185 Chemistry Trivia Questions and Answers

How much do you know about the subject Chemistry alongside its history and all the chemical elements? We have over 180 chemistry trivia questions and answers to help you learn more.

For more educational quiz, see also Are you smarter than a 5th grader, and Pi Day Trivia Questions and Answers.

Basic Chemistry Trivia Questions and Answers

1. What is the product of 2Na + H2O?

Answer: 2NaOH + H2

2. How many elements does the actinide group encompass?

Answer: 15 actinides

3. What is the chemical symbol for carbon?

Answer: C

4. What is the chemical symbol for hydrogen?

Answer: H

5. What are the salts derived from nitric acid called?

Answer: Nitrates

6. Compounds that, in a water solution, dissociate into positive metal ions and negative ions of the conjugate base are called:

Answer: Salts

7. Organic chemistry studies compounds that contain:

Answer: Carbon and Hydrogen

8. A molecule of nitrogen contains:

Answer: 2 atoms

9. Sodium chloride (NaCl) is also known as:

Answer: Kitchen salt

10. Which element has chemical properties most similar to magnesium?

Answer: Calcium

11. The electron configuration of helium is:

Answer: 1s2

12. What is the proper order of atomic orbitals?

Answer: K, L, M, N, O, P, Q

13. What is the formula for sulphur trioxide?

Answer: SO3

14. The formula for sulphuric acid is:

Answer: H2SO4

15. What is the least abundant hydrogen isotope in nature?

Answer: Tritium

16. The boiling point of ethanol is:

Answer: 78.37°C

17. What does an atom consist of?

Answer: A nucleus and an electron cloud

18. The instrument used for crushing and grinding substances is called:

Answer: Mortar and pestle

19. Boyle's law states that at constant temperature for a fixed mass, the absolute pressure and the volume of a gas are:

Answer: Inversely proportional

20. What is the atomic number?

Answer: The number of protons in the nucleus of an atom

21. Which bonds are broken up by heating water to the temperature of 100'C?

Answer: Hydrogen bonds only

22. What does Nitrogen pentoxide yield in reaction with water?

Answer: Nitric acid

23. Which chemist is the author of the "The Sceptical Chymist" book?

Answer: Robert Boyle

24. The chemical compound with the formula AgCl is called:

Answer: Silver chloride

25. The electron configuration of hydrogen is:

Answer: 1s1

26. What is the first element in the PSE?

Answer: Hydrogen

27. Who published the first periodic table of elements?

Answer: Dmitri Ivanovich Mendeleev

28. What is the chemical symbol for oxygen?

Answer: O

29. What is the state of matter of sulphuric acid?

Answer: Pungent, ethereal, colorless liquid

30. Alkali metals are elements belonging to which group in the PSE?

Answer: Group 1 (1a)

31. What is the formula for a sulphur molecule?

Answer: S8

32. The atomic mass of carbon is:

Answer: 12.011 u

33. What is the formula for nitrogen-(I)oxide?

Answer: N2O

34. When was the periodic table of elements first published?

Answer: 1,871

35. What is the chemical symbol for gold?

Answer: Au

36. Chalk, limestone and marble all share the same chemical formula:

Answer: CaCO3

37. The temperature at which liquid substances turn to gas is called:

Answer: The boiling point

38. The maximal number of energy levels in an atom is:

Answer: 7

39. What is the chemical symbol for sodium?

Answer: Na

40. Neutral and highly reactive chemical species that contain a singly occupied orbital are called:

Answer: Radicals

41. What is the formula for sodium bicarbonate?

Answer: NaHCO3

42. Liquid homogeneous mixtures are called:

Answer: Solutions

43. What is the valency of phosphorus in P2O5?

Answer: 5

44. What is the atomic number of sulphur?

Answer: 16

45. What is the atomic number of hydrogen?

Answer: 1

46. The pH value is measured based on the activity of which ions in a solution?

Answer: Hydrogen ions

47. The temperature at which liquid substances turn to solids is called:

Answer: The freezing point

48. What is an atom?

Answer: The smallest unit of an element

49. What is the chemical symbol for aluminium?

Answer: Al

50. What is the chemical symbol for platinum?

Answer: Pt

51. What is the chemical symbol for chlorine?

Answer: Cl

52. What is the chemical symbol for mangan?

Answer: Mn

53. What is the correct distribution of electrons in a calcium atom?

Answer: K=2,L=8,M=8,N=2

54. Where can diluted hydrochloric acid be found in mammals?

Answer: In the stomach

55. What does nitric acid cause in contact with skin?

Answer: Severe burns

56. Carbon dioxide and water combine in the presence of sunlight to produce:

Answer: Oxygen and glucose

57. The process of separating a complex substance into elements or simpler compounds is called:

Answer: Decomposition

58. Compounds that, in a water solution, dissociate into positive metal ions and negative hydroxide ions are called:

Answer: Bases

59. How many chemical elements are found as gases?

Answer: 11 elements

60. What color is hydrochloric acid?

Answer: Colorless

General Chemistry Trivia Questions and Answers

61. A pipette, or a chemical dropper is used for:

Answer: Measuring the volume of liquids

62. What is the chemical symbol for zinc?

Answer: Zn

63. The temperature at which solid substances turn to liquids is called:

Answer: The melting point

64. Where was germanium discovered?

Answer: Germany

65. What are elements which possess the properties of both metals and nonmetals called?

Answer: Metalloids

66. A device that produces vacuum by means of the Venturi effect is called:

Answer: Aspirator

67. Which prefix denotes a factor of 10^-6?

Answer: Micro

68. What is the chemical symbol for phosphorous?

Answer: P

69. Nitrogen builds ammonia in reaction with:

Answer: Hydrogen

70. What is the formula for formic acid?

Answer: HCOOH

71. What is an ideal gas?

Answer: A gas that does not exist in nature

72. How many d-orbitals are there?

Answer: five orbitals

73. The formula for hydrogen chloride is:

Answer: HCl

74. What is the name of the mineral made up exclusively of carbon atoms?

Answer: Diamond

75. How many neutrons does a magnesium nucleus contain?

Answer: 12 neutrons

76. The branch of chemistry that studies compounds that contain carbon is called:

Answer: Organic chemistry

77. What is the name of the bond that occurs between two metals?

Answer: The metallic bond

78. The temperature at which gases turn to liquids is called:

Answer: The condensation point

79. What is the chemical symbol for nitrogen?

Answer: N

80. What is the formula for acetic acid?

Answer: CH3COOH

81. What is the formula for ethanol?

Answer: C2H5OH

82. Compounds that, in a water solution, dissociate into positive hydrogen ions and negative ions of the conjugate base are called:

Answer: Arrhenius acids

83. What does copper(II)sulphate look like?

Answer: A blue stone

84. What type of bonding occurs between group 1 and 2 metals on one side, and group 7 nonmetals on the other?

Answer: Ionic bonding

85. What is the chemical symbol for iron?

Answer: Fe

86. Treating lime with water yields:

Answer: Calcium hydroxide

87. What is the measuring unit for substance concentration?

Answer: mol/l

88. What is alchemy?

Answer: The art of turning metal into gold

89. Out of 118 known elements, how many are nonmetals?

Answer: 18

90. What is the chemical symbol for lead?

Answer: Pb

91. Spontaneous dissociation of electrolytes in a water solution to positive and negative ions is called:

Answer: Ionisation

92. The unit of measurement for the amount of a substance is:

Answer: mole

93. How many valance electrons does a calcium atom possess?

Answer: 2 electrons

94. What is the molecular formula for ammonia?

Answer: NH3

95. In beer production, yeast turns sugar into alcohol. The process is called:

Answer: Alcoholic Fermentation

96. The only nonmetal with a liquid state of matter is:

Answer: Bromine

97. What is the chemical symbol for magnesium?

Answer: Mg

98. Which scientist developed the modern system of chemical formula notation?

Answer: J. J. Berzelius

99. Which gas is used to fill weather balloons?

Answer: Hydrogen

100. What are the basic states of matter

Answer: Solid, liquid, gas

101. What is the oxidation state of oxygen in most compounds?

Answer: -2

102. How did bromine get its name?

Answer: After its unpleasant scent

103. What is the formula for sulphuric acid

Answer: H2SO4

104. What instruments are used in the filtration process?

Answer: Funnel and filter paper

105. The attraction between atoms that allows the formation of chemical substances is called:

Answer: A chemical bond

106. Aqua regia can break down what noble metals?

Answer: Gold, Platinum and Palladium

107. What is the reaction for MgO and H2O?

Answer: Mg(OH)2

108. The process of breaking up complex compounds using direct current is called:

Answer: Electrolysis

109. What is the pH value of blood?

Answer: About 7.35 to 7.45

110. The number of protons found in the nucleus of an atom is called:

Answer: The Atomic number

111. Esters are derived from:

Answer: Carboxylic acids

112. Neutral solutions have a pH of:

Answer: 7

113. The number of molecules in one mole of a substance is called:

Answer: Avogadro's number

114. Where does pottery first appear?

Answer: Ancient Egypt

115. Carbonic acid breaks down to produce carbon dioxide gas and:

Answer: Liquid water

116. The subatomic particle with a negative elementary electric charge is called:

Answer: An electron

117. Phosphorus is classified according to color. These colors are:

Answer: White, red, black

118. Which process does not take place during distillation?

Answer: Filtration

119. What color will red litmus paper take on in a solution of sodium bicarbonate?

Answer: Blue

120. The second lightest element, after Hydrogen, is:

Answer: Helium

Interesting Chemistry Questions and Answers

121. What are elements belonging to group 0 of the PSE called?

Answer: Noble gases

122. What is the percentage of oxygen in the human body?

Answer: 65%

123. Oxidation of secondary alcohols produces:

Answer: Ketones

124. What is the chemical symbol for zinc?

Answer: Zn

125. Wine becomes sour with age and exposure to the air due to the conversion of alcohol to:

Answer: Acetic acid

126. How many elements did the first PSE contain?

Answer: 63

127. The process of ethanol production is called:

Answer: Fermentation

128. What are acids with an acidity greater than that of 100% pure sulphuric acid called?

Answer: Superacids

129. The molecular model of a diamond is represented by:

Answer: A diamond lattice structure

130. Nitric acid is produced by mixing water with:

Answer: Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)

131. A 2:1 solution of hydrogen and oxygen produces:

Answer: Water

132. What does chemistry study?

Answer: Substances

133. What is the chemical symbol for silicon?

Answer: Si

134. The chemical process for making nitric acid is called:

Answer: The Ostwald process

135. Where in the PSE would an element with an electronic configuration of 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p3 be found?

Answer: The 3rd period

136. Which alkaline earth metal has the lowest atomic number?

Answer: Beryllium (Be)

137. What is the chemical symbol for cobalt?

Answer: Co

138. What is the chemical symbol for silver?

Answer: Ag

139. What is the correct way to denote 4 four-atom phosphorus molecules?

Answer: P4

140. In which group of the PSE can nitrogen be found?

Answer: Group 15

141. What is the chemical symbol for mercury?

Answer: Hg

142. What is the chemical symbol for selenium?

Answer: Se

143. What is the smallest unit of matter that defines the chemical elements?

Answer: An atom

144. The range of the pH scale is:

Answer: 0-14

145. Which substance is the most abundant solvent on Earth?

Answer: Water

146. What is the only liquid metallic element?

Answer: Mercury

147. The valency of alkali metals is:

Answer: 1

148. What is the chemical symbol for sulphur?

Answer: S

149. Hydrogen gas and nitrogen gas are combined to produce:

Answer: Ammonia gas

150. Who is the inventor of dynamite?

Answer: Alfred Bernhard Nobel

151. When two or more simple substances combine to form a more complex substance, the process is called:

Answer: Synthesis

152. What is the name of the primary alcohol produced by substituting one atom of hydrogen with an -OH group in methane?

Answer: Methanol

153. What is the chemical symbol for nickel?

Answer: Ni

154. What is the formula for methanol?

Answer: CH3OH

155. What color is iron?

Answer: Silver-Gray

156. A mixture of copper and iron can be separated by using:

Answer: A magnet

157. What is the general formula for carboxylic acids?

Answer: R-COOH

158. What should be done if one spills a strong acid on one's arm?

Answer: Wash it out with a 5% solution of bicarbonate soda

159. CuSO4 is the formula for:

Answer: Cupric sulphate

160. Who discovered the first radioactive element?

Answer: Henri Becquerel

161. What is the water solubility of ethanol?

Answer: Miscible

162. Chemical elements that make up living beings are called:

Answer: Biogenic elements

163. If the pH value of a solution changes from 2 to 4, that means the concentration of the H+ ion has been:

Answer: Decreased 100 times

164. How many protons does a Ca2+ ion contain?

Answer: 20 protons

165. How many atoms of hydrogen does a propene molecule contain?

Answer: 6 hydrogen atoms

166. What is the simplest element in the PSE?

Answer: Hydrogen

167. What is the chemical symbol for iodine?

Answer: I

168. A reaction between ethene and HCl produces ethyl chloride. What is this reaction called?

Answer: Addition reaction

169. What is the chemical symbol for fluoride?

Answer: F

170. How many bromine atoms are there in bromoform?

Answer: three bromine atoms

171. In Ancient Greece, the atom was named after the word atomos, which means:

Answer: That which can't be split

172. In the human body, hydrochloric acid breaks up:

Answer: Proteins

173. The magnitude of electric charge per mole of electrons is denoted by:

Answer: The Faraday constant

174. How many protons does an ozone molecule contain?

Answer: 24 protons

175. Solutions with a pH higher than 7 are called:

Answer: Base solutions

176. Which chemical element is most abundant in the air?

Answer: Nitrogen

177. What is the most abundant element in space?

Answer: Hydrogen

178. Acidic solutions have a pH of less than:

Answer: 7

179. Which quality of a substance does a weighing scale measure?

Answer: The mass

180. What causes a hangover after wine consumption?

Answer: A sulphur compound

181. Salts of nitric acid are called:

Answer: Nitrates

182. When was urea first synthesized?

Answer: 1828

183. What is the chemical symbol for calcium?

Answer: Ca

184. What is the chemical symbol for helium?

Answer: He

185. What is the chemical symbol for potassium?

Answer: K