Riddles for kids are great to keep your children constantly solving problems and thinking outside the box. The riddles below range from science to history, from kids’ games to popular culture.
One of the best ways to stay alert and exercise our brain is by resolving riddles. It does not matter if you are a child or an adult. Here are 25 clever riddles for adults and kids who love science.
“What can promote innocent mirth, and I may say virtue, more than a good riddle?” — George Eliot
There is a mixture of harder and easier riddles so both kids and adults can play around with them. The one thing that most of these clever science riddles have in common, is that you will need a sense of humor to answer them.
Most of these riddles are about the hard sciences, but I have also included some easier and more humorous riddles about animals. Each of the riddles, be it about hard sciences or animals comes with an answer.
The riddles come in the form of questions and are immediately followed by the answer. The most complex answers come with an explanation. When the answer involves wordplay, you might need to read it out loud to get what it means or, rather, why it is the answer to the particular riddle.
Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood. All is riddle, and the key to a riddle is another riddle. Ralph Waldo Emerson
So, while most of the riddles are designed to test out your knowledge on science (chemistry, physics, geography, biology, zoology, etc.), others are more geared toward checking out whether you can pay attention to the riddle itself and use your focus and imagination to figure out the answer.
The best way to approach these riddles is to first check out your science knowledge and see if you can answer the riddle in question based on your knowledge of science. But if you are not able to answer the riddle based solely on your knowledge of science, then listen (or read) the riddle again and look if you notice any clues in the question itself. Then see if you can work out an answer. It is always a good idea to use your humor when answering when you notice that the riddle may not be a straight-up science question.
How Is Your Knowledge of Cosmology, Physics, and Chemistry?
The next few riddles are all about cosmology, physics, and chemistry. They are great for testing out your knowledge of hard sciences. But that does not mean that you do not need a least some sense of humor to work out some of the answers.
Also, the level of scientific knowledge is not too high so kids can play along as much as adults. So, have fun!
Riddle: What are the three R’s that keep our planet clean?
Answer: The three R’s are reduce, reuse and recycle.
Riddle: When chemical element gets its name from a Norse mythology god?
Answer: Thorium, named after the god Thor.
Riddle: What did scientists say when they found 2 isotopes of Helium?
Answer: They said “HeHe”.
Riddle: What planet in our galaxy has the shortest year of them all?
Answer: Mercury because it is closest to the Sun.
Riddle: Many people have heard this, but nobody has ever seen it. It will never speak back until you speak to it. What is it?
Answer: An echo.
Riddle: What is this? When the child of water goes to back to its parent, it dies…
Answer: Ice.
Riddle: If you eat a lot of iron, you might get sick. What is what can eat a lot of iron without ever getting sick?
Answer: Rust.
Riddle: It is black when you purchase it but becomes red when you use it, and then gray when you dispose of it. What is it?
Answer: Coal.
Riddle: What did the furious electron say when it got repelled?
Answer: The electron said: “let me atom.”
Riddle: Do you know what is heavier: a pound of feathers or a pound of bricks?
Answer: They both weigh exactly one pound, so they are both just as heavy.
Riddle: Did you hear the one about the scientist who was reading a book about Helium?
Answer: Yes, he could not put it down!
Riddle: What do you do with a dead chemist’s corpse?
Answer: You just Barium.
Riddle: This element is a girl’s future best friend. What is it?
Answer: Carbon (as per the song, “diamonds are a girl’s best friend.” And carbon eventually becomes diamonds).
Riddle: What is the “center” of gravity?
Answer: The letter “v”: gra-v-ity.
Riddle: It is both a planet, a god, and a measuring unit for heat. What is it?
Answer: Mercury: the planet closest to the Sun, the Roman god of war, and a measurement of temperature.
How About Some Clever Riddles About Animals?
What follows is a list of science riddles specifically about animals. These are particularly recommended for children of all ages although many adults could also be challenged, in the best possible way by some of these riddles.
Having a good sense of humor and a vivid imagination would probably take you far if you want to work out the answers to all these animal-related riddles.
Riddle: What would you call a bird in winter?
Answer: Brrrrd.
Riddle: What would you call a grumpy cow?
Answer: You would call it “moody.”
Riddle: Probably, not a good idea to play cards with this animal. What is it?
Answer: A cheetah.
Riddle: What color socks do you think bears wear?
Answer: Bears do not wear any socks because they have “bear” (bare) feet!
Riddle: If dogs have fleas, what do sheep have?
Answer: Sheep have fleece.
Riddle: Why do you see frogs look so happy?
Answer: Because they eat every that bugs them.
Riddle: What kind of eggs do evil chickens lay?
Answer: They lay deviled eggs.
Riddle: Why are people so sure that carrots are good for your eyesight?
Answer: Well, have you ever seen a rabbit who wears eyeglasses?
Riddle: How does a dog stop a YouTube video?
Answer: It would press the paws (pause) button.
Riddle: What is the favorite number of the T. Rex?
Answer: The number eight.
These have been our 25 clever riddles for adults and kids who are into science. If you want to share any of your own, please leave us a message in the comments section below!
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It is so funny