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50 free Life Skills trivia questions with answers — trivia quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
How hot does chicken need to be? What do you do first with a grease fire? Which cable goes on first when you jump-start a car? This life skills trivia quiz has 50 free questions with answers about the practical things everyone is supposed to pick up somewhere: food safety and cooking basics, first aid, money, credit and tax forms, laundry symbols and ironing, spare tires and circuit breakers, time management and everyday etiquette. It works as a classroom warm-up for teens, a family quiz, or a check on how much adulting you have actually absorbed. The questions are concrete and multiple choice, and the explanations add the detail that makes the fact stick, so it teaches as much as it tests. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia's articles on each topic, which in turn cite bodies such as the USDA, FDA, American Heart Association and IRS, and each question links to the page that establishes it.
30 of 50 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01To what internal temperature does US health guidance say chicken must be cooked?
165 °F (74 °C)
The figure comes from the US Department of Health and Human Services and applies to all poultry, to kill bacteria and parasites.
Q 02What temperature range do food safety agencies call the bacterial 'danger zone'?
40 to 140 °F (4 to 60 °C)
Perishable food left in that range for more than a couple of hours should be thrown out rather than reheated.
Q 03The US FDA says a home refrigerator should be kept at or below what temperature?
40 °F (4 °C)
The freezer should be at 0 °F (-18 °C); the ideal range for perishables is 37 to 41 °F.
Q 04Roughly how long does an egg need to boil for the yolk to fully set?
10 minutes
Soft-boiled eggs come out earlier with the yolk still liquid; hard-boiled ones are the base of egg salad and deviled eggs.
Q 05At sea level, water boils at what temperature?
212 °F (100 °C)
Up a mountain it boils cooler: about 200 °F at 6,250 feet, which is why high-altitude recipes take longer.
Q 06Pasta cooked "al dente" is cooked how?
Firm to the bite
The Italian phrase means "to the tooth"; a short cooking time only became the norm for pasta in the mid-19th century.
Q 07How many teaspoons are in a tablespoon?
Three
That is the traditional definition in most places, so a recipe calling for a tablespoon of salt wants three teaspoons.
Q 08What should you never do to a grease or cooking-oil fire?
Pour water on it
Water scatters the burning oil and spreads the flames; a lid, a damp cloth or baking soda cuts off the oxygen instead.
Q 09What does baking soda do in a cake batter?
Releases carbon dioxide so the mixture rises
It needs an acid such as vinegar, cream of tartar or citric acid to react with; the gas bubbles give cakes and quick breads their texture.
Q 10Which two household chemicals should never be mixed because they react to produce toxic chloramine gases?
Bleach and ammonia
Mixing bleach with acidic cleaners such as limescale removers is just as dangerous, releasing chlorine gas.
Q 11Most of the Americas dial 911 for emergency services. What number does most of Europe use?
112
Britain's 999, introduced in London in 1937, is the world's oldest emergency number; 112 also works from most mobile phones worldwide.
Q 12At what rate should chest compressions be given during CPR on an adult?
100 to 120 per minute
Compressions should also be 2 to 2.4 inches deep; going faster than 120 can actually reduce blood flow back to the heart.
Q 13What is pressing sharply below a choking person's diaphragm from behind called?
The Heimlich maneuver
American doctor Henry Heimlich is usually credited with developing it.
Q 21The classic FICO credit score runs between which two numbers?
300 and 850
Only about 1.2 percent of Americans held a perfect 850 in 2019; the rival VantageScore switched to the same range in 2013.
Q 22What makes compound interest different from simple interest?
It is earned on the principal plus what has already accrued
Simple interest, by contrast, never adds the interest back to the principal, which is why compounding makes debts and savings grow faster.
Q 23The "rule of 72" is a quick way to estimate what?
Q 14How should an unconscious person who is still breathing be placed?
On their side, in the recovery position
Lying on the back can let the airway close or fill with vomit; thousands die each year from airway obstruction when the original cause was survivable.
Q 15What is the right way to stop a nosebleed?
Pinch the soft part of the nose and lean forward
Pressure should be held for at least five minutes; leaning forward stops blood running down the throat.
Q 16An AED, the defibrillator found in airports and gyms, is designed to be used by whom?
Untrained bystanders
Automated external defibrillators talk the user through each step; in the US, Good Samaritan laws protect people who use them.
Q 17Why is carbon monoxide called the "silent killer"?
It is colorless, odorless and tasteless
It is produced by incomplete combustion from furnaces, stoves and engines, which is why homes need CO detectors as well as smoke alarms.
Q 18How long does the World Health Organization say you should wash your hands with soap?
At least 20 seconds
If soap and water are not available, an alcohol-based hand sanitizer is the fallback, as long as hands are not visibly dirty.
Q 19If no soap and water is available, how strong does hand sanitizer need to be to work?
At least 60% alcohol
It only works if hands are not visibly dirty or greasy.
Q 20What does the SPF number on sunscreen measure?
Protection against UVB rays
Franz Greiter introduced the sun protection factor in 1974; his original glacier cream is estimated to have been SPF 2.
How long an investment takes to double
Divide 72 by the annual interest rate: money at 6 percent doubles in about 12 years.
Q 24In the popular 50/30/20 budget, what does the 20 percent go to?
Savings
Fifty percent of net income goes to needs and 30 percent to wants.
Q 25What does APR on a loan or credit card stand for?
Annual percentage rate
It expresses the finance charge as a rate for a whole year rather than a monthly figure, so offers can be compared.
Q 26How does a debit card differ from a credit card?
The money comes straight out of your bank account at purchase
That is why fraud on a debit card can overdraw a checking account immediately, while a credit card is borrowed money billed later.
Q 27Which US tax form does your employer send you by January 31 showing your wages and the tax withheld?
W-2
The W-4 is the one you fill in when hired to tell the employer how much to withhold; the 1040 is the return you file.
Q 28What is the purpose of the W-4 form you fill out when starting a job?
To tell your employer how much federal tax to withhold
The more allowances you claimed on the old form, the less was withheld each paycheck.
Q 29On a check, what is the person or company being paid called?
The payee
The drawer is the person writing the check and the drawee is the bank ordered to pay it.
Q 30When a tenant moves out, what limits a landlord's deductions from the security deposit?
They must be reasonable and follow state and local law
Deposits are one of the biggest sources of landlord-tenant disputes and litigation.