TeachersFirst's Middle School Brain Twisters

Week of September 13, 2026

1.Evidence of human life in Guatemala dates back to 12,000 BC. Today, about half of this country's residents are descendants of what ancient civilization?

• Aztec
• Inca
• Mayan
• Mesopotamian
• Indus Valley

2.Which is not a part of the U.S. government?

• ISIS
• CDC
• IRS
• USAF
• ICE

3.In Peter's pumpkin patch, the ratio of pumpkin seeds to pumpkin weight is approximately 76 per ounce. If Peter's entire patch of pumpkins weighs 104 pounds, about how many pumpkin seeds does he have?

• about 14 pounds
• about enough for 100 per member of Congress
• about one per resident of Washington DC.
• about an eighth of a million
• about ten gross

4.Benny played in his first baseball playoff game. He batted 2 for 6. What was Benny's batting average?

• .300
• .333
• .500
• .600
• .003

5.The island of Alcatraz sits in the middle of the bay named for this major California city.

• Santa Barbara
• Montego
• San Diego
• Los Angeles
• San Francisco

6.Which word is similar in meaning to "superfluous."

• equitable
• extraneous
• epicenter
• epitome
• effervescent

7.Which has the least cholesterol?

• peanut butter
• eggs
• steak
• shrimp
• chicken

8.If a train leaves the station at 2:00, traveling at 60 mph, what time will it be after it has gone 150 miles?

• 4:45
• 3:30
• 5:30
• 4:30
• 4:15

9.Which pair is incorrect?

• Himalayas-Tibet
• Pyrenees-China
• Alps-Switzerland
• Andes-Peru
• Rockies-Canada

10.We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, and among these rights are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
How many adjectives are in this passage?

• 3
• 6
• 5
• 4
• 8

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