These 2nd grade trivia questions follow a second grade year: place value to 1,000, adding and subtracting within 100, time and coins, shapes and equal shares, plants and their seeds, land and water, and materials.
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What second grade topics are covered
The math follows the grade 2 Common Core standards: three-digit numbers, skip counting by 5s, 10s and 100s, sums within 100, time to five minutes, coins, and halves, thirds and fourths. The science follows the second grade Next Generation Science Standards: what plants need, how seeds travel, the shapes of land and water, and what heating does to materials.
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Tips
Keep scrap paper and a few real coins on the table for Adding and subtracting and Time and coins.
Read the questions aloud for a child who is still learning to read. Each answer comes with one short reason.
Questions and answers
What is a good trivia question for 2nd grade?
One with a single right answer from a second grade unit. For example: you have 3 dimes and 4 pennies, so how many cents do you have? The answer is 34. It sits in Time and coins.
What do 2nd graders learn in math?
By the grade 2 Common Core standards: place value to 1,000, skip counting by 5s, 10s and 100s, adding and subtracting within 100, telling time to five minutes, counting coins, and cutting shapes into halves, thirds and fourths.
What do plants need to grow?
Sunlight and water. Second graders test this under the Next Generation Science Standards. A plant grown without light has long, weak stems and a pale yellow color. Both questions are in Plants and seeds.
Can a change made by heat be undone?
Sometimes. The second grade science standards give water and butter as changes that can be reversed, and cooking an egg and heating paper as changes that cannot. The questions are in Materials, heating and cooling.
Add 1 to 999. What number do you get?Answer: 1,000. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Positional notation
How is the number 508 written in words?Answer: Five hundred eight. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Positional notation
How many tens make one hundred?Answer: 10. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Positional notation
I have 3 hundreds, 14 tens and 2 ones. What number am I?Answer: 442. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Positional notation
Start at 150 and skip-count by hundreds: 250, 350. Which number is next?Answer: 450. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Skip counting
What is 200 + 30 + 7 written as one number?Answer: 237. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Positional notation
What is the value of the 6 in 652?Answer: 600. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Positional notation
What number is 10 more than 395?Answer: 405. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Positional notation
What number is 100 less than 720?Answer: 620. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Positional notation
Which digit of 347 stands for tens?Answer: 4. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Positional notation
Which is the greatest: 518, 581, 185 or 158?Answer: 581. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Positional notation
Which number has a 0 in the tens place?Answer: 703. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Positional notation
Which number is 4 hundreds, 2 tens and 9 ones?Answer: 429. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Positional notation
Which of these numbers is even?Answer: 14. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Parity (mathematics)
Which symbol makes this true: 406 ? 460Answer: <. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Positional notation
You are skip-counting by fives and have just said 45. Which number is next?Answer: 50. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Skip counting
You are skip-counting by hundreds and have just said 500. Which number is next?Answer: 600. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Skip counting
You count by fives starting at 5. Which of these numbers will you say?Answer: 85. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Skip counting
Adding and subtracting 20
A bus has 52 children on it. 17 get off. How many children are left on the bus?Answer: 35. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Subtraction
An array has 3 rows of 5 stars. How many stars are there?Answer: 15. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Addition
An array has 4 rows with 4 dots in each row. How many dots are there?Answer: 16. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Addition
Ben had 20 marbles. He won 15 more, then gave 10 away. How many marbles does he have now?Answer: 25. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Addition
Rosa has 36 shells. She finds 18 more. How many shells does she have now?Answer: 54. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Addition
Sam read 25 pages on Monday and 38 pages on Tuesday. How many pages is that in all?Answer: 63. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Addition
There are 70 chairs in the hall and 26 of them are empty. How many chairs have someone sitting in them?Answer: 44. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Subtraction
What is 100 − 45?Answer: 55. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Subtraction
What is 12 + 23 + 31 + 14?Answer: 80. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Addition
What is 14 − 6?Answer: 8. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Subtraction
What is 200 + 300?Answer: 500. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Addition
What is 34 + 25?Answer: 59. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Addition
What is 48 + 27?Answer: 75. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Addition
What is 56 + 30?Answer: 86. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Addition
What is 60 + 40?Answer: 100. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Addition
What is 73 − 21?Answer: 52. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Subtraction
What is 82 − 37?Answer: 45. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Subtraction
What is 9 + 8?Answer: 17. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Addition
What number makes this true: 45 + ? = 60Answer: 15. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Addition
What number makes this true: ? − 8 = 12Answer: 20. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Subtraction
Time and coins 17
A pencil costs 35 cents. You pay with two quarters. How much change do you get?Answer: 15 cents. Source: Wikipedia: Quarter (United States coin)
A penny is worth one cent. How many pennies have the same value as one dollar?Answer: 100. Source: Wikipedia: Penny (United States coin)
How many cents is a nickel worth?Answer: 5. Source: Wikipedia: Nickel (United States coin)
How many nickels have the same value as one quarter?Answer: 5. Source: Wikipedia: Nickel (United States coin)
How many quarters have the same value as one dollar?Answer: 4. Source: Wikipedia: Quarter (United States coin)
The long hand of a clock is on the 7. Count by fives: how many minutes is that?Answer: 35. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Clock face
The long hand of a clock is the minute hand. How long does it take to go all the way around?Answer: One hour. Source: Wikipedia: Clock face
The numbers around a clock face start at 1. Which number do they go up to?Answer: 12. Source: Wikipedia: Clock face
School starts at 8:00 in the morning. Lunch is 4 hours later. What time is lunch?Answer: 12:00. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Clock face
What is another way to say 4:30?Answer: Half past four. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Clock face
Which coin is worth ten cents?Answer: The dime. Source: Wikipedia: Dime (United States coin)
Which is the smallest and thinnest United States coin made for everyday use?Answer: The dime. Source: Wikipedia: Dime (United States coin)
Which time is quarter past 8?Answer: 8:15. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Clock face
Which time is quarter to 6?Answer: 5:45. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Clock face
Whose face is on the front of the quarter?Answer: George Washington. Source: Wikipedia: Quarter (United States coin)
You have 1 quarter, 1 dime and 1 nickel. How many cents is that?Answer: 40. Source: Wikipedia: Quarter (United States coin)
You have 3 dimes and 4 pennies. How many cents do you have?Answer: 34. Source: Wikipedia: Dime (United States coin)
Shapes and equal shares 15
A circle is cut into 2 equal shares. What is each share called?Answer: A half. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Fraction
A rectangle is cut into 3 equal shares. What is each share called?Answer: A third. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Fraction
A rectangle is split into 2 rows with 4 same-size squares in each row. How many squares is that?Answer: 8. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Rectangle
A rectangle is split into 3 rows and 3 columns of same-size squares. How many squares are there?Answer: 9. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Rectangle
A sandwich is cut into fourths. Four children eat one piece each. How much of the sandwich is left?Answer: None. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Fraction
A shape has 4 sides and 4 square corners. Which of these could it be?Answer: A rectangle. Source: Wikipedia: Rectangle
How many corners does a triangle have?Answer: 3. Source: Wikipedia: Triangle
How many halves make one whole?Answer: 2. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Fraction
How many sides does an octagon have?Answer: 8. Source: Wikipedia: Octagon
How many thirds make one whole?Answer: 3. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Fraction
One square cake is cut in half straight across. Another cake of the same size is cut in half from corner to corner. Which is true of the pieces?Answer: Each piece is half of a cake, though the shapes differ. Source: Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, grade 2, standard 2.G.A.3
Two children share a pie cut into 4 equal slices, 2 slices each. What part of the pie does each child get?Answer: One half. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Fraction
What shape is each face of a cube?Answer: A square. Source: Wikipedia: Cube
Which is bigger: one half of a pie or one third of the same pie?Answer: One half. Source: Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Fraction
Which solid shape has two flat ends that are circles of the same size?Answer: A cylinder. Source: Wikipedia: Cylinder
Plants and seeds 18
A bean is which part of a plant?Answer: A seed. Source: Wikipedia: Bean
A bur has tiny hooks. What are the hooks for?Answer: Latching onto fur or cloth, so the seeds get a ride. Source: Wikipedia: Bur
A coconut that falls into the sea can be carried to another shore. What lets it make the trip?Answer: It floats. Source: Wikipedia: Coconut
A plant grows in a dark closet with almost no light. How will it most likely look?Answer: Pale yellow, with long, weak stems. Source: Wikipedia: Etiolation
A seed has a coat on the outside. What is the coat for?Answer: Protecting what is inside. Source: Wikipedia: Seed
Besides taking in water, what do roots do for a plant?Answer: Hold it in place. Source: Wikipedia: Root
How does a maple seed travel away from its tree?Answer: On a papery wing that flutters to the ground. Source: Wikipedia: Seed dispersal
In a flowering plant, which part holds the seeds?Answer: The fruit. Source: Wikipedia: Fruit
On a cactus, what are the spines?Answer: Leaves that have changed over time. Source: Wikipedia: Cactus
Second graders test what plants need in order to grow. Which two things do plants need?Answer: Sunlight and water. Source: Next Generation Science Standards, second grade, 2-LS2-1
Squirrels hide seeds in the ground. What can happen to the hidden seeds they never eat?Answer: They grow into new plants. Source: Wikipedia: Seed dispersal
Sunflowers are grown for which part, often eaten as a snack?Answer: Their seeds. Source: Wikipedia: Common sunflower
The trunk of a tree is which part of the plant?Answer: Its stem. Source: Wikipedia: Trunk (botany)
Water lilies are rooted in the soil under a pond. Where are their leaves?Answer: Floating on the surface or rising from it. Source: Wikipedia: Nymphaeaceae
What do the white, fluffy "parachutes" of a dandelion do?Answer: Carry its seeds away on the wind. Source: Wikipedia: Taraxacum
What is seed dispersal?Answer: The movement of seeds away from the parent plant. Source: Wikipedia: Seed dispersal
Which part of a plant holds up its leaves and flowers?Answer: The stem. Source: Wikipedia: Plant stem
Which part of a plant is specialized for photosynthesis, the making of food from sunlight?Answer: The leaf. Source: Wikipedia: Leaf
Land and water 17
A compass rose on a map shows north, east, south and which other direction?Answer: West. Source: Wikipedia: Compass rose
A levee is a raised ridge along the bank of a river. What is it often meant to do?Answer: Protect the land beside the river from flooding. Source: Wikipedia: Levee
A peninsula is mostly surrounded by water. On how many sides is it joined to the mainland?Answer: Only one. Source: Wikipedia: Peninsula
A river wears a canyon into rock. How long does that take?Answer: A very, very long time, far longer than a person lives. Source: Wikipedia: Canyon
A sand dune is a landform made of sand. What drives the sand into place?Answer: Wind or water. Source: Wikipedia: Dune
A valley is a long, low area. What does it often run between?Answer: Hills or mountains. Source: Wikipedia: Valley
Farmers plant rows of trees called a windbreak. Besides giving shelter from the wind, what does it protect?Answer: The soil, from being worn away. Source: Wikipedia: Windbreak
How is a hill different from a mountain?Answer: It is not as tall or as steep. Source: Wikipedia: Hill
Peninsula is built from the Latin paene and insula. What do the two mean together?Answer: Almost an island. Source: Wikipedia: Peninsula
What do we call a place where the water of a river or stream flows over a steep drop?Answer: A waterfall. Source: Wikipedia: Waterfall
What do we call the land right next to the sea?Answer: The coast. Source: Wikipedia: Coast
What formed the Hawaiian Islands?Answer: Volcanic activity. Source: Wikipedia: Hawaiian Islands
What is a plain?Answer: A flat stretch of land. Source: Wikipedia: Plain
What is a river?Answer: A natural stream of fresh water flowing toward an ocean, a lake or another river. Source: Wikipedia: River
What is an island?Answer: A piece of land completely surrounded by water. Source: Wikipedia: Island
What kind of water fills the ocean?Answer: Salt water. Source: Wikipedia: Ocean
Which is smaller, a pond or a lake?Answer: A pond. Source: Wikipedia: Pond
Materials, heating and cooling 17
A candle has a wick in the middle. What is the wick usually set in?Answer: Wax. Source: Wikipedia: Candle
A chocolate bar is solid on the shelf but melts in your mouth. Why?Answer: Your mouth is warm enough to melt it. Source: Wikipedia: Cocoa butter
A material that can be bent without breaking is called what?Answer: Flexible. Source: Wiktionary: flexible
A tower built from a small set of blocks is taken apart. What can the same blocks become?Answer: A new and different object. Source: Next Generation Science Standards, second grade, structure and properties of matter
Bread is browned by heat. What is the browned bread called?Answer: Toast. Source: Wikipedia: Toast (food)
Butter melts in a warm pan. What happens if it is cooled again?Answer: It turns solid again: the change can be reversed. Source: Next Generation Science Standards, second grade, structure and properties of matter
Clay pots are fired at high temperatures. What does the firing do to them?Answer: Makes them hard and long-lasting. Source: Wikipedia: Pottery
The metal handle of a pan on the stove can get too hot to touch. Why?Answer: Metal conducts heat well. Source: Wikipedia: Metal
Rain boots are often made of rubber. Why is rubber a good choice?Answer: It is waterproof. Source: Wikipedia: Wellington boot
Rubber can stretch a long way and spring back. What else is true of it?Answer: It floats and is waterproof. Source: Wikipedia: Natural rubber
Some changes made by heating or cooling can be undone. Which of these is a second grade example of a change that cannot?Answer: Cooking an egg. Source: Next Generation Science Standards, second grade, structure and properties of matter
What is a brick mainly made of?Answer: Clay. Source: Wikipedia: Brick
What is the cloth of a towel good at?Answer: Soaking up water. Source: Wikipedia: Towel
When a kernel of popcorn pops, about how many times bigger can it get?Answer: 20 to 50 times. Source: Wikipedia: Popcorn
Which material is used in bridges, ships and trains?Answer: Steel. Source: Wikipedia: Steel
Why is glass a good material for a window?Answer: You can see through it. Source: Wikipedia: Glass
Wool is cleaned and combed. What is it then made into for knitting?Answer: Yarn. Source: Wikipedia: Wool
How this list was compiled
Written for this site; nothing was copied from another list. Every question, wrong choice and explanation is our own wording. Topics were chosen by reading the grade 2 standards on 2026-10-02: the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics as published by CCSSO (https://learning.ccsso.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/ADA-Compliant-Math-Standards.pdf) for place value to 1,000, skip counting by 5s, 10s and 100s, adding and subtracting within 100, arrays, time to five minutes, coins, and halves, thirds and fourths, and the second grade topic pages of the Next Generation Science Standards (https://www.nextgenscience.org) for what plants need, how seeds are carried, and what heating and cooling do to materials. The page of that site on land and water could not be opened that day, so the land and water topic follows the usual second grade unit on landforms, bodies of water and maps. Every sum, difference, count and coin total was recomputed by a script; the value of each coin and the facts about clocks and shapes were read in the English Wikipedia article linked beside the question. Every plant, land, water and material answer agrees with a sentence in the linked Wikipedia article, Wiktionary entry or standards page, read on 2026-10-02. No question repeats word for word in the site's other grade, crowd, subject or occasion trivia packs as they stood on 2026-10-02; facts the kindergarten, 1st grade, 3rd grade and kids' packs already ask (the sides of a triangle, the faces of a cube, 25 cents in a quarter, the face on the penny, 60 minutes in an hour, what roots take in, what freezing and melting are called) were left out or asked from another side. Levels are our estimate for a seven or eight year old; each topic is stored easiest first. Licence: own work