1. How many nations make up the United Kingdom?
Four
The United Kingdom is made up of four nations: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
2. What is the capital city of England?
London
London is the capital of both England and the whole United Kingdom.
3. What is the capital city of Scotland?
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is Scotland's capital, though Glasgow is Scotland's biggest city.
4. What is the capital city of Wales?
Cardiff
Cardiff, on the south coast of Wales, has been the Welsh capital since 1955.
5. What is the capital city of Northern Ireland?
Belfast
Belfast, on the east coast, is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland.
6. Which is the longest river in the United Kingdom?
Severn
The River Severn, which flows through Wales and England, is the UK's longest river, just ahead of the Thames.
7. Which river flows through London?
Thames
The Thames flows through the middle of London on its way to the North Sea.
8. Which mountain is the highest in the United Kingdom?
Ben Nevis
Ben Nevis in Scotland is the highest mountain in the UK, standing 1,345 metres tall.
9. Which sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland?
Irish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the island of Great Britain from the island of Ireland.
10. Which narrow stretch of water separates England from France?
English Channel
The English Channel is the narrow sea between southern England and northern France.
11. Which of these is a historic county in the south west of England, known for cream teas and a rugged coastline?
Cornwall
Cornwall is England's most south westerly county, with a long coastline and its own Celtic history.
12. Which English county is known as 'the Garden of England' because of its orchards and hop fields?
Kent
Kent, in the south east, has long been called the Garden of England for its fruit orchards and hop farms.
13. Which city grew rich as a port on the River Mersey and was once a major departure point for ships crossing the Atlantic?
Liverpool
Liverpool sits on the River Mersey and was once one of the world's busiest ports for transatlantic voyages.
14. Which city, in the north east of England, takes its name from the river it sits beside?
Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne is named after the River Tyne, which runs through it.
15. Which people built long, straight roads across Britain and founded the settlement that became London?
Romans
The Romans occupied much of Britain from AD 43, building roads, walls and towns including Londinium.
16. In 1066, which battle saw William of Normandy defeat King Harold and become King of England?
Battle of Hastings
William, Duke of Normandy, defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, beginning Norman rule of England.
17. Which document, signed by King John in 1215, said that even the king had to obey the law?
Magna Carta
Magna Carta, meaning 'Great Charter' in Latin, was signed in 1215 and is seen as an early step towards the rule of law.
18. Which Tudor king had six wives and broke from the Catholic Church to found the Church of England?
Henry VIII
Henry VIII married six times and split from Rome in the 1530s, becoming head of the new Church of England.
19. Which Tudor queen ruled England for 45 years and gave her name to an era of exploration and theatre?
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I reigned from 1558 to 1603, a period known as the Elizabethan age, famous for explorers and playwrights like Shakespeare.
20. The Domesday Book, an enormous survey of land and property in England, was ordered by which king?
William the Conqueror
William the Conqueror ordered the Domesday Book in 1086 to record who owned what land across England.
21. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain in the 1700s, saw a huge shift towards making goods how?
By machine in factories
New machines and factories, often powered by steam, changed how goods were made and where people worked.
22. Which fuel powered the steam engines that drove Britain's Industrial Revolution?
Coal
Coal, mined in huge quantities, fuelled the steam engines that powered Britain's factories, trains and ships.
23. The First World War began in 1914. In which year did it end?
1918
The First World War ran from 1914 to 1918, ending with an armistice on 11 November.
24. During the Second World War, thousands of British children were sent from cities to the countryside for safety. What was this called?
Evacuation
Evacuation moved children out of cities that were likely to be bombed and into safer homes in the countryside.
25. The Battle of Britain in 1940 was fought mainly by which part of the armed forces?
The Royal Air Force
RAF pilots fought off German bombers and fighters in the skies over southern England in 1940.
26. Which Roman structure, built across the north of England, marked the edge of the Roman Empire?
Hadrian's Wall
Hadrian's Wall was built by the Romans in the AD 120s to mark and defend the northern edge of their province of Britannia.
27. During and after the Second World War, what did British families need to buy scarce foods like sugar, meat and butter?
Ration books
Ration books gave each person a fair share of scarce food and other goods during and after the war.
28. In 2022, after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, who became King?
Charles III
Charles III became King in September 2022, after his mother Elizabeth II had reigned for 70 years.
29. Which 1381 uprising saw peasants march on London to protest against an unfair tax?
The Peasants' Revolt
The Peasants' Revolt of 1381 was led by Wat Tyler and was one of the biggest uprisings in medieval English history.
30. The Glorious Revolution of 1688 replaced King James II with which joint monarchs?
William and Mary
In 1688, Parliament invited William of Orange and his wife Mary to become joint monarchs instead of James II, strengthening Parliament's power.
31. What is the name of the UK Parliament's elected house?
House of Commons
The House of Commons is made up of MPs elected by voters across the UK.
32. What does MP stand for?
Member of Parliament
MPs are Members of Parliament, each elected to represent one local area, called a constituency.
33. Who usually becomes Prime Minister?
The leader of the party with the most MPs
The Prime Minister is normally the leader of whichever party can command the most support in the House of Commons.
34. What is the name of the UK Parliament's other house, whose members are not elected by the public?
House of Lords
Members of the House of Lords are appointed or, in a few cases, inherit their seat, rather than being elected.
35. At which London address does the Prime Minister live and work?
10 Downing Street
10 Downing Street has been the Prime Minister's official home and office for centuries.
36. At least how often must a general election be held in the UK, by law?
Every 5 years
UK law requires a general election at least every five years, though one can be called earlier.
37. Before a new law can take effect, who must give final approval once both Houses of Parliament agree it?
The monarch, giving royal assent
Once both Houses agree a bill, it becomes law only after the monarch gives royal assent, a formality that has not been refused in centuries.
38. What is the building where the UK Parliament meets commonly called?
The Palace of Westminster
Parliament meets in the Palace of Westminster, beside the River Thames, whose clock tower holds the bell known as Big Ben.
39. Which MP is chosen to keep order in the House of Commons and decide who gets to speak?
The Speaker
The Speaker of the House of Commons runs debates, decides who speaks and stays neutral between parties.
40. What is the name for an MP whose job includes making sure their party's MPs turn up and vote as the party wants?
A whip
Whips organise MPs and try to make sure they turn up and vote with their party.
41. Roald Dahl, who wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Matilda, wrote mostly for which audience?
Children
Roald Dahl was one of Britain's best loved children's authors, known for imaginative and often mischievous stories.
42. William Shakespeare, one of the most famous writers in English, mainly wrote what?
Plays and poems
Shakespeare wrote plays such as Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth, plus many poems called sonnets.
43. In which English town was William Shakespeare born?
Stratford-upon-Avon
Shakespeare was born in Stratford-upon-Avon in 1564, and the town still celebrates his life and work.
44. Charles Dickens often wrote about poverty and hardship during which era of British history?
Victorian
Dickens wrote during the 1800s, the Victorian era, and often described the harsh lives of poor children in cities.
45. In Charles Dickens' story A Christmas Carol, which character is visited by three ghosts?
Ebenezer Scrooge
Scrooge, a miserly old man, is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come, and changes his ways.
46. The theatre where many of Shakespeare's plays were first performed, on the south bank of the River Thames, was called what?
The Globe
The Globe Theatre, built in 1599, staged many of Shakespeare's plays. A replica now stands near the original site in London.
47. In the metric system used across science and most of the world, what is the standard unit of length?
The metre
The metre is the base unit of length in the metric system, used in science and in most countries' everyday measurements.
48. What is the standard SI unit of mass?
The kilogram
The kilogram is the base SI unit of mass, used for everything from a bag of sugar to a person's weight.
49. In the SI system, at what temperature does water freeze, in degrees Celsius?
0
Water freezes at 0 degrees Celsius and boils at 100 degrees Celsius under normal pressure.
50. Even though the UK uses metric units for most things, which units does it still commonly use for road distances and speed?
Miles and miles per hour
The UK measures most things in metric units, but road signs still show distances in miles and speeds in miles per hour.