Q 01/05

When does a new state's flag star appear?

A) July 4

B) Admission day

C) January 1

D) Flag Day

Answer · why

A) July 4

July 4; admission alone doesn't change the flag, so a state admitted just after the holiday waits nearly a year for its star.

Q 02/05

Which city was the US capital when George Washington was first sworn in?

A) New York

B) Annapolis

C) Boston

D) Baltimore

Answer · why

A) New York

New York; Federal Hall there also housed the first Congress, until a 1790 law moved the capital to Philadelphia while a permanent one rose on the Poto...

Q 03/05

Which river is the longest in the United States?

A) Rio Grande

B) Ohio

C) Colorado

D) Missouri

Answer · why

D) Missouri

Missouri; it runs from Montana's Rocky Mountains to the Mississippi just north of St. Louis, so the famous Mississippi is shorter than its own tributa...

Q 04/05

What is the largest state in the US by area?

A) Alaska

B) California

C) Texas

D) Montana

Answer · why

A) Alaska

Alaska; the United States bought it from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million, and a gold strike in the Yukon in 1896 soon transformed the region's fortune...

Q 05/05

Which phrase did Congress adopt as the official US national motto in 1956, later printed on paper currency?

A) Liberty and Union

B) Annuit coeptis

C) Novus ordo seclorum

D) In God We Trust

Answer · why

D) In God We Trust

In God We Trust; until 1956 the country had no official motto, though E pluribus unum had served informally since it went on the Great Seal in 1782.