QUIZ: Are you smarter than an average American?

QUIZ: Are you smarter than an average American?

QUIZ: Are you smarter than an average American?

Home to NASA, birthplace of William 'call me Bill' Gates, the accent Steven Hawking speaks with.

There's no doubting America's place when it comes to all things brainiac-related. They've a habit for producing the very brightest, but unfortunately the side was let down a bit recently when 3,000 average Americans were quizzed on basic science by Pew Research Centre, with only six per cent managing to get all 12 questions correct.

So, naturally, we've compiled the exact same quiz below, allowing you to compare yourself against those thousands of men and women from the land of the free who clearly weren't paying enough attention back in school.

Word to the wise: there aren't any trick questions so if an answer looks decidedly easy then it probably is. But score any lower than six and you'll have to see us after class.

Let us know how you get on below.

Visit Pewresearch.org for more information

Marc Chacksfield
Content Director

As Content Director of Shortlist, Marc likes nothing more than to compile endless lists of an evening by candlelight. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.