2,062 Easy Riddles With Answers - page 20 of 21
How long can a human live without water?
While you can live weeks without food, water is essential for life processes after a few days.
How much of Earth is covered in water?
Approximately 71% of Earth is water-covered, primarily by oceans.
What do you call a female elephant?
Adult male elephants are called bulls, while females are called cows.
What planet is closest in size to Earth?
Venus is often called Earth's twin due to its similar size, mass, and composition.
What element is a diamond composed of?
Diamonds are a solid form of pure carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure.
Periodic element named after Albert Einstein?
Einsteinium (atomic number 99) was discovered in the debris of the first hydrogen bomb.
What is hydrogen oxide?
Hydrogen oxide (or dihydrogen monoxide) is simply the chemical name for water.
Who is credited with the theory of evolution?
Charles Darwin published 'On the Origin of Species' in 1859.
What country has the most tornadoes?
The U.S. experiences around 1,200 tornadoes per year due to its unique geography.
What do you call molten rock before it has erupted?
Magma is below the surface; once it breaks the surface, it's called lava.
How do you determine the age of a tree?
Each ring typically represents one year of growth in a tree's life.
What element is used to create nuclear energy?
Uranium-235 is the primary fuel used in nuclear power plants.
What do you call a volcano that’s not currently erupting?
A dormant volcano is one that hasn't erupted for a long time but could again.
Which is the most abundant element in the universe?
Hydrogen makes up about 75% of the elemental mass of the universe.
How many colors are in the rainbow?
The rainbow consists of 7 colors: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.
What do you call the study of weather and atmosphere?
Meteorology focuses on atmospheric conditions and weather forecasting.
What do you call an animal that eats both plants and animals?
Omnivores, like humans and bears, consume both plant and animal matter.
How many elements are on the periodic table?
There are 118 confirmed elements, from Hydrogen to Oganesson.
What are the three layers of the Earth?
The Earth consists of the outer crust, the thick mantle, and the central core.
What is the fastest animal on land?
The cheetah can reach speeds up to 70 mph (112 km/h).
What is the largest planet in our solar system?
Jupiter is the gas giant with the largest mass and volume in our solar system.
I'm sometimes full, but I never overflow.
The Moon goes through phases, including a 'Full Moon,' but it is a solid celestial body.
At night they come without being fetched, by day they are lost.
Stars are always there but only become visible to us when the sun goes down.
I am a god, I am a planet, and I can measure the temperature.
Mercury is a Roman god, the closest planet to the sun, and the liquid used in thermometers.
If you give it food, it'll live if you give it water, it will die.
Fire requires fuel (food) to burn but is extinguished by water.
What has a mouth but can't chew?
A river has a 'mouth' where it meets the sea, but obviously cannot chew anything.
Born in the ocean and white as snow; disappears in water.
Salt is harvested from the sea and dissolves (disappears) when put back into water.
I am a unit of chemical elements, but I can never be trusted. Why?
A pun on 'Atoms' (the unit) 'making up' (inventing) things and being the fundamental building blocks of matter.
I come as a gas, and I'm in line with Neon. Home of a Super man.
Krypton is a noble gas in the same group as Neon, and also the name of Superman's home planet.
What do you do with a dead chemist?
This is a classic pun riddle -- "barium," the chemical element, sounds just like "bury 'em," which is exactly what you'd do with the deceased chemist.
Black when you get it, red when you use it, grey when you are finished.
Charcoal is black, glows red when burning, and turns into grey ash when consumed.
What can eat a lot of iron without getting sick?
Rust (iron oxide) forms when iron reacts with oxygen and water, essentially 'consuming' the metal.
What goes up and down without moving?
Temperature readings on a thermometer rise and fall without the device itself moving.
Which is heavier, a ton of feathers or a ton of rocks?
A ton is a measure of weight, so 2000 lbs of anything weighs exactly the same.
Lots of people have heard it, but no one has seen it. It will not speak back unless spoken to.
An echo is a reflection of sound that returns to the source after a delay.
What grows only upwards and can never come down?
Height refers to the measurement of how tall something is, which increases as you grow.
I'm great at tasting but horrible at smelling. What am I?
The tongue contains taste buds but does not have olfactory (smell) receptors.
I love to roam, but I always stay home. If you carried what I carried, you'd end up breaking your back! What am I?
A snail carries its heavy shell everywhere it goes as its home.
I am needed for flight but cannot fly on my own. What am I?
Feathers provide lift and insulation but require a bird's movement to fly.
I am hard as a stone but you can find me on your body. What am I?
Teeth are the hardest substance in the human body, similar to stone.
What can you hold for no longer than a few seconds, even without your hands?
You can only hold your breath for a short time before needing to inhale.
What are 10 things that you can always count on?
A play on words; you use your fingers to count numbers.
I am a gas that is essential for plants but I can't be bought at the gas station. What am I?
Plants use Carbon Dioxide for photosynthesis to produce food.
9 correct predictions in a row. Psychic?
The company sends 5,000 emails: 2,500 say Team A wins, 2,500 say Team B. They keep splitting the winners until one small group (like Kelly) has seen a perfect streak.
Describe a chicken in computer programming.
In coding, a function is something that takes an input and provides an output. Grain is the parameter, and the Egg is the return value.
5 black spins. Is red "due"?
The roulette wheel has no memory. Each spin is a fresh event with the same probability (ignoring the green zero), regardless of what happened before.
Does washer hole expand or shrink when heated?
Thermal expansion is like a photographic enlargement. Every part of the object, including the 'empty' hole, expands proportionally.
31 games in elimination tournament. Players?
In any knockout tournament, every player except the winner must lose exactly one game to be eliminated. If there were 31 games, 31 people lost.
Explain a database to an 8-year-old.
Use a metaphor of an organized filing system or library where everything has a specific label and 'shelf' to make it easy to find later.
How do you move Mount Fuji?
This tests lateral thinking. You can 'move' it by moving yourself relative to it, or by waiting for continental drift over millions of years.
Name 5 uses for a stapler without staples.
Focus on the physical properties of the heavy, hinged metal object rather than its intended function.
Owe 49+49=98. Plus your $1 = 99. Where is the dollar?
The error is adding the $1 you kept to the $98 debt. You should subtract it: $98 debt - $1 cash = $97 cost of shirt.
Pick 1 of 1000 seats. 990 empty removed. Odds now?
Removing empty seats you didn't pick doesn't change the fact that you had a 1-in-1000 chance at the start. The prize is still where it was (or wasn't).
Does running keep you drier than walking in rain?
Running reduces the exposure time to falling rain. Even though you 'run into' more drops, the time saved outweighs the front-facing accumulation.
Why are manhole covers round?
A square cover can be turned diagonally and dropped through the hole. A circle has a constant diameter and cannot fall in.
20-ton lorry on 20-ton bridge. Bird lands halfway. Does it collapse?
A truck traveling across a bridge burns fuel, losing more weight in liquid fuel than a small bird weighs when landing.
What word in the dictionary is always spelled incorrectly?
The word 'incorrectly' is always spelled I-N-C-O-R-R-E-C-T-L-Y.
I am the beginning of the end, and the end of time and space.
The letter 'e' is the start of the word 'end' and the last letter of 'time' and 'space.'
What begins with ?e,? ends with ?e,? but only contains one letter?
An envelope is a paper container that holds a 'letter' of mail.
How can you stand behind your father while he is standing behind you?
Standing with your backs touching makes both of you technically 'behind' each other.
Three doctors said Paul is their brother, yet Paul claims he has no brothers.
The riddle challenges the common gender bias regarding doctors.
I am tall when I'm young and short when I'm old. I can brighten your day unless it's windy.
A candle melts down as it burns; wind can blow its flame out.
If you drop me I'm sure to crack, but give me a smile and I'll always smile back.
A dropped mirror shatters easily, and a mirror always reflects back whatever expression you show it, including a smile.
Why do mummies like Christmas so much?
Mummies are wrapped in bandages, so they'd relate to Christmas presents being 'wrapped.'
What does a ghost use to wash its hair?
A pun on 'shampoo' and the sound a ghost makes.
What do elves learn at school?
A pun on the 'alphabet' for elves.
What do you get when you cross a snowman and a vampire?
A pun combining the cold (frost) and the vampire's bite.
What do you call an elephant in Antarctica?
Elephants don't live in Antarctica, so he would be lost.
What kind of music do bunnies listen to?
A pun on the way bunnies move (hop).
I'm closest to the Sun, but I don't get much attention. What am I?
The planet closest to the Sun's intense heat.
I'm red all over, with dust in the air. What am I?
The Red Planet known for its dusty and iron-rich surface.
I'm your home and the third from the Sun. What am I?
Our planet is the third from the Sun in our solar system.
I'm hot and bright, but don't touch! I shoot up from the Earth in a big rush. What am I?
A mountain that erupts with hot lava.
I live in the sky but fall to the ground. I'm cold and white and make no sound. What am I?
Frozen precipitation that falls silently from the sky.
I have a thousand needles but I do not sew. What am I?
An animal covered in sharp quills that look like needles.
I live in a bowl. I can swim. I have a tail. I also have fins and big eyes. What am I?
A common pet that lives in a bowl and has fins.
I hide my treasure in the ground, my tail is big and fluffy. If you spot me in a tree, please don�t call me scruffy. What am I?
They bury nuts (treasure) and have bushy tails.
I have horns but I can't beep. I like to bleat but I'm not a sheep. What am I?
Goats have horns and make a 'bleat' sound.
I can honk without using a horn. What am I?
A goose makes a loud honking call that sounds remarkably like a car horn, even though it has no horn at all.
I sleep during the day and fly at night, but I have no feathers to aid my flight. What am I?
A mammal that flies at night and has skin wings.
Why did the chicken cross the playground?
'Slide' puns on the playground equipment and the classic 'other side' punchline of the chicken-crossing-the-road joke.
What do you call a bear with no teeth?
This puns on 'gummy,' meaning both a toothless gum-only mouth and the candy called gummy bears.
I'm an animal that carries my house on my back. I never run fast; I'm known to be slack. What am I?
A slow creature that carries its shell (house) on its back.
I ring when it's time to start or end. I'm not a phone, but I'm every student's friend. What am I?
It signals the transition between classes at school.
What kind of cup doesn't hold water?
A cupcake is a dessert shaped like it should hold liquid, but being cake, it obviously can't hold water like a real cup.
When the water comes down, I go up. What am I?
When rain falls, you open it up to stay dry.
What kind of tree can you carry in your hand?
This puns on the word 'palm' -- the tree's name matches the palm of your hand, which you can literally carry things in.
What room do ghosts avoid?
This puns on 'living room,' since ghosts, being dead, avoid anything associated with the 'living.'
Kids can make it, but never hold it or see it. What is it?
You can make it with your voice, but you can't touch it.
My teddy bear is never hungry. Why?
A 'stuffed' animal doesn't need to eat food.
What has a bark but no bite?
The protective outer layer of the trunk and branches of a tree.
I'm green and jump, but I'm not a frog. I croak and sing, especially in the fog. What am I?
An amphibian with dry, bumpy skin.
I am an animal that carries my house on my back. I never run fast; I'm known to be slack. What am I?
A gastropod that carries its spiral shell for protection.
I'm full of words and pictures too. Open me up to learn something new. What am I?
A collection of pages used for education or leisure.
I'm not a teacher, but I help you write. What am I?
An instrument made of wood and graphite.
What has a horn but doesn't beep?
A large mammal with a thick skin and a growth on its snout.
What has a foot but no legs?
A snail's single muscular base is literally called its "foot," though it has no legs.
What is the end of everything?
The word "everything" literally ends with the letter G -- a classic letter riddle rather than a philosophical one.
What would you find in the middle of Toronto?
Look closely at the letters in the name of the city.