why. These 107 fall trivia questions for adults come in five rounds, for a harvest dinner, a bonfire night, a fall party or a staff lunch in October.
Run it as five rounds
Press Topic and pick a round: Leaves and trees (18 questions), Sky and calendar (21), Harvest festivals (17), Apples, pumpkins and the harvest (20) or Weather and wildlife (31). The first round opens with the color itself: which vegetable shares its pigment with a yellow leaf, and which weather brings out the brightest fall colors.
Harvest dinner, fall party or scored quiz
For a dinner table, open Question of the day: one question, the same for everyone. For a party, split into teams, stay in Practice mode and let each table argue before you tap. The reason shows under the answer with a link to its source. For a score, press Exam mode, then Start the exam: 20 questions, marked topic by topic. Print question sheet and Print answer key put a round on paper.
Tips
Read the line under the answer aloud. The leaf on Canada's flag has eleven points, and a real sugar maple leaf normally has 23.
Mixed table? Start with Sky and calendar, which holds 5 of the 16 easy questions.
Wrong answers wait under Missed. Run them again at the end of the night.
Questions and answers
Who are these questions for?
Adults, and teens who like a hard question. Only 16 of the 107 are easy, and 42 are written to stump most of the table: the Japanese word for going out to view autumn leaves, the comet behind the Orionid meteor shower, the one bird known to stay torpid for weeks. The set is clean throughout.
Why is there no question about jack-o'-lanterns or the first Thanksgiving?
Other sets on this site already ask them, and no question here repeats one from another set. Jack-o'-lanterns are in the Halloween set for kids, the harvest moon is in the kids set, and the first Thanksgiving is in the Thanksgiving set. Play this one first, then move to those for a longer night.
How do I know the answers are right?
Each one was checked on September 19, 2026 by reading the sentence that states it in a Wikipedia article, and the article is linked under every answer. Anything that changes from year to year is left out: the date of this year's equinox, the heaviest pumpkin on record, the week the leaves will peak. Where an article hedged, the question was narrowed or dropped.
Charades Ideas by Theme and AgeCharades decks by crowd, format and occasion: funny scenes for adults, kids, teens, reverse and telephone charades, animals, Bible stories and holidays.
About 10 percent of tree species in temperate regions make red fall pigments. In which region can the share reach 70 percent?Wikipedia: Autumn leaf color
Before a leaf drops, the tree seals the spot where it was attached with a layer of what?Wikipedia: Abscission
Japan has its own word for going out to view autumn leaves, a custom that dates to the Heian period. What is it?Wikipedia: Leaf peeping
The leaf on the flag of Canada comes from which kind of tree?Wikipedia: Maple
Pando, in Utah, looks like a forest of golden aspens each fall. What is it really?Wikipedia: Pando (tree)
The red maple, known for its deep scarlet leaves in fall, is the state tree of which state?Wikipedia: Acer rubrum
The red pigments of a maple leaf in fall also give which of these fruits its color?Wikipedia: Autumn leaf color
Some oaks and beeches hold on to their dead brown leaves all winter. What is that called?Wikipedia: Marcescence
The tamarack is a larch of North America. Algonquian people used its tough, flexible wood to make what?Wikipedia: Larix laricina
What is leaf peeping?Wikipedia: Leaf peeping
Which conifer is unusual because its needles turn gold and drop every fall?Wikipedia: Larch
Which kind of weather brings out the brightest fall colors?Wikipedia: Autumn leaf color
Which maple is best known as the main source of maple syrup and for its bright fall leaves?Wikipedia: Acer saccharum
Which tree of the southeastern United States has five-pointed, star-shaped leaves that turn yellow, orange, red and purple in fall?Wikipedia: Liquidambar styraciflua
Which tree, widely called a living fossil, has fan-shaped leaves that turn bright yellow in fall?Wikipedia: Ginkgo biloba
Why do the leaves of a quaking aspen tremble in the lightest breeze?Wikipedia: Populus tremuloides
The winged seeds that spin down from maples in fall are often called helicopters. What is the botanical name for that kind of fruit?Wikipedia: Samara (fruit)
The yellow and orange of fall leaves come from carotenoids. Which vegetable gets its color from the same family of pigments?Wikipedia: Autumn leaf color
Sky and calendar 21
Americans say fall where the British say autumn. The word is short for which older phrase?Wikipedia: Autumn
The armistice that stopped the fighting on the Western Front of World War I took effect at what time on November 11, 1918?Wikipedia: Armistice Day
At the September equinox the Sun appears to cross the celestial equator. Which way is it heading?Wikipedia: September equinox
Before the 1500s, what did English speakers usually call the season we now call autumn?Wikipedia: Autumn
By law, US federal elections are held in November on the Tuesday after the first what?Wikipedia: Election Day (United States)
By the astronomical calendar, fall in the Northern Hemisphere ends on which day?Wikipedia: Autumn
Day and night are not quite equal on the equinox. Which of these is one reason?Wikipedia: Equinox
Geomagnetic activity, which drives the aurora, is known to be higher around which times of year?Wikipedia: Russell–McPherron effect
In Greek myth Persephone must return to the underworld for part of every year because she ate the seeds of which fruit?Wikipedia: Persephone
In the traditional East Asian calendar of solar terms, fall begins in which month?Wikipedia: Autumn
In the United States, which holiday on the first Monday of September is called the unofficial end of summer?Wikipedia: Labor Day
The Irish calendar, based on old Gaelic tradition, counts which three months as autumn?Wikipedia: Autumn
On the day of an equinox, in which direction does the Sun rise?Wikipedia: Equinox
The Orionid meteor shower of late October is made of dust from which comet?Wikipedia: Orionids
The red poppies worn each November in memory of those who died in war were inspired by which poem?Wikipedia: Remembrance poppy
Veterans Day falls on November 11. What was the holiday called until 1954?Wikipedia: Veterans Day
Weather services count seasons in whole months. On which date does meteorological fall begin in the Northern Hemisphere?Wikipedia: Season
Which English poet wrote the ode "To Autumn", which opens "Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness"?Wikipedia: To Autumn
Which November meteor shower swells into a meteor storm about every 33 years?Wikipedia: Leonids
Which sign of the zodiac covers late September to late October and takes its name from the Latin for scales?Wikipedia: Libra (astrology)
Who composed The Four Seasons, a set of four violin concertos that includes one called Autumn?Wikipedia: The Four Seasons (Vivaldi)
Harvest festivals 17
During Diwali, homes and temples are lit with small oil lamps. What are the lamps called?Wikipedia: Diwali
The first Oktoberfest, held in Munich on October 12, 1810, celebrated what?Wikipedia: Oktoberfest
The Igbo people of Nigeria hold a festival at the end of the rainy season to mark the first harvest of which crop?Wikipedia: Igbo Yam Festivals
In British churches, how is the Harvest Festival usually marked?Wikipedia: Harvest festival
In old European harvest custom, what was a corn dolly made from?Wikipedia: Corn dolly
The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of which month of the Chinese calendar?Wikipedia: Mid-Autumn Festival
On St. Martin's Day, November 11, children in some German and Dutch-speaking towns walk in processions carrying what?Wikipedia: St. Martin's Day
Onam, a harvest festival with boat races and carpets of flowers, belongs to which Indian state?Wikipedia: Onam
Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, arrives in early fall. What is sounded as its best-known ritual?Wikipedia: Rosh Hashanah
Songpyeon, the small rice cake eaten at Korea's fall harvest holiday, is made in which shape?Wikipedia: Songpyeon
Tsukimi is a Japanese fall custom. What do people gather to look at?Wikipedia: Tsukimi
Vietnam's Mid-Autumn Festival, Tết Trung Thu, has become best known as a festival for whom?Wikipedia: Tết Trung Thu
Which bird is the traditional meal of Michaelmas, the old English quarter day on September 29?Wikipedia: Michaelmas
Which British bonfire night on November 5 marks the failure of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605?Wikipedia: Guy Fawkes Night
Which Gaelic festival, traditionally held on August 1, marks the beginning of the harvest season?Wikipedia: Lughnasadh
Which round pastry is the traditional food of the Mid-Autumn Festival?Wikipedia: Mooncake
Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, falls in late September or early October. How is it observed?Wikipedia: Yom Kippur
Apples, pumpkins and the harvest 20
After threshing, farmers toss grain into the air so the wind carries off the husks. What is that step called?Wikipedia: Winnowing
The apple tree said to have set Isaac Newton thinking about gravity grew in the garden of which English house?Wikipedia: Isaac Newton
Apple varieties are copied by grafting. What is the upper part of a grafted tree, the part that bears the fruit, called?Wikipedia: Grafting
Black truffles are dug up in late fall and winter. Which animal was traditionally used to sniff them out?Wikipedia: Truffle
Candy corn dates from the 1880s. What was it first called?Wikipedia: Candy corn
Farmers pack green crops tightly in fall and let them ferment into a winter feed for cattle. What is the feed called?Wikipedia: Silage
Filberts and cobnuts are other names for which fall nut?Wikipedia: Hazelnut
In the British playground game of conkers, players swing the seed of which tree on a string?Wikipedia: Conkers
In the Three Sisters planting of Indigenous peoples of North and Central America, corn and beans grow with which third crop?Wikipedia: Three Sisters (agriculture)
Johnny Appleseed was a real nurseryman. What was his real name?Wikipedia: Johnny Appleseed
Many of the giant pumpkins shown at fairs in recent years have been of which variety?Wikipedia: Giant pumpkin
Pomology is the study of what?Wikipedia: Pomology
The Red Delicious apple was first recognized in 1872 in which state?Wikipedia: Red Delicious
The rutabaga began as a cross between a turnip and which other vegetable?Wikipedia: Rutabaga
The tart green Granny Smith apple was first grown in which country?Wikipedia: Granny Smith
Which fall flower is the imperial crest of Japan and gives the Japanese throne its name?Wikipedia: Chrysanthemum
Which Illinois town calls itself the Pumpkin Capital of the World and holds a pumpkin festival every September?Wikipedia: Morton, Illinois
Which red and green apple, found as a seedling on a farm in Upper Canada in 1811, is the national apple of Canada?Wikipedia: McIntosh (apple)
Why does an unripe persimmon make your mouth pucker?Wikipedia: Persimmon
The wild ancestor of the apple still grows in the region where the fruit began. Which region is it?Wikipedia: Apple
Weather and wildlife 31
A 2001 study of pelicans found that birds flying in a V formation had which advantage over birds flying alone?Wikipedia: V formation
A squirrel that buries nuts one at a time in many different places is doing what?Wikipedia: Hoarding (animal behavior)
A yellowjacket colony lasts only one year. Which members of the colony live through the winter?Wikipedia: Yellowjacket
Dolbear's law lets you estimate the air temperature by counting what?Wikipedia: Dolbear's law
Fall is the rut, the mating season of deer and elk. The word comes from a Latin verb with which meaning?Wikipedia: Rut (mammalian reproduction)
Folklore in the United States and Canada says the brown band on which caterpillar shows how severe the winter will be?Wikipedia: Pyrrharctia isabella
The green darner flies from the northern United States as far as Texas and Mexico. What kind of animal is it?Wikipedia: Green darner
How do ladybugs spend the winter?Wikipedia: Coccinellidae
How does a chipmunk carry food back to its burrow in fall?Wikipedia: Chipmunk
How does a colony of honey bees stay warm through the winter?Wikipedia: Honey bee
How does a groundhog get ready for winter?Wikipedia: Groundhog
Many insects get through winter in a programmed pause in their development. What is it called?Wikipedia: Diapause
Many plants flower in response to the seasons. Researchers later found the real trigger was the length of what?Wikipedia: Photoperiodism
Migrating birds in North America follow broad north-south routes called flyways. How many major ones are there?Wikipedia: Flyway
Monarch butterflies that fly south in fall spend the winter in the mountains of central Mexico. On which trees do they roost?Wikipedia: Monarch butterfly migration
The monarch butterflies that make the fall flight south differ from their parents in which way?Wikipedia: Monarch butterfly migration
On a clear, calm fall night the ground cools quickly after sunset and chills the air just above it. Which kind of fog forms this way?Wikipedia: Fog
Reptiles go dormant in the cold, but not in the way mammals hibernate. Which word was coined for it in the 1920s?Wikipedia: Dormancy
The snowshoe hare is also called the varying hare. What varies?Wikipedia: Snowshoe hare
Some ruby-throated hummingbirds cross which body of water in one nonstop flight of about 900 miles?Wikipedia: Ruby-throated hummingbird
Tens of thousands of red-sided garter snakes spend the winter in dens near Narcisse, in which Canadian province?Wikipedia: Narcisse Snake Dens
There is one word for the acorns and other tree nuts that feed forest wildlife in fall. What is it?Wikipedia: Mast seeding
What do you call the study of the timing of yearly events in nature, such as the day the leaves turn or the first migrating birds arrive?Wikipedia: Phenology
What is a hibernaculum?Wikipedia: Little brown bat
What is the loud, whistling call of a bull elk in the mating season called?Wikipedia: Elk
Which big, honking bird crosses the fall sky in V-shaped flocks?Wikipedia: Canada goose
Which bird of the American West is the only one known to stay torpid for weeks or months at a time?Wikipedia: Common poorwill
Which North American frog gets through winter by letting much of its body freeze?Wikipedia: Wood frog
Which small songbird leaves northeastern North America each fall and flies nonstop over the open Atlantic toward South America?Wikipedia: Blackpoll warbler
While antlers grow they are covered in soft, blood-rich skin, which is lost once they reach full size. What is the skin called?Wikipedia: Antler
The wild whooping cranes that winter on the Texas coast fly north in spring to nest in which part of Canada?Wikipedia: Whooping crane
How this list was compiled: Written for this site by the editors; nothing was copied from another list. Every question, wrong choice and explanation is our own wording. Each answer was checked on 2026-09-19 against the English Wikipedia article (https://en.wikipedia.org) named and linked beside the question: the article text was fetched on 2026-09-18 or 2026-09-19, and the sentence that states the fact was read before the question was kept. Every extra claim in an explanation was checked the same way. Left out on purpose: anything that changes from year to year, such as the date of this year's equinox, the heaviest pumpkin on record or the week the leaves will peak; living people; and the names of brands, films and TV shows. Questions were dropped when the article did not state the fact plainly. No question repeats one in another trivia set on this site, so jack-o'-lanterns, the harvest moon and the first Thanksgiving are asked in the Halloween, kids and Thanksgiving sets and not here. Levels are an editor's judgment: easy is common knowledge, hard will stump most adults. Licence: own work