75 general knowledge questions with multiple-choice answers
Quick answer: Here are 75 multiple-choice general knowledge questions, each with four options (A to D) and the correct answer, in five rounds of 15.
Why multiple choice works
Multiple-choice questions are easier to mark and fairer for mixed groups, because everyone has a chance to reason their way to the answer. They also work well on a screen. Prefer open questions? See our 100 general knowledge questions and answers.
Round 1: Geography
Want to learn the capitals properly? Read capital cities people get wrong.
| # | Question | Options | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Which is the longest river in Africa? | A) Congo · B) Niger · C) Nile · D) Zambezi | C) Nile |
| 2 | What is the capital of Australia? | A) Sydney · B) Melbourne · C) Canberra · D) Perth | C) Canberra |
| 3 | Which country is said to have the most islands? | A) Indonesia · B) Sweden · C) Philippines · D) Japan | B) Sweden |
| 4 | Where is the lowest point on land? | A) Dead Sea shore · B) Death Valley · C) Lake Assal · D) Caspian Sea | A) Dead Sea shore |
| 5 | In which country is Mount Kilimanjaro? | A) Kenya · B) Tanzania · C) Uganda · D) Ethiopia | B) Tanzania |
| 6 | In which country is Petra? | A) Egypt · B) Jordan · C) Syria · D) Lebanon | B) Jordan |
| 7 | Which is the largest country by area? | A) Canada · B) China · C) United States · D) Russia | D) Russia |
| 8 | Which strait separates Europe and Africa? | A) Bosphorus · B) Gibraltar · C) Hormuz · D) Bab-el-Mandeb | B) Gibraltar |
| 9 | What is the capital of Turkey? | A) Istanbul · B) Izmir · C) Ankara · D) Bursa | C) Ankara |
| 10 | Which country is not in South America? | A) Peru · B) Panama · C) Uruguay · D) Ecuador | B) Panama |
| 11 | Which desert covers much of Mongolia? | A) Gobi · B) Kalahari · C) Atacama · D) Thar | A) Gobi |
| 12 | What is the capital of New Zealand? | A) Auckland · B) Wellington · C) Christchurch · D) Hamilton | B) Wellington |
| 13 | Which river flows through Baghdad? | A) Euphrates · B) Tigris · C) Jordan · D) Nile | B) Tigris |
| 14 | How many countries are in Africa? | A) 48 · B) 51 · C) 54 · D) 57 | C) 54 |
| 15 | In which country is the Atacama Desert? | A) Peru · B) Argentina · C) Chile · D) Bolivia | C) Chile |
Round 2: History and people
| # | Question | Options | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Who is credited with inventing the telephone? | A) Thomas Edison · B) Alexander Graham Bell · C) Nikola Tesla · D) Guglielmo Marconi | B) Alexander Graham Bell |
| 17 | Which city was buried by Vesuvius in 79 AD? | A) Rome · B) Pompeii · C) Athens · D) Carthage | B) Pompeii |
| 18 | Who painted the Sistine Chapel ceiling? | A) Raphael · B) Michelangelo · C) Leonardo da Vinci · D) Donatello | B) Michelangelo |
| 19 | In which city was Ibn Battuta born? | A) Fez · B) Tangier · C) Marrakesh · D) Cairo | B) Tangier |
| 20 | In which year did humans first land on the Moon? | A) 1965 · B) 1967 · C) 1969 · D) 1972 | C) 1969 |
| 21 | Who was the first female Prime Minister of the UK? | A) Theresa May · B) Margaret Thatcher · C) Queen Victoria · D) Liz Truss | B) Margaret Thatcher |
| 22 | Which civilisation built Chichen Itza? | A) Aztec · B) Inca · C) Maya · D) Olmec | C) Maya |
| 23 | Nelson Mandela was president of which country? | A) Kenya · B) Zimbabwe · C) South Africa · D) Namibia | C) South Africa |
| 24 | For which pharaoh was the Great Pyramid built? | A) Tutankhamun · B) Ramses II · C) Khufu · D) Akhenaten | C) Khufu |
| 25 | Which empire did Suleiman the Magnificent rule? | A) Persian · B) Ottoman · C) Mughal · D) Byzantine | B) Ottoman |
| 26 | Who discovered penicillin? | A) Louis Pasteur · B) Alexander Fleming · C) Marie Curie · D) Edward Jenner | B) Alexander Fleming |
| 27 | Who built the Taj Mahal? | A) Akbar · B) Shah Jahan · C) Babur · D) Aurangzeb | B) Shah Jahan |
| 28 | Who wrote The Prince? | A) Machiavelli · B) Dante · C) Galileo · D) Petrarch | A) Machiavelli |
| 29 | Which country gave the Statue of Liberty to the United States? | A) UK · B) Spain · C) France · D) Italy | C) France |
| 30 | Who was the first person in space? | A) Neil Armstrong · B) Yuri Gagarin · C) Buzz Aldrin · D) John Glenn | B) Yuri Gagarin |
Round 3: Science and nature
| # | Question | Options | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 31 | What is the chemical symbol for iron? | A) Ir · B) Fe · C) In · D) I | B) Fe |
| 32 | Which planet is closest to the Sun? | A) Venus · B) Mercury · C) Mars · D) Earth | B) Mercury |
| 33 | What is the largest organ inside the human body? | A) Heart · B) Lungs · C) Liver · D) Brain | C) Liver |
| 34 | Which part of a cell produces most of its energy? | A) Nucleus · B) Ribosome · C) Mitochondria · D) Membrane | C) Mitochondria |
| 35 | Which gas makes up most of the Sun? | A) Oxygen · B) Hydrogen · C) Helium · D) Nitrogen | B) Hydrogen |
| 36 | Which is the fastest bird in a dive? | A) Golden eagle · B) Peregrine falcon · C) Swift · D) Albatross | B) Peregrine falcon |
| 37 | Which is the largest living reptile? | A) Komodo dragon · B) Saltwater crocodile · C) Anaconda · D) Leatherback turtle | B) Saltwater crocodile |
| 38 | About how long does Earth take to orbit the Sun? | A) 24 hours · B) 30 days · C) 365 days · D) 400 days | C) 365 days |
| 39 | At what temperature does water freeze in °F? | A) 0 · B) 32 · C) 100 · D) 212 | B) 32 |
| 40 | Which blood cells fight infection? | A) Red cells · B) White cells · C) Platelets · D) Plasma | B) White cells |
| 41 | Which planet has the Great Red Spot? | A) Mars · B) Saturn · C) Jupiter · D) Neptune | C) Jupiter |
| 42 | What is the main gas in natural gas? | A) Methane · B) Propane · C) Butane · D) Ethane | A) Methane |
| 43 | Which part of a plant makes most of its food? | A) Roots · B) Stem · C) Leaves · D) Flowers | C) Leaves |
| 44 | What is the unit of electrical resistance? | A) Volt · B) Watt · C) Ohm · D) Ampere | C) Ohm |
| 45 | How many legs does a crab have, including claws? | A) 6 · B) 8 · C) 10 · D) 12 | C) 10 |
Round 4: Culture, food and sport
For more on world food, see national dishes by region.
| # | Question | Options | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 46 | Where does the tango come from? | A) Spain · B) Argentina · C) Brazil · D) Cuba | B) Argentina |
| 47 | Which dish is flipped upside down to serve? | A) Mansaf · B) Maqluba · C) Kabsa · D) Musakhan | B) Maqluba |
| 48 | What is the main ingredient of tabbouleh? | A) Rice · B) Parsley · C) Lentils · D) Chickpeas | B) Parsley |
| 49 | Which country does feta cheese come from? | A) Italy · B) Turkey · C) Greece · D) Cyprus | C) Greece |
| 50 | How many players does a basketball team have on court? | A) 5 · B) 6 · C) 7 · D) 11 | A) 5 |
| 51 | Which country has won the most FIFA World Cups? | A) Germany · B) Italy · C) Brazil · D) Argentina | C) Brazil |
| 52 | In which sport is the Ryder Cup played? | A) Tennis · B) Golf · C) Cricket · D) Polo | B) Golf |
| 53 | Which country is the home of sumo? | A) China · B) Korea · C) Japan · D) Mongolia | C) Japan |
| 54 | In which city is the Louvre? | A) Rome · B) Paris · C) Madrid · D) Vienna | B) Paris |
| 55 | What kind of instrument is a darbuka? | A) String · B) Wind · C) Drum · D) Keyboard | C) Drum |
| 56 | What is the currency of Japan? | A) Yuan · B) Won · C) Yen · D) Ringgit | C) Yen |
| 57 | Which country is famous for samba? | A) Portugal · B) Brazil · C) Mexico · D) Colombia | B) Brazil |
| 58 | In which city is the Burj Khalifa? | A) Abu Dhabi · B) Doha · C) Dubai · D) Riyadh | C) Dubai |
| 59 | How many players does a volleyball team have on court? | A) 5 · B) 6 · C) 7 · D) 9 | B) 6 |
| 60 | Where did the ancient Olympic Games begin? | A) Italy · B) Greece · C) Egypt · D) Turkey | B) Greece |
Round 5: Words and numbers
| # | Question | Options | Answer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 61 | What is the usual plural of “cactus”? | A) Cactuses only · B) Cacti · C) Cactae · D) Cactis | B) Cacti |
| 62 | What does “www” stand for? | A) World Wide Web · B) Wide World Web · C) Web World Wide · D) World Web Wide | A) World Wide Web |
| 63 | How many sides does a hexagon have? | A) 5 · B) 6 · C) 7 · D) 8 | B) 6 |
| 64 | What is 15% of 200? | A) 15 · B) 20 · C) 30 · D) 35 | C) 30 |
| 65 | Which word is the opposite of “ancient”? | A) Old · B) Modern · C) Historic · D) Antique | B) Modern |
| 66 | How many zeros are in one million? | A) 5 · B) 6 · C) 7 · D) 9 | B) 6 |
| 67 | Which of these is a prime number? | A) 21 · B) 27 · C) 29 · D) 33 | C) 29 |
| 68 | What is the Roman numeral for 50? | A) V · B) X · C) L · D) C | C) L |
| 69 | Which language does “bonjour” come from? | A) Spanish · B) Italian · C) French · D) Portuguese | C) French |
| 70 | How many years are in a century? | A) 10 · B) 50 · C) 100 · D) 1,000 | C) 100 |
| 71 | What is the square root of 144? | A) 10 · B) 11 · C) 12 · D) 14 | C) 12 |
| 72 | Which of these words comes from Arabic? | A) Algebra · B) Biology · C) Telephone · D) Democracy | A) Algebra |
| 73 | How many degrees are in a right angle? | A) 45 · B) 90 · C) 180 · D) 360 | B) 90 |
| 74 | Which of these words is a palindrome? | A) Level · B) Lever · C) Label · D) Lemon | A) Level |
| 75 | How many seconds are in an hour? | A) 360 · B) 600 · C) 3,600 · D) 6,000 | C) 3,600 |
Frequently asked questions
How do you write a good multiple-choice question?
Use one clearly correct answer and three believable wrong ones of the same type.
How many options should a multiple-choice question have?
Four is standard; three works for children.