One hundred questions, one hundred visible answers, five fields. The big list to revise thoroughly, prepare a giant quiz, or dip into round after round.
The questions are sorted by theme — geography, history, art and culture, science, nature — with a level marked on each. Count one point per correct answer; the scale is at the bottom. For a shorter format, see our 10, 20 or 50 questions.
Geography
1. What is the longest river in Europe? (easy) The Volga. It runs about 3,530 km through Russia before reaching the Caspian Sea.
2. In which city does the US federal government sit? (easy) Washington, D.C. This capital forms a federal district that belongs to none of the fifty states.
3. What is the largest desert in the world by area? (medium) Antarctica. This cold desert covers about 14 million km², ahead of the Sahara.
4. Which is the most populous country in the world? (medium) India. It overtook China around 2023 with more than 1.4 billion people.
5. What is the capital of Egypt? (easy) Cairo. It is the largest city in the Arab world, crossed by the Nile.
6. Which is the most populous country in Africa? (medium) Nigeria. With over 200 million people, it is well ahead of Ethiopia and Egypt.
7. On which continent are the Andes? (easy) South America. The range runs down the western edge of the continent for nearly 7,000 km.
8. What is the largest freshwater lake in the world by area? (medium) Lake Superior. Between Canada and the United States, it spans over 82,000 km².
9. Which sea separates Europe from Africa? (easy) The Mediterranean. It links the Atlantic to Asia via the Suez Canal.
10. What is the capital of Argentina? (easy) Buenos Aires. It sits on the bank of the Río de la Plata.
11. What is the smallest continent in the world? (easy) Oceania. It is also the least populated after Antarctica.
12. Which country has the most active volcanoes in the world? (hard) Indonesia. Sitting on the Pacific Ring of Fire, it has more than 120.
13. Which mountain range separates France from Spain? (easy) The Pyrenees. They run from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean.
14. Which country has Hanoi as its capital? (medium) Vietnam. Hanoi is in the north, Ho Chi Minh City in the south.
15. What is the largest country in the world by area? (easy) Russia. Over 17 million km² straddling Europe and Asia.
16. Which river runs through London? (easy) The Thames. It flows into the North Sea after crossing the British capital.
17. In which country is Machu Picchu? (medium) Peru. This Inca city is perched in the Andes, near Cusco.
18. What is the capital of Turkey? (medium) Ankara. Istanbul is larger, but it is not the capital.
19. Which strait separates Asia from North America? (hard) The Bering Strait. It separates Russia from Alaska.
20. Which South American country has the longest Pacific coastline? (hard) Chile. This narrow country stretches over 4,000 km from north to south.
To go further in geography: our capitals quiz by continent.
History
21. Who invented the metal movable-type printing press in Europe? (medium) Johannes Gutenberg. He printed his famous Bible in Mainz around 1454.
22. In what year did the Western Roman Empire fall? (medium) 476. The deposition of Romulus Augustulus marks its end.
23. Which empire did Genghis Khan rule? (medium) The Mongol Empire. In the 13th century he founded the largest contiguous empire in history.
24. Which king of France was nicknamed the “Sun King”? (easy) Louis XIV. His 72-year reign is the longest in French history.
25. Which civilisation built the pyramids of Giza? (easy) The ancient Egyptians. They were raised about 4,500 years ago.
26. Which conflict pitted the North against the South of the US from 1861 to 1865? (medium) The Civil War. It led to the abolition of slavery.
27. Who led Nazi Germany during the Second World War? (easy) Adolf Hitler. He ran the Third Reich from 1933 until his death in 1945.
28. Which queen reigned over the United Kingdom from 1837 to 1901, giving her name to an era? (medium) Queen Victoria. The Victorian era marks the height of the British Empire.
29. Which ancient wall defended the Roman Empire in the north of present-day Britain? (hard) Hadrian’s Wall. Built around 122 AD, it marked the northern frontier of the Roman province.
30. Which dynasty unified China and gave the country its name? (hard) The Qin dynasty. Its founder, Qin Shi Huang, became the first emperor in 221 BC.
31. Which explorer led the first expedition to sail around the world? (medium) Ferdinand Magellan. He died en route, but his expedition completed the circumnavigation in 1522.
32. In what year was the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima? (medium) 1945. The bombing of 6 August hastened the end of the war.
33. Which Carthaginian general crossed the Alps with elephants to attack Rome? (medium) Hannibal. It was during the Second Punic War, late in the 3rd century BC.
34. Which epidemic ravaged Europe in the mid-14th century? (medium) The Black Death. It is thought to have killed between a third and half of Europe’s population.
35. Who led the Salt March in India in 1930? (medium) Mahatma Gandhi. This act of civil disobedience targeted the British salt monopoly.
36. Which pharaoh had the great temple of Abu Simbel built? (hard) Ramesses II. This ruler reigned over 60 years in the 13th century BC.
37. Which Italian city was the cradle of the Renaissance? (medium) Florence. The Medici family were great patrons of the arts there in the 15th century.
38. Which treaty ended the First World War in 1919? (medium) The Treaty of Versailles. It imposed heavy reparations on defeated Germany.
39. Which Scandinavian people explored and raided Europe from the 8th to the 11th century? (easy) The Vikings. They reached North America long before Christopher Columbus.
40. Which queen resisted Portuguese colonisation in the 17th century in present-day Angola? (hard) Queen Nzinga. She led decades of diplomatic and military resistance.
To put faces to these eras: our figures who shaped history.
Art and culture
41. Which painter gave Impressionism its name with “Impression, Sunrise”? (medium) Claude Monet. The painting, shown in 1874, inspired the movement’s name.
42. Which Italian composer wrote the opera “La Traviata”? (medium) Giuseppe Verdi. Premiered in 1853, it is one of the most performed operas in the world.
43. Who painted “Girl with a Pearl Earring”? (medium) Johannes Vermeer. This 17th-century Dutch master is nicknamed the “Sphinx of Delft”.
44. In Greek mythology, who is the god of the sea? (easy) Poseidon. He is the equivalent of the Roman Neptune, armed with a trident.
45. Who wrote the novel “Don Quixote”? (medium) Miguel de Cervantes. This Spanish author published the first part in 1605.
46. Which Dutch painter painted “The Night Watch”? (medium) Rembrandt. This 1642 canvas hangs in the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
47. In Greek mythology, which hero is famous for his vulnerable heel? (easy) Achilles. His only weakness was the heel by which his mother held him.
48. Which Russian writer wrote “War and Peace”? (medium) Leo Tolstoy. The novel depicts Russian society during the Napoleonic Wars.
49. Which instrument did Antonio Stradivari famously make? (medium) The violin. His instruments from Cremona are among the most prized in the world.
50. Who sculpted the statue of “David” in Florence? (easy) Michelangelo. This marble sculpture over 5 metres tall was finished in 1504.
51. Which ancient Greek poet composed “The Iliad” and “The Odyssey”? (medium) Homer. These two founding epics date back to the 8th century BC.
52. Which Polish composer is famous for his piano nocturnes and waltzes? (medium) Frédéric Chopin. A Romantic figure, he spent most of his career in Paris.
53. In Norse mythology, which god wields the hammer Mjölnir? (medium) Thor. He is the god of thunder and lightning.
54. Which French author wrote “The Little Prince”? (easy) Antoine de Saint-Exupéry. This poetic tale was published in 1943.
55. Which 20th-century art movement counts Salvador Dalí among its figures? (medium) Surrealism. This movement explores dreams and the unconscious.
56. Which 17th-century French playwright wrote “Tartuffe” and “The Misanthrope”? (medium) Molière. This master of comedy died on stage in 1673.
57. Which American writer wrote “The Old Man and the Sea”? (medium) Ernest Hemingway. This short 1952 novel won him the Pulitzer Prize.
58. Which Italian composer wrote “The Four Seasons”? (medium) Antonio Vivaldi. These four violin concertos date from around 1725.
59. In Egyptian mythology, which jackal-headed god presides over mummification? (hard) Anubis. He accompanies the dead and oversees the weighing of the heart.
60. Which Colombian writer wrote “One Hundred Years of Solitude”? (hard) Gabriel García Márquez. This 1967 novel is a peak of magical realism.
To recognise the great paintings: our essential artworks to know.
Science
61. What is the longest bone in the human body? (easy) The femur. This thigh bone measures about a quarter of a person’s height.
62. Which muscle is the strongest in the human body relative to its size? (hard) The masseter. This jaw muscle exerts very strong pressure when chewing.
63. Which scientist formulated the theory of relativity? (easy) Albert Einstein. Special relativity in 1905, general relativity in 1915.
64. Which organ filters the blood to produce urine? (easy) The kidneys. They clean the blood continuously and remove waste.
65. What is the chemical symbol for iron? (medium) Fe. It comes from the Latin ferrum.
66. Which planet is famous for its spectacular rings? (easy) Saturn. Its rings are made of ice and dust.
67. Which organ pumps blood around the whole body? (easy) The heart. It beats on average about 70 times per minute at rest.
68. Which scientist discovered penicillin? (medium) Alexander Fleming. A chance discovery, in 1928, that launched the antibiotic era.
69. Which is the most abundant chemical element in the universe? (medium) Hydrogen. It makes up about three quarters of ordinary matter.
70. How many teeth does an adult human have on average? (medium) 32. This includes the four wisdom teeth.
71. Which device did Alexander Graham Bell invent? (medium) The telephone. He filed the patent in 1876.
72. Which force keeps the planets in orbit around the Sun? (easy) Gravity. It attracts bodies according to their mass and distance.
73. What is the largest organ in the human body? (medium) The skin. It protects the body and regulates temperature.
74. Which chemical element has the symbol “O”? (easy) Oxygen. It is essential to the breathing of most living things.
75. Which atomic particle carries a negative charge? (medium) The electron. It orbits the nucleus made of protons and neutrons.
76. Who developed the first vaccine against rabies? (medium) Louis Pasteur. He administered it successfully to a child in 1885.
77. In which state of matter are molecules the most spread out? (medium) The gaseous state. Particles move freely and fill all available space.
78. Which invention by Thomas Edison transformed home lighting? (easy) The incandescent light bulb. He perfected a marketable model around 1879.
79. Which Russian chemist devised the periodic table of elements? (medium) Dmitri Mendeleev. In 1869 he left gaps for elements still unknown.
80. What is the approximate speed of sound in air? (hard) About 340 m/s. Far slower than light, hence the gap between lightning and thunder.
To connect science to the rest: the general knowledge guide.
Nature
81. What is the heaviest land animal in the world? (easy) The African savanna elephant. An adult male can weigh over 6 tonnes.
82. What do you call an animal that eats both plants and animals? (easy) An omnivore. The bear and the human are examples.
83. What is the largest fish in the world? (medium) The whale shark. Harmless to humans, it reaches 12 metres and feeds on plankton.
84. Which tree produces hazelnuts? (medium) The hazel. Also called the cobnut tree, it often grows in hedgerows.
85. Which bird is the symbol of peace? (easy) The dove. Often shown with an olive branch, from the story of Noah’s ark.
86. What is the breathing organ of fish? (easy) The gills. They extract oxygen dissolved in the water.
87. What is the largest living ape today? (medium) The gorilla. The eastern lowland gorilla is the most imposing of the primates.
88. Which marine animal is known for producing pearls? (easy) The oyster. The pearl forms around a foreign body that enters the shell.
89. What is the largest species of penguin? (medium) The emperor penguin. It lives in Antarctica and stands over a metre tall.
90. Which marine mammal is famous for its complex “song”? (medium) The humpback whale. Males produce long, structured sequences of sound.
91. What do you call an animal that is active mainly at night? (easy) A nocturnal animal. The owl and the bat are examples.
92. Which fruit grows on the apple tree? (easy) The apple. The apple tree belongs to the rose family.
93. Which reptile is known for changing the colour of its skin? (medium) The chameleon. The change mainly serves communication and temperature control.
94. Which large mammal carries one or two humps on its back? (easy) The camel (or the dromedary). The humps store fat, not water.
95. What is the upstream journey of salmon to their birthplace to breed called? (hard) The salmon run. They swim against the current to the river where they were born.
96. Which insect builds structures called termite mounds? (medium) The termite. Some African mounds rise several metres high.
97. Which big cat lives in social groups called “prides”? (medium) The lion. It is the only truly social cat, unlike other solitary big cats.
98. Which conifer keeps its needles all year round? (easy) The fir. Its evergreen needles stay in place for several years.
99. Which animal makes the longest annual migration, from pole to pole? (hard) The Arctic tern. It migrates each year between the Arctic and the Antarctic.
100. Which microscopic fungus makes bread rise? (medium) Yeast. Through fermentation it produces carbon dioxide that puffs up the dough.
More surprising still: our strange and little-known animals.
Your score
Count one point per correct answer, out of 100.
0 to 40: foundations to broaden. The general knowledge guide maps the fields to cover.
41 to 70: solid general level. You hold your own anywhere, with gaps on the sharper questions.
71 to 100: excellent. Measure yourself against the expert tiers in our quiz by level.
Going further
One hundred questions is a real marathon. But general knowledge is built in small, regular doses, not in one sitting.
That’s the idea behind SAPIRO: hundreds of quizzes on geography (197 countries), history, art and nature, with an explanation behind every answer. Free, no ads. For a structured month-long plan, follow our method to revise general knowledge in 30 days.
Frequently asked questions
Is one hundred questions too much for a single game?
Usually, yes. Split it into rounds of ten or twenty, by theme, to hold the players’ attention. The list also works as a reserve to draw from across several evenings.
How do you use this list to revise?
Answer first without looking, note your mistakes, then come back to the themes you struggle with a few days later. Testing yourself and then spacing out reviews anchors knowledge far better than re-reading.
Do these questions come up in exams?
Many are close, but an exam calls for targeted work on its syllabus: past papers, recurring themes, time management. Treat this list as a broad base to build on.
Where can I find even more questions?
The SAPIRO app offers hundreds of questions sorted by theme and level, free, with an explanation behind every answer.
