How it works
These 150 trivia questions for 3rd graders follow a third grade year. They cover times tables, measuring, planets, habitats, continents and oceans, states of matter, forces and magnets, and life cycles. Some are review, such as 6 × 7, and some stretch an eight-year-old.
Read the full guide
Two math topics, six on science and the world
Multiplication and division facts (21) and Shapes, fractions and measuring (19) follow the grade 3 Common Core standards. Habitats, forces and life cycles follow the Next Generation Science Standards. Planets, Continents and oceans and States of matter are in because most classes teach them; neither document lists them. For trivia questions for 3rd grade by unit, stay on one round under Start from.
Review first, stretch last
Open More options and untick Shuffle questions, and every topic plays from review to stretch. Multiplication goes from 6 × 7 to the commutative property and a remainder. Planets runs from the second planet to a day on Mars. Set Start from to All topics, pick Scored round, then Start the round: 20 questions, marked by topic at the end.
- Play in teams of three: one reads, one writes the answer and one speaks for the team.
- For the measuring topic, give each pair a ruler and a clock face to point at.
- For a PDF, press Print and pick save as PDF in the print window. Six of the eight topics fit one 20-question sheet.
Questions and answers
Are these trivia questions for third graders too hard for an eight-year-old?
Mostly not. About a third are review and a fifth are a stretch, by our estimate. A review question asks which force pulls everything toward the ground. A stretch question asks which was the first planet found with a telescope. Habitats and adaptations is hardest.
Which planet spins clockwise?
Venus. Unlike most planets, including Earth, it turns clockwise on its axis, which astronomers call retrograde rotation. It is slow too: one turn takes 243 Earth days, longer than its year. It is one of five stretch questions in Planets.
Why does ice float on water?
Because liquid water is denser than ice. When water freezes it grows in volume by about 9 percent, so ice is lighter than the same volume of water. The question sits in States of matter, beside one on what freezing does to water.