Family Feud for Middle School Science: 50 Survey Questions Aligned to NGSS Units

Middle school science teachers know the pain of unit review day. The textbook chapter is closed, the test is Friday, and a worksheet is the fastest way to lose the room. Family Feud is a near-perfect replacement — students are competing instead of zoning out, and you're getting real-time formative data on what stuck.

This guide gives you 50 survey-style science questions organized by NGSS strand (Life Science, Earth & Space Science, Physical Science), three timing variants you can drop into a lesson tomorrow, and a short rubric for the rare times you want to grade it.

Why Family Feud Works for Science Review

Traditional review games (Jeopardy, flashcards) test recall of single facts. Family Feud rewards breadth of thinking — students have to brainstorm multiple plausible answers, which mirrors how scientists actually generate hypotheses.

It also handles mixed-ability classrooms well. A struggling student can contribute the obvious answer ("the sun") while an advanced student goes for the deep-cut ranked answer ("nuclear fusion in the core"). Both score points. Both feel useful.

Ready to build your own science board? Open the Family Feud game maker and you can have a 5-question game live in under ten minutes.

50 Middle School Science Family Feud Questions

Life Science (NGSS MS-LS)

1. Name something all living things need to survive.

Answers: Water, Air/oxygen, Food/energy, Shelter, Sunlight, A suitable temperature

2. Name a part of a plant cell that an animal cell does not have.

Answers: Cell wall, Chloroplast, Large vacuole, Plastids

3. Name an organ in the human digestive system.

Answers: Stomach, Small intestine, Large intestine, Liver, Esophagus, Pancreas, Mouth

4. Name a way an animal can be adapted to a cold climate.

Answers: Thick fur, Blubber/fat, White coloring, Hibernation, Small ears, Migration

5. Name something passed from parents to offspring through DNA.

Answers: Eye color, Hair color, Height, Blood type, Skin color, Disease risk

6. Name a level of the biological classification system.

Answers: Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species

7. Name something that decomposers do for an ecosystem.

Answers: Break down dead matter, Return nutrients to soil, Recycle carbon, Eat waste, Make compost

8. Name a way the human body fights off germs.

Answers: White blood cells, Skin, Mucus, Stomach acid, Fever, Sneezing, Antibodies

Earth & Space Science (NGSS MS-ESS)

9. Name a planet in our solar system.

Answers: Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Mercury, Uranus, Neptune

10. Name something that causes weather to change.

Answers: Air pressure, Temperature, Wind, Humidity, Ocean currents, The jet stream

11. Name a layer of the Earth.

Answers: Crust, Mantle, Outer core, Inner core

12. Name a renewable energy source.

Answers: Solar, Wind, Hydro, Geothermal, Biomass, Tidal

13. Name something you'd find in the rock cycle.

Answers: Igneous rock, Sedimentary rock, Metamorphic rock, Magma, Weathering, Erosion

14. Name a greenhouse gas.

Answers: Carbon dioxide, Methane, Water vapor, Nitrous oxide, Ozone

15. Name something that causes erosion.

Answers: Water, Wind, Ice/glaciers, Gravity, Waves, Human activity

16. Name a phase of the moon.

Answers: New, Full, First quarter, Last quarter, Waxing crescent, Waning crescent, Waxing gibbous, Waning gibbous

Physical Science (NGSS MS-PS)

17. Name a state of matter.

Answers: Solid, Liquid, Gas, Plasma

18. Name a simple machine.

Answers: Lever, Pulley, Wheel and axle, Inclined plane, Wedge, Screw

19. Name a type of energy.

Answers: Kinetic, Potential, Thermal, Chemical, Electrical, Nuclear, Sound, Light

20. Name an element on the periodic table that everyone has heard of.

Answers: Oxygen, Hydrogen, Gold, Iron, Carbon, Helium, Nitrogen, Silver

21. Name a force.

Answers: Gravity, Friction, Magnetism, Tension, Normal force, Applied force, Air resistance

22. Name something that conducts electricity well.

Answers: Copper, Silver, Gold, Aluminum, Water, Steel, Iron

23. Name a part of a wave.

Answers: Crest, Trough, Wavelength, Amplitude, Frequency

24. Name a tool used to measure something in science.

Answers: Ruler, Scale/balance, Thermometer, Graduated cylinder, Microscope, Beaker, Stopwatch

Plus 26 more in your downloadable bank below. You can also pull questions directly from our middle school question library and remix them.

Three Lesson Plans That Drop In Tomorrow

The 5-Minute Bell-Ringer

Pick one question. Project it. Students shout answers; you mark them on the board. Whoever has the #1 answer wins a sticker. Use it as a hook before introducing the day's concept.

The 15-Minute Exit Ticket

Three questions, one team per row. After each reveal, students write why the top answer ranked first. You walk out with a pile of one-sentence explanations — instant formative data.

The 30-Minute Full Review

Five questions, two teams, full strikes-and-steal rules. Use this the day before a unit test. Students who haven't studied will fake it for a round and then realize they need to crack the book open tonight. That realization is the whole point.

Differentiation Tips

• ELL students: Provide a word bank of possible answers for the first round, then remove it.
• Advanced students: Make them justify each answer with a one-sentence "why this ranked here."
• Students with IEPs: Pair them with a partner; the team submits one answer per turn.
• Quiet classrooms: Use our online buzz-in tool so introverts can submit on their phones without shouting.

A Quick Grading Rubric (If You Must)

Most teachers don't grade Feud. Use this only if your admin requires a score for every classroom activity.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Do I need to follow Family Feud's exact "survey says" rules?

A: No. Most science teachers cut the steal mechanic to save time and just play "first team to get the top answer wins the round."

Q: Can I use this in a 1:1 device classroom?

A: Yes — students can buzz in on their Chromebooks via the online host tool.

Q: How do I get the "survey" answers if I'm making my own questions?

A: Either survey your class the day before (great pre-assessment) or rank answers by how often they appeared in last year's unit test responses.

Q: Is this NGSS-aligned?

A: The questions map to MS-LS, MS-ESS, and MS-PS performance expectations. They're review-grade, not assessment-grade.

Ready to Build Your Science Board?

You don't need to print, cut, or laminate anything. Open the Family Feud game maker, paste your questions, and you're live. The first game is free.