Trivia Questions for 4th Graders, Sorted by Classroom Unit: how it works
A question is already on the card. Read it aloud, tap the choice the class calls out, then press Check answer for the right one and a line on why. These 150 trivia questions for 4th graders follow eight fourth grade units, from fractions and angles to state capitals and the water cycle.
Pick the unit the class is on
Press Topic and choose one of eight: fractions and decimals, angles and shapes, state capitals, US regions, energy and sound, the water cycle, rocks and fossils, or inventors. The math follows the grade 4 Common Core standards, and the energy and rock questions follow the Next Generation Science Standards. Capitals, regions, inventors and the water cycle are here because most classes teach them, not because those documents list them.
Review day, quiz day and a printed sheet
In Practice mode the answer and its reason appear when you press Check answer, and wrong ones wait under Missed for a second try. For a quiz, press Exam mode, then Start the exam: 20 questions, scored topic by topic. For trivia questions for 4th graders with answers on paper, press Print question sheet, then Print answer key. The sheet has lettered choices and a name and score line; the key repeats each reason.
Tips
Untick Shuffle questions and choices and each topic runs from easiest to hardest. State capitals then open on California.
At home these work as trivia questions for 9 year olds. Do one topic a day, then clear Missed together on Friday.
Hand out scrap paper for the fraction topic: 7/8 − 2/8 is quick on paper and slow in the head.
Questions and answers
What do these fourth grade questions cover?
Eight units: fractions and decimals (18 questions), angles, shapes and factors (19), state capitals (24), US regions and landmarks (18), energy, light and sound (20), the water cycle (15), rocks and fossils (18) and inventors (18). As trivia questions for 4th grade they keep to words a class has met, such as numerator, obtuse, circuit and erosion.
Are they too hard for a nine-year-old?
About a third are review, such as how many degrees are in a right angle. Most others are grade level, and around 30 are a stretch, such as the capital of South Dakota. Trivia questions for fourth graders who read well can be played alone; otherwise read them aloud.
How do I know the answers are right?
Each fact was checked in September 2026 against the Wikipedia article linked under its answer, by reading the sentence that states it. The arithmetic was checked by a script, and every capital comes from one table. Populations, records and living people are left out, so nothing goes out of date.
A fraction such as 7/4, where the top number is bigger than the bottom number, is called what?Wikipedia: Fraction
A fraction with a 1 on top, such as 1/5, is called what?Wikipedia: Fraction
A number such as 2 1/2, made of a whole number and a fraction, is called what?Wikipedia: Fraction
A pizza is cut into 8 equal slices and you eat 3. What fraction of the pizza is left?Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Fraction
How is the fraction 25/100 written as a decimal?Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Fraction
How is the fraction 7/10 written as a decimal?Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Fraction
How many quarters, or fourths, make one whole?Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Fraction
In the fraction 3/4, what is the bottom number called?Wikipedia: Fraction
In the fraction 5/8, what is the top number called?Wikipedia: Fraction
The mixed number 1 1/2 is the same as which improper fraction?Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Fraction
What is 1/4 + 2/4?Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Fraction
What is 3 × 1/4?Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Fraction
What is 7/8 − 2/8?Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Fraction
Which fraction is the same as the decimal 0.5?Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Fraction
Which of these decimals is the largest?Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Decimal
Which of these fractions is equal to 1/2?Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Fraction
Which of these fractions is equal to 2/3?Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Fraction
Which of these fractions is the largest?Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Fraction
Angles, shapes and factors 19
A line that splits a shape into two halves that are mirror images of each other is called what?Wikipedia: Reflection symmetry
A rectangle is 6 units long and 4 units wide. What is its area?Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Area
A shape with four equal sides, like a diamond on a playing card, is called what?Wikipedia: Rhombus
A triangle whose three sides are all different lengths is called what?Wikipedia: Triangle
A triangle with all three sides the same length is called what?Wikipedia: Triangle
A triangle with exactly two sides of the same length is called what?Wikipedia: Triangle
A whole number greater than 1 whose only factors are 1 and itself is called what?Wikipedia: Prime number
An angle bigger than a right angle but smaller than a straight line is called what?Wikipedia: Angle
An angle smaller than a right angle is called what?Wikipedia: Angle
How many degrees are in a right angle, like the corner of a square?Wikipedia: Right angle
How many degrees are in a straight angle, which looks like a straight line?Wikipedia: Angle
How many degrees are in one full turn?Wikipedia: Turn (angle)
Two lines that cross to make right angles are called what?Wikipedia: Perpendicular
Two lines that stay the same distance apart and never meet are called what?Wikipedia: Parallel (geometry)
What is the only even prime number?Wikipedia: Prime number
Which of these is a prime number?Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Prime number
Which of these numbers is a factor of 24?Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Divisor
Which of these numbers is a multiple of 6?Worked out by calculation; method: Wikipedia: Multiple (mathematics)
Which tool is used to measure angles?Wikipedia: Goniometer
State capitals 24
Augusta is the capital of which New England state?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
Concord is the capital of which state?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
Helena is the capital of which state?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
Montgomery is the capital of which state?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
What is the capital of Alaska?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
What is the capital of California?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
What is the capital of Colorado?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
What is the capital of Florida?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
What is the capital of Georgia?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
What is the capital of Hawaii?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
What is the capital of Illinois?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
What is the capital of Louisiana?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
What is the capital of Maryland?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
What is the capital of Massachusetts?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
What is the capital of Missouri?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
What is the capital of Nevada?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
What is the capital of New York?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
What is the capital of Ohio?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
What is the capital of Oregon?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
What is the capital of Pennsylvania?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
What is the capital of South Dakota?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
What is the capital of Texas?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
Which state capital first became a capital city in 1610, earlier than any other?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
Which was the last state to move its capital to a different city, back in 1910?Wikipedia: List of capitals in the United States
US regions and landmarks 18
The Everglades, a huge area of wetlands, are in which state?Wikipedia: Everglades
How many Great Lakes are there?Wikipedia: Great Lakes
How many states make up New England?Wikipedia: New England
Illinois, Ohio, Iowa and Kansas all belong to which region?Wikipedia: Midwestern United States
In which city does the Statue of Liberty stand?Wikipedia: Statue of Liberty
In which state does the Mississippi River begin?Wikipedia: Mississippi River
In which state is Mount Rushmore?Wikipedia: Mount Rushmore
Old Faithful, in Yellowstone National Park, is a famous what?Wikipedia: Old Faithful
The U.S. Census Bureau sorts the states into how many main regions?Wikipedia: List of regions of the United States
Which city is the capital of the United States?Wikipedia: Washington, D.C.
Which four states meet at the spot called the Four Corners?Wikipedia: Four Corners
Which great mountain range of the West stretches from Canada down to New Mexico?Wikipedia: Rocky Mountains
Which is the largest of the 48 contiguous states by area?Wikipedia: Texas
Which is the smallest U.S. state by area?Wikipedia: Rhode Island
Which mountain range runs through the eastern United States?Wikipedia: Appalachian Mountains
Which of these states is part of New England?Wikipedia: New England
Which two states are not part of the contiguous United States, the 48 states that touch each other?Wikipedia: Contiguous United States
Yellowstone National Park lies mostly in which state?Wikipedia: Yellowstone National Park
Energy, light and sound 20
A loudspeaker makes sound when its cone does what?Wikipedia: Sound
A solar panel turns which kind of energy into electricity?Wikipedia: Solar cell
A straw in a glass of water looks bent. What is this bending of light called?Wikipedia: Refraction
A stretched rubber band or a ball held at the top of a hill has which kind of stored energy?Wikipedia: Potential energy
Electricity only flows when it has a complete loop to travel around. What is that loop called?Wikipedia: Electrical network
Frosted glass lets some light through, but you cannot see clearly through it. What is that called?Wikipedia: Transparency and translucency
How high or low a sound seems to us is called its what?Wikipedia: Pitch (music)
Rubber, glass and plastic do not let electricity flow through them easily. What are such materials called?Wikipedia: Insulator (electricity)
Through which of these does sound travel fastest?Wikipedia: Speed of sound
Two identical balls roll across the floor. Which one has more energy of motion?Wikipedia: Kinetic energy
What do we call the energy an object has because it is moving?Wikipedia: Kinetic energy
What is an echo?Wikipedia: Echo
What is it called when light bounces off a mirror?Wikipedia: Reflection (physics)
What is the distance from the top of one wave to the top of the next wave called?Wikipedia: Wavelength
What is the name for electricity made from the energy of falling or flowing water?Wikipedia: Hydroelectricity
When a hot thing touches a cold thing, which way does the heat move?Wikipedia: Heat transfer
Which code sends messages as patterns of short and long signals called dots and dashes?Wikipedia: Morse code
Which everyday object stores chemical energy and turns it into electricity?Wikipedia: Electric battery
Which of these is a renewable source of energy?Wikipedia: Renewable energy
Which shaped piece of glass can split white light into a band of rainbow colors?Wikipedia: Prism (optics)
Water cycle and Earth's water 15
A long stretch of time with much less rain than normal is called what?Wikipedia: Drought
A tree pulls water up from its roots and lets it out into the air through its leaves. What is this called?Wikipedia: Transpiration
About how much of Earth's surface is covered by ocean?Wikipedia: Ocean
All the land that drains into one river is called what?Wikipedia: Drainage basin
The fan of mud and sand that builds up where a river meets the sea is called what?Wikipedia: River delta
The gas form of water, which we cannot see in the air, is called what?Wikipedia: Water vapor
Rainwater that flows over the ground into streams and rivers is called what?Wikipedia: Surface runoff
Water that soaks down and is stored in soil and rock under our feet is called what?Wikipedia: Groundwater
What do we call a cloud that forms at ground level?Wikipedia: Fog
What is a huge mass of ice that slowly moves over land called?Wikipedia: Glacier
What is an underground layer of rock, sand or gravel that holds water called?Wikipedia: Aquifer
What is it called when ice or snow turns straight into vapor without melting first?Wikipedia: Sublimation
What is the largest store of fresh water on Earth?Wikipedia: Glacier
What supplies the energy that drives the water cycle?Wikipedia: Water cycle
Where is most of Earth's water found?Wikipedia: Ocean
Rocks, fossils and changing land 18
A crack in Earth's crust where blocks of rock slide past each other is called what?Wikipedia: Fault (geology)
A dinosaur footprint pressed into rock is which kind of fossil?Wikipedia: Trace fossil
A series of huge ocean waves set off by an undersea earthquake is called what?Wikipedia: Tsunami
A valley shaped like the letter U was most likely carved by what?Wikipedia: U-shaped valley
Earth's outer shell is broken into huge slabs that move very slowly. What are they called?Wikipedia: Plate tectonics
In a cliff of rock layers that have never been disturbed, where is the oldest layer?Wikipedia: Law of superposition
Sand, mud and tiny bits of rock that settle in layers are called what?Wikipedia: Sediment
What do we call a mass of rock and soil sliding down a slope?Wikipedia: Landslide
What do we call ancient wood that has slowly turned to stone?Wikipedia: Petrified wood
What do we call the preserved remains or traces of living things from long ago?Wikipedia: Fossil
What is it called when water, wind or ice carries soil and bits of rock away?Wikipedia: Erosion
What is the shaking of the ground caused by a sudden slip in Earth's crust called?Wikipedia: Earthquake
What is the slow breaking down of rock by water, ice, wind and living things called?Wikipedia: Weathering
When a river or the wind drops the sand and soil it was carrying, what is that called?Wikipedia: Deposition (geology)
Which instrument detects and records the shaking of the ground?Wikipedia: Seismometer
Which kind of map uses contour lines to show how high the land is?Wikipedia: Topographic map
Which material is fossilized tree resin that sometimes holds ancient insects?Wikipedia: Amber
Which type of rock forms when heat and pressure change an older rock?Wikipedia: Metamorphic rock
Famous inventors 18
Ada Lovelace, who lived in the 1800s, is often called the first what?Wikipedia: Ada Lovelace
Alfred Nobel, who set up the Nobel Prizes, invented which explosive?Wikipedia: Alfred Nobel
Cai Lun, an official in ancient China, is traditionally credited with inventing what?Wikipedia: Cai Lun
Eli Whitney invented the cotton gin in 1793. What did the machine do?Wikipedia: Cotton gin
Elisha Otis invented a safety device that stops which machine from falling if its cable breaks?Wikipedia: Elisha Otis
George Washington Carver encouraged Southern farmers to grow which crop in place of cotton?Wikipedia: George Washington Carver
Guglielmo Marconi is known for sending messages over long distances using what?Wikipedia: Guglielmo Marconi
Hans Lipperhey, a Dutch maker of eyeglasses, applied for the earliest known patent on which instrument in 1608?Wikipedia: Telescope
In 1799 Alessandro Volta built an early version of which everyday power source?Wikipedia: Alessandro Volta
In 1877 Thomas Edison invented a machine that could record sound and play it back. What was it?Wikipedia: Phonograph
In 1926 Robert Goddard built and launched the first rocket that burned what?Wikipedia: Robert H. Goddard
Lewis Latimer worked on making a longer-lasting part for which invention?Wikipedia: Lewis Howard Latimer
Louis Braille invented a way of reading with the fingertips. Who was it made for?Wikipedia: Louis Braille
Percy Spencer invented which kitchen appliance after working on radar equipment?Wikipedia: Percy Spencer
Robert Fulton built the first commercially successful boat powered by what?Wikipedia: Robert Fulton
Samuel Morse helped invent a machine that sent messages along wires as electric signals. What was it?Wikipedia: Samuel Morse
Which American founder invented the lightning rod and bifocal glasses?Wikipedia: Benjamin Franklin
Which ancient Greek thinker gave his name to a screw-shaped machine for lifting water?Wikipedia: Archimedes' screw
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. Topics were chosen by reading the grade 4 standards on 2026-09-19: 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 fractions, decimals, angles, lines, symmetry, factors and multiples, and the Next Generation Science Standards fourth grade list (https://www.nextgenscience.org/search-standards?keys=&tid%5B%5D=104) for energy, waves and light, rock layers and fossils, weathering and erosion, maps, energy resources and natural hazards. The water cycle, state capitals, United States regions and inventors are common fourth grade classroom topics that those two documents do not cover. Each fact 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. Arithmetic answers (fraction sums, equivalent fractions, decimals, factors, multiples, area) were worked out by calculation and checked by a script; the linked article explains the method. State capitals and the year each city became the capital come from the table in Wikipedia's List of capitals in the United States. Questions were dropped or changed when the article did not state the fact plainly: how many lines of symmetry a square has, the 60 degree angles of an equilateral triangle, what share of fresh water is frozen (the question now follows the Glacier article), and who first pointed a telescope at the sky. Left out on purpose: populations and city rankings, records that change, living people, and film, TV, brand and league names. Levels are an editor's judgment for a fourth grade class: easy is review, medium is grade level, hard is a stretch. Licence: own work