TL;DR. Eighty true-or-false questions across general knowledge, science, history, geography, and pop culture — every answer explained. Plus a short guide to writing TF questions that test understanding rather than 50/50 guessing.
True-or-false (TF) is the most over-used quiz format. It's fast to write and fast to grade, but a single TF question has a 50% chance of being right by random guess — so a 10-question TF quiz tells you very little about what someone knows. Used carefully, though, TF works well as a warm-up or as part of a mixed-format quiz.
How to write good TF questions
Three rules:
**No partial truths.** “Abraham Lincoln was the 16th president and freed all slaves on January 1, 1863” — this is half true (he was the 16th, the Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in Confederate states only). Don't write compound statements.**No words that telegraph the answer.** “Always”, “never”, “all” tend to be false; “some”, “sometimes” tend to be true. Skilled test-takers learn this. Mix it up or avoid these words.**Test conceptual understanding, not memory of phrasing.** A TF question that depends on exact wording from the textbook tests memory of phrasing, not understanding.General knowledge (20)
The Great Wall of China is visible from space with the naked eye. **False.**The capital of Australia is Sydney. **False.** (Canberra.)Bats are blind. **False.**Goldfish have a memory of only three seconds. **False.**Sharks must keep swimming to breathe. **Partially true** — about half of species.There are seven continents. **True.**Mount Everest is the tallest mountain above sea level. **True.**The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean. **True.**A group of crows is called a murder. **True.**Humans share roughly 50% of their DNA with bananas. **True.**The Eiffel Tower was originally meant to be torn down. **True.**Antarctica is technically a desert. **True** (by precipitation).The Nile is the longest river. **Disputed** (often debated against the Amazon).Vatican City is the smallest country in the world. **True.**Penguins can fly. **False.**Bananas are botanically berries. **True.**Dolphins sleep with one eye open. **True.**Lightning never strikes the same place twice. **False.**The Sun is yellow. **False** (it emits white light).A jiffy is a real unit of time. **True.**Science (20)
Water boils at 100°C at sea level. **True.**Diamonds are made of carbon. **True.**Light travels faster than sound. **True.**The adult human body has 206 bones. **True.**Sound travels faster in air than in water. **False.**The chemical symbol for gold is Au. **True.**Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun. **True.**The Earth's orbit takes exactly 365 days. **False** (~365.25).Antibiotics kill viruses. **False.**Humans have exactly five senses. **False** (more in modern neuroscience).Glass is a slow-flowing liquid at room temperature. **False.**The deepest part of the ocean is the Mariana Trench. **True.**Pluto is officially a planet. **False** (since 2006).Plants produce oxygen via photosynthesis. **True.**DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic Acid. **True.**The Sun is a planet. **False.**Black holes can be observed directly with light. **False** (only by their effects).The Hubble Space Telescope orbits the Earth. **True.**Mosquitoes kill more humans per year than any other animal. **True** (via disease).The Earth has one natural permanent moon. **True.**History (15)
The Western Roman Empire fell in 476 AD. **True.**The Berlin Wall fell in 1989. **True.**Columbus was the first to reach the Americas. **False** (Norse explorers and indigenous peoples earlier).World War I started in 1914. **True.**World War II ended in 1945. **True.**Napoleon was born in mainland France. **False** (Corsica).The pyramids of Giza were built by enslaved peoples. **False** (evidence: paid skilled labour).Cleopatra was of Egyptian ethnic descent. **False** (Macedonian Greek).The American Civil War ended in 1865. **True.**George Washington was the first US president. **True.**The Magna Carta was signed in 1215. **True.**The Eiffel Tower predates the Statue of Liberty. **False** (Liberty 1886; Eiffel 1889).Hitler was Austrian by birth. **True.**The Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. **True.**The ancient Olympics were held every four years. **True.**Geography (15)
Russia spans 11 time zones. **True.**Africa is a country. **False** (continent with 54 countries).The Amazon rainforest is in South America. **True.**The capital of Canada is Toronto. **False** (Ottawa).Greenland is part of Denmark. **True** (autonomous).The Equator passes through Brazil. **True.**Antarctica is the coldest continent. **True.**The Mediterranean Sea connects to the Atlantic Ocean. **True** (via Gibraltar).The Vatican has its own postal system. **True.**Iceland has no standing army. **True.**The capital of the United States is New York. **False** (D.C.).The Nile flows north. **True.**The Dead Sea is the lowest land elevation on Earth. **True.**The Sahara is in South America. **False** (North Africa).Mount Kilimanjaro is in Kenya. **False** (Tanzania).Pop culture (10)
Walt Disney's first studio character was Mickey Mouse. **False** (Oswald the Lucky Rabbit predated him).The Beatles formed in Liverpool. **True.**Adele is British. **True.***The Wizard of Oz* film predates *Gone with the Wind*. **False** (same year, 1939).*Casablanca* features the line “Play it again, Sam.” **False** (misquoted; the line is “Play it, Sam.”).Shakespeare wrote 38 plays. **True (approximately).**The Mona Lisa is in the Louvre. **True.**The first James Bond film was *Dr. No*. **True.***The Avengers* comic series predates the MCU. **True.**Harry Potter's middle name is “James.” **True.**Tips for using TF in your quiz
Use TF as warm-up, not the whole quiz.Pair each answer with a 1-sentence explanation so the quiz teaches as it tests.Avoid trivia traps that hinge on an obscure technicality.To generate TF questions on a specific topic, paste your content into the AI quiz generator and choose “True/False.”
[How to Write Good Quiz Questions](/blog/how-to-write-good-quiz-questions)[Quiz Question Types Explained](/blog/quiz-question-types-explained)[Multiple Choice vs Open-Ended](/blog/multiple-choice-vs-open-ended)[Fill in the Blank Question Examples](/blog/fill-in-the-blank-question-examples)Build a TF quiz on any topic →
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