BrainQuest Trivia1. What is the chemical symbol for gold?
Show Answer
Answer: Au
This list of 10 trivia questions is for kids ages 11–13 who like a challenge they can talk through. Questions range from world history and geography to the human body and scientific terms. Read each one, make a guess, and open the answer when you are ready. A few answers include extra context to help explain a surprising choice. Families can compare what they know; teachers can use a question as the start of a discussion or as a prompt to check a reliable reference. These are reading questions rather than a timed test. For a multiple-choice round with feedback after each answer, choose an interactive quiz from the age-group hub.
Browse free trivia quizzes for kids Ages 11-13
1. What is the chemical symbol for gold?
Answer: Au
2. Which ancient civilization built the pyramids of Giza?
Answer: The ancient Egyptians
3. What is the smallest bone in the human body?
Answer: The stapes (in the ear)
4. What language is the most widely spoken in South America?
Answer: Portuguese (by population, due to Brazil)
5. What is the powerhouse of the cell?
Answer: The mitochondria
6. Which country has the longest coastline in the world?
Answer: Canada
7. What year did World War I begin?
Answer: 1914
8. What is the largest desert in the world?
Answer: Antarctica (a cold desert)
9. Who wrote the play Romeo and Juliet?
Answer: William Shakespeare
10. What does DNA stand for?
Answer: Deoxyribonucleic acid
Try asking how a player arrived at an answer before revealing it. Someone might recognize a name from a book, remember a location from a map, or rule out an option by thinking through the time period. The reasoning can be more interesting than the score. When nobody knows, opening the answer gives the group a new fact to discuss.
The subjects are intentionally mixed. A question about a chemical symbol may sit next to one about an ancient civilization or a modern country. That variety can help preteens notice which areas interest them. Pick one unexpected answer and look for its context in a trustworthy book or reference; a short question cannot tell the whole story on its own.
If you would rather play than read, choose an interactive topic quiz for ages 11–13. Science, Geography, History, Sports, and Pop Culture have their own question banks. Each round presents 10 multiple-choice questions with an answer and explanation after each choice. Random Trivia combines questions from the available subjects for the same age group.
These reading questions stay available if you want to ask a friend later. You can also move to another age list below when playing with younger or older family members. The idea is to keep asking useful questions, not to memorize every answer on the first try.