Sports · Unit 3
The Olympics
The rings, the torch, medals and the Games
The modern Olympics are a nineteenth-century invention that borrowed the name and much of the mythology of an ancient festival held for a thousand years.
The unit covers where the Games began, the rings, flame and motto, summer and winter sports, and the medals.
This unit breaks down into 21 short steps and 120 questions, starting at difficulty 1 and building to 2. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.
- Steps
- 21
- Questions
- 120
- Difficulty
- 1-2
What this unit covers
- Rings, Flame and Motto
- Summer Olympic Sports
- Winter Olympic Sports
- Gold, Silver and Bronze
- Where the Olympics Began
Where this fits
Follows Sports Basics. Connects to History's Ancient Greece.
Where people slip
The ancient and modern Games are separated by about fifteen hundred years. The marathon is a modern invention with an ancient story attached, not an ancient event.
How the unit is structured
The Olympics runs as 21 short steps that unlock in order. 15 are practice rounds and 6 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 1 and climb to 2 as you progress.
Challenge rounds
Example questions
30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 120 in the unit altogether.
Gold, Silver and Bronze
- Build the sentenceLevel 1
1. Build the true sentence about winning the Olympics.
Answer: The winner gets the gold medal
The winner of an event gets the gold medal.
- Choose all that applyLevel 1
2. Which of these are Olympic medals? Pick all that apply.
- Goldcorrect
- Silvercorrect
- Bronzecorrect
- Plastic
Gold, silver, and bronze are the three Olympic medals.
- Fact or fibLevel 1
3. The gold medal is given to the athlete who finishes in first place.
Answer: True
Gold is the top medal and goes to the winner.
- Fill the blankLevel 1
4. A silver medal is given for finishing in ____ place.
- secondcorrect
- first
- third
- last
Silver goes to the athlete who comes in second.
- Match the pairsLevel 1
5. Match each finishing place to the medal it wins.
Answer: First place = Gold; Second place = Silver; Third place = Bronze
First wins gold, second wins silver, and third wins bronze.
- Guess the numberLevel 2
6. How many medals (gold, silver, and bronze) are given for a single Olympic event?
Answer: 3 medals
Three medals are awarded per event: gold, silver, and bronze.
Rings, Flame and Motto
- Build the sentenceLevel 1
7. Build the true sentence about the Olympic flag.
Answer: The Olympic flag shows five colored rings
The Olympic flag shows five colored rings on a white background.
- Fact or fibLevel 1
8. The Olympic flame is lit in Olympia, Greece using the sun's rays.
Answer: True
The flame is lit by focusing sunlight at ancient Olympia.
- Fill the blankLevel 1
9. The Olympic symbol is five interlocking ____.
- ringscorrect
- squares
- stars
- flags
The famous Olympic symbol is five linked rings.
- Guess the numberLevel 1
10. How many rings are on the Olympic flag?
Answer: 5 rings
There are five interlocking rings on the Olympic flag.
- Match the pairsLevel 1
11. Match each Olympic symbol to what it does.
Answer: The five rings = Stand for the continents; The Olympic flame = Lit in Olympia; The torch relay = Carries the flame
The rings stand for the continents, the flame is lit in Olympia, and the relay carries the flame.
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
12. Which of these is one of the five Olympic ring colors?
- Greencorrect
- Pink
- Brown
- Gray
The five Olympic rings are blue, yellow, black, green, and red.
Summer Olympic Sports
- Choose all that applyLevel 1
13. Which of these are Summer Olympic sports? Pick all that apply.
- Swimmingcorrect
- Gymnasticscorrect
- Bobsled
- Curling
Swimming and gymnastics are Summer sports, while bobsled and curling are Winter sports.
- Fact or fibLevel 1
14. The 100 meter sprint is one of the fastest races at the Summer Olympics.
Answer: True
The 100 meter sprint crowns the fastest runner at the Games.
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
15. Which of these is a Summer Olympic sport?
- Swimmingcorrect
- Ice hockey
- Bobsled
- Figure skating
Swimming is one of the biggest sports at the Summer Olympics.
- Build the sentenceLevel 2
16. Build the true sentence about basketball at the Games.
Answer: Basketball is played at the Summer Olympics
Basketball is played at the Summer Olympics.
- Fill the blankLevel 2
17. In gymnastics, athletes perform tricks on the balance ____.
- beamcorrect
- ball
- net
- court
The balance beam is a narrow bar gymnasts perform on.
- Match the pairsLevel 2
18. Match each Summer Olympic host city to its year.
Answer: Tokyo = 2020; Paris = 2024; Los Angeles = 2028
Tokyo hosted in 2020, Paris in 2024, and Los Angeles will host in 2028.
Where the Olympics Began
- Build the sentenceLevel 1
19. Build the true sentence about where the Olympics started.
Answer: The Olympics began in ancient Greece
The Olympic Games began in ancient Greece.
- Fill the blankLevel 1
20. The Olympic Games are held once every ____ years.
- fourcorrect
- two
- ten
- one
The Olympics come around every four years.
- Guess the numberLevel 1
21. The Summer Olympics are held once every how many years?
Answer: 4 years
The Summer Olympics come around every four years.
- Choose all that applyLevel 2
22. Which of these are true about the ancient Olympics? Pick all that apply.
- They were held in Greececorrect
- They were held every four yearscorrect
- They were held in America
- Winners got cars
The ancient Games were held in Greece every four years.
- Fact or fibLevel 2
23. In the ancient Olympics, only men were allowed to take part.
Answer: True
In ancient Greece only men competed, but today everyone can take part.
- Match the pairsLevel 2
24. Match each Olympic fact to the right answer.
Answer: Ancient Olympics = Olympia, Greece; First modern Olympics = Athens, 1896; Olympic founder = Pierre de Coubertin
The ancient Games were at Olympia, the first modern Games were in Athens in 1896, and Pierre de Coubertin was the founder.
Winter Olympic Sports
- Build the sentenceLevel 1
25. Build the true sentence about the Winter Olympics.
Answer: The Winter Olympics are held on snow and ice
The Winter Olympics are held on snow and ice.
- Choose all that applyLevel 1
26. Which of these are Winter Olympic sports? Pick all that apply.
- Snowboardingcorrect
- Figure skatingcorrect
- Beach volleyball
- Marathon
Snowboarding and figure skating are Winter sports, while beach volleyball and the marathon are Summer sports.
- Fact or fibLevel 1
27. Ice hockey is a Summer Olympic sport.
Answer: False
Ice hockey is played on ice, so it is a Winter Olympic sport.
- Fill the blankLevel 1
28. Skiing and snowboarding are ____ Olympic sports.
- Wintercorrect
- Summer
- Spring
- Autumn
Skiing and snowboarding happen on snow at the Winter Games.
- Multiple choiceLevel 1
29. Which of these is a Winter Olympic sport?
- Skiingcorrect
- Beach volleyball
- Surfing
- Tennis
Skiing is raced on snow at the Winter Olympics.
- Match the pairsLevel 2
30. Match each Winter Olympic sport to the gear it uses.
Answer: Ice hockey = Puck; Skiing = Ski poles; Curling = Stone
Hockey uses a puck, skiing uses ski poles, and curling uses a stone.
Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.
How you practise
This unit mixes 14 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.
- Build the sentence
- Choose all that apply
- Fact or fib
- Fill the blank
- Guess the number
- Match the pairs
- Multiple choice
- Odd one out
- Picture question
- Put in order
- Sort into groups
- Spell it
- True or false
- Type the answer
Practise The Olympics
120 questions across 21 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.
Play this unitRead about The Olympics
Explainers from our blog on what this unit covers. Each one ends with real questions from the bank.
- How the Ancient Olympic Games WorkedThe ancient Olympic Games were a religious festival and athletic competition held at Olympia. Their events, rules and participants differed greatly from the modern international Olympics.August 5, 2026 · 5 min read
- Why Is a Marathon 26.2 Miles? A Legend, a Royal Box and a CommitteeThe odd distance comes from a Greek legend, a 1908 London course laid out for the royal family, and a 1921 decision to make it standard.September 14, 2026 · 4 min read
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