QUESTION 1 / 20 · CONTINENTS & OCEANSEasy
Which is the largest ocean?
ROUND 1 OF 8 · 0 RIGHT SO FAR
Which is bigger? The map lies.
The Mercator projection inflates places far from the equator. Pick the one with the larger land area, then see the real sizes side by side.
What this world geography quiz covers, in short
Twenty multiple-choice questions on physical and political geography, four in each of five themes: continents and oceans, rivers and mountains, countries, cities, and the planet's extremes.
Some "facts" depend on definitions, like how many continents there are or whether the Nile or the Amazon is longer. Where that's the case, the explanation says so. Areas in the game are rounded totals including inland water.
By What's Your IQ · Reviewed 4 Oct 2026- Format
- 20 multiple-choice questions, 4 options each
- Themes
- Continents and oceans, rivers and mountains, countries, cities, extremes
- Bonus
- 8-round "bigger or smaller?" area game
- Next step
- Capitals, then physical geography
Your country, centre stagehow we draw the world from memoryAsked to sketch a world map, students in dozens of countries tended to put their own region in the middle and draw it too big.1
1569Mercator's map. Gerardus Mercator drew a projection that kept compass bearings straight for sailors, at the cost of hugely enlarging the far north and south.2
1973The Gall–Peters debate. Arno Peters promoted an equal-area map showing Africa's true size, sparking a long argument among cartographers about which map schools should use.2
1988Sketch maps. Thomas Saarinen collected thousands of hand-drawn world maps from students in 49 countries, revealing how mental maps centre on home.1
2006Map literacy. A National Geographic–Roper survey found most young American adults couldn't locate Iraq on a map, despite years of news coverage.3
- Saarinen, T. F. (1988). Centering of mental maps of the world. National Geographic Research, 4(1), 112–127.
- Monmonier, M. (2004). Rhumb lines and map wars: A social history of the Mercator projection. University of Chicago Press.
- National Geographic Education Foundation & GfK Roper. (2006). Final report: 2006 Geographic Literacy Study.