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No Comments [ Add Comment ]Are fifth-graders getting smarter, or what?
By BECKY CAIRNSNever underestimate the power of a smart kid.
She may be just 10, but she knows her state capitals backward and forward -- all 50 of them. He's only 11, but boy, can he ace a story problem.
Sure, they're only fifth-graders, but their brain power is the star of the "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?" TV game show, which lets grown-ups test their smarts against the knowledge of kids in a quest to win $1 million.
With school back in swing, we're guessing our own Utah fifth-graders have some bragging rights, too. So today, we're putting them to the test. Students from three elementary school classes share their best questions to test you, our readers.
Try your luck to see if you make it to the head of the class -- if YOU are smarter than a fifth-grader.
Music
1. How many sharps or flats are there in the key of C?
2. Which section of the orchestra contains the trumpet?
a) woodwind
b) brass
c) string
d) percussion
3. Which symphony did Beethoven conduct when he was totally deaf?
Social studies
4. Name the two countries in South America that don't touch the ocean.
5. How many state capitals are there with more than one word in the name?
a) 9
b) 7
c) 2
d) none
6. Which state was George Washington buried in?
7. The Incas used a rope with knots in it to ...
a) climb
b) count
c) catch birds
d) catch fish
8. What is the capital of South Dakota?
English
9. What is the Latin word for "Divine Flower of Rome?"
10. What kind of sentence is this: What is your name?
a) exclamatory
b) declarative
c) interrogative
d) imperative
11. Where do Seth and Kendra's grandparents live in the book "Fablehaven?"
a) Colorado
b) Indiana
c) Oregon
d) Ohio
Math
12. How many sides does a hexagon have?
13. Add 1/3 + 2/5
14. What is a shorter way to write 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 using exponents?
15. George had 556 cards. Kevin had 349 cards. How many more cards did George have than Kevin?
16. Solve (27-2) - (20 ÷ 5) 2 using the order of operations.
a) 23
b) 20
c) 21
d) 9
Science
17. Where is c electricity found in nature?
a) lightning
b) thunder
c) electric eels
d) trees
18. How many eyes does a bee have?
19. Which will make a snow shovel rust faster?
a) ice
b) water
c) oxygen mixed with moist air
d) sitting in a garage
20. If you shred paper, then burn it, what change would it go through?
a) physical
b) chemical
c) liquid
d) none
Art
21. What does it mean to have balance in a piece of art?
a) symmetry within artwork
b) asymmetry within artwork
c) radial balance in artwork
d) all of the above
Questions supplied by fifth-graders in the classes of Ashley Iseman, Bluff Ridge Elementary, Syracuse; Marci Hancock, Mountain View Elementary, Brigham City; Ryan Woodward, Wasatch Elementary, Ogden.
QUIZ ANSWERS
1. None
2. b
3. Ninth Symphony
4. Paraguay and Bolivia
5. a
6. Virginia
7. b
8. Pierre
9. Dianthus
10. c
11. b
12. 6
13. 11/15
14. 2 5
15. 207
16. d
17. a
18. 5
19. c
20. b
21. d
Scoring:
19-21: Congratulations! See you on the TV game show.
16-18: Go to the head of the class.
12-15: A gold star for you but keep up the studying.
0-11: Better sharpen that pencil.
BONUS QUESTIONS
Chalk up some bonus points with these questions from our fifth-grade teachers.
1. What does the word "omniscient" mean?
2. What is an improper fraction?
a) any fraction
b) a fraction with a larger denominator
c) a fraction with a larger numerator
d) a fraction with a whole number
3. What is Beringia?
4. How many characters' feelings and thoughts do we know with third-person limited point of view?
Answers:
1. Answer: all-knowing. It is Latin (omis "all" + scientia "knowledge")
2. c
3. A land bridge that was uncovered between Siberia and Alaska during the last Ice Age because of glacial freezing.
4. One.
Sources: Ashley Iseman, Bluff Ridge Elementary, Syracuse; Marci Hancock, Mountain View Elementary, Brigham City; Ryan Woodward, Wasatch Elementary, Ogden
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