Science (Cards) Against Humanity – a hilarious teaching resource

olivershearman
1 hour ago
9 min read

Every science teacher knows that students remember the weird, the funny and the slightly outrageous far more easily than the driest definition in the textbook. If you can make them laugh while they think about mitosis or momentum, you are halfway to deep learning already.

That is exactly why I like using a Cards Against Humanity–style science game in the classroom. Think of it as Science Against Humanity – a deck of biology, chemistry and physics cards that takes the familiar fill-in-the-blank party game format and turns it into a hilarious, high-engagement review tool for older students.

Students playing Science Against Humanity

In this post, I want to explain:

What Cards Against Humanity is (in a classroom-friendly way)
How my Science (Cards) Against Humanity versions for biology, chemistry and physics work
The difference between the clean set and the spicy set
When and where this kind of game shines – from high school to university and homeschool
Creative ways to use the cards beyond the standard game format
Why a printed and laminated set becomes a long-term investment for science teachers

Grab your metaphorical lab coat and sense of humour.

What is Cards Against Humanity, and why adapt it for science?

Cards Against Humanity is an adult party game where players combine prompt cards with response cards to create the funniest, most outrageous sentence. One player reads a sentence with a blank; the others play cards to fill that blank in the most ridiculous way they can. The winning card is chosen by the reader.

The original game is intentionally inappropriate, full of dark humour and themes that are absolutely not designed for the average classroom. But the game mechanic is brilliant:

It is simple – students understand it in under a minute
It is fast-paced – lots of reading and decision making
It is language-rich – students read, connect ideas and judge meanings
It works incredibly well for reviewing content in a playful way

So the idea behind Science (Cards) Against Humanity is to take that mechanic and rebuild it for science:

Replace adult content with biology, chemistry and physics prompts
Keep the humour, but shift it into nerdy, topical, science jokes
Offer two versions: a classroom-friendly clean set and a spicier, more mature set for older students and uni contexts

The result is a resource that feels like a party game, but secretly pushes students to recall vocabulary, link concepts and talk science.

What is “Science (Cards) Against Humanity”?

Science (Cards) Against Humanity is a printable science card game inspired by Cards Against Humanity but rebuilt from the ground up for teaching.

At its core, it includes:

Black prompt cards – incomplete statements or questions about biology, chemistry or physics
White response cards – words, phrases, examples or punchlines that can complete those prompts in silly or surprisingly insightful ways

You can run:

A biology deck for life science classes
A chemistry deck for chemical reactions, bonding, periodic table, etc.
A physics deck for forces, energy, waves, motion, space and more
Or mix them together into a wild, cross-disciplinary science mash-up

There are clean versions designed to be safe for most high school classrooms and spicy versions with more unhinged, bold humour for mature students in older grades, after-school clubs, or university and adult learning environments.

The goal is not just to make students laugh, but to:

Prompt recall of key concepts
Encourage quick reading and comprehension
Spark discussion and explanation (“Why is this card actually a clever match?”)
Make end-of-unit review feel more like game night than test prep

The biology version – cells, genes and questionable frogs

The biology version focuses on topics you already teach: cells, genetics, evolution, human anatomy, ecology, microbiology and more.

Here are some example clean biology prompts and responses:

Sample clean black cards (prompts)

“This year’s most controversial new GMO crop is engineered to produce ______.”
“Natural selection in action: only the organisms with ______ survive.”
“The real reason the ecosystem collapsed was not climate change, it was ______.”
“Instead of a detention, the school now punishes students with a surprise lesson on ______.”

Sample clean white cards (responses)

“Mosquitoes with a tiny sense of justice”
“A mitochondrion that refuses to be called ‘the powerhouse’ one more time”
“A symbiotic fungus that keeps making bad life choices”
“Photosynthesis, but make it dramatic”

Students end up with combinations like:

“This year’s most controversial new GMO crop is engineered to produce mosquitoes with a tiny sense of justice.”

They laugh, but they also talk about what GMOs are and why mosquitoes matter.

For older students, the spicy biology set pushes the humour a bit further, still keeping it school-appropriate for mature groups but leaning into satire about fad diets, strange lab disasters, and exaggerated anatomy jokes.

You might see prompts like:

“My lab partner lost all credibility when they tried to explain evolution using ______.”
“The ethics committee had serious concerns about the experiment involving ______ and a jar of pickles.”

Paired with answers such as:

“A TikTok conspiracy about immortal jellyfish”
“A frog that has seen too much in 9th grade biology”

Used well, the biology deck becomes a way to review genetics, ecology, cells, body systems and more through in-jokes and references students will actually remember.

The chemistry version – explosions, reactions and suspicious lab snacks

The chemistry deck takes familiar content like periodic trends, bonding, reaction types, acids and bases, equilibrium and lab safety, and gives it a comedic twist.

Science Against Humanity Chemistry Cover

Sample clean chemistry prompts:

“The quickest way to lose marks in the chemistry exam is to confuse molarity with ______.”
“Our new lab safety poster features a cartoon of ______.”
“The real reason the reaction did not work was not the temperature, it was ______.”
“Nothing says ‘romantic date’ like the gentle glow of ______.”

Sample clean chemistry responses:

“A beaker labelled ‘definitely safe to drink’”
“An unbalanced equation crying in the corner”
“Spilling hydrochloric acid on your last clean worksheet”
“A Bunsen burner giving you the side eye”

Fun combinations appear, like:

“Nothing says ‘romantic date’ like the gentle glow of a Bunsen burner giving you the side eye.”

You can sneak in more content-heavy responses too:

“Endothermic reactions that steal your heat and your happiness”
“Avogadro’s number, written on one tiny grain of salt”
“The periodic table, but flipped upside down”

The spicy chemistry set can lean into jokes about caffeine, disastrous lab partners, or questionable “experiments” students imagine they might run at home if they had access to pure sodium. Still science, still recognisable, but with more edge for university labs or older teens.

The physics version – forces, space and chaotic motion

Physics is full of wonderfully strange ideas already, so the physics deck is often the biggest hit. Topics include motion, forces, energy, waves, electricity, astronomy, relativity and quantum weirdness.

Sample clean physics prompts:

“My physics teacher says I am not allowed to blame ______ for failing my test.”
“The real cause of that mysterious bump in the night was not ghosts, it was ______.”
“NASA just cancelled its mission after discovering the rocket was powered entirely by ______.”
“In our new model of the universe, everything orbits around ______.”

Sample clean physics responses:

“A frictionless surface that only exists in exam questions”
“That one stray minus sign in your calculation”
“A black hole full of overdue homework”
“The speed of light, but only on Mondays”

Again, hilarious sentences emerge:

“NASA just cancelled its mission after discovering the rocket was powered entirely by a black hole full of overdue homework.”

Behind the silliness, students are constantly seeing and re-seeing key vocabulary: inertia, gravity, acceleration, momentum, refraction, supernova, wave interference and so on.

In the spicy physics set, jokes might poke fun at sci-fi tropes, time travel paradoxes, or the chaos of group work in lab practicals. These give older learners plenty of reasons to grin and still recall serious concepts.

Clean sets vs spicy sets – choosing what fits your group

A key part of this resource is the two-tiered design:

The clean version is intended for:
- Most high school classrooms
- Mixed-age homeschool groups
- Tutoring contexts where you want to keep humour light, clever and safe
The spicy version is intended for:
- Senior students who are genuinely mature
- University classes and science clubs
- Adult learners, staff game nights or end-of-year department events

The clean set:

Avoids references you would not want to explain to a parent
Leans on nerdy jokes, puns and classroom in-jokes
Still feels cheeky and fun without crossing lines

The spicy set:

Has more satire and edginess, while still staying centred on science content
Assumes students can handle jokes about academic stress, awkward lab moments and light innuendo
Works brilliantly for late-night study sessions, university societies or relaxed revision classes

The crucial point is that you choose which deck comes out, depending on your context and your students. Many teachers keep the spicy cards in a separate box and only use them with very specific groups.

When and where to use Science (Cards) Against Humanity

One of the nicest things about this resource is its flexibility. You can use it in many different situations.

1. End-of-unit review

After a unit on cells, forces, atoms or genetics, bring out the relevant deck and run a few rounds. You can:

Let students play the classic style game in small groups
Pause occasionally to ask, “Who can explain why this card combination is secretly clever?”
Award bonus points for combinations that accurately reference content

Students leave still laughing, but they have also re-seen dozens of key terms in a high-energy context.

2. Pre-exam revision days

Before a big quiz or exam, attention spans often lag. A card-based review session can reset the energy. You might:

Use only content-heavy white cards (for example, each card is a process, formula or definition)
Ask students to explain or act out the card they play
Turn the funniest combinations into quick mini-explanations on the board

3. Homeschool and tutoring

For homeschool families or one-to-one tutoring, the game gives you:

A quick, low-prep warm-up that checks prior knowledge
A break activity between heavier tasks
A way to include siblings or group members with different science strengths

You can even invite students to create new cards about topics they are currently studying.

4. University and adult learning

In university or adult workshops, the spicy set works well as:

An icebreaker for lab groups or seminar cohorts
A playful addition to revision sessions
A social event for science societies or clubs

Adults enjoy leaning into the absurdity while still appreciating the content references. It is surprising how often a joke about Schrödinger’s cat or entropy sparks a serious discussion afterwards.

5. Sub lessons and “I have 20 minutes left” moments

Because the rules are simple, a printed set is perfect for:

Substitutes who need a low-prep, high-engagement activity
Classes that finish a test early
The last week of term when everyone is tired, but you still want learning to happen

You can keep the cards in a box labelled “Science Game – emergency use” and know you always have something meaningful to grab.

Beyond the standard game – creative classroom uses

You do not have to play the original party game format every time. Science (Cards) Against Humanity can be repurposed in many ways. Here are some ideas.

1. Concept match and explanation

Place several black prompt cards on the table
Give each group a small hand of white cards
Students must match each prompt with the most scientifically accurate or best-fitting response, then explain why

This shifts the emphasis from pure comedy to deeper understanding.

2. Exit tickets

At the end of a lesson, hand each student one white card. Ask them to:

Write a one-paragraph explanation that connects their card to what you learned today
Or write a test question that uses that concept correctly

Suddenly a “funny card” becomes a prompt for short written reflection.

3. Writing prompts

Pick one card combination and ask students to:

Write a short story, comic strip or dialogue that includes that sentence and uses accurate science
Or turn the combination into a test question with four possible answers

This is particularly powerful for students who love creative writing as well as science.

4. Student-made expansions

Invite students to design their own cards:

Set content rules (“Your card must be about today’s topic on waves / acids / ecosystems”)
Have them test their new cards in a mini game
Add the best ones to your permanent set

Over a year, your deck becomes a tangible record of the concepts your classes found memorable.

5. Vocabulary speed rounds

Lay a row of white cards face up
Call out a definition or description
Students race to slap the card that matches

This turns the deck into a kinaesthetic vocab activity.

Printing, laminating and longevity – why this is a long-term investment

One big advantage of a card-based resource is that once you print and laminate it, you are done. Unlike photocopies that get crumpled or lost, laminated cards:

Survive spills, pencil scribbles and being stuffed into bags
Can be wiped clean and reused year after year
Are easy to organise into subject-specific boxes or colour-coded sets

A robust set of science card games can:

Travel with you if you move schools
Support multiple year levels and classes
Be used by colleagues across the department

In other words, you are not just printing a one-off activity; you are building a reusable game system for biology, chemistry and physics review.

You can keep the clean and spicy versions clearly separated, perhaps with different coloured backs, so you always know which deck is appropriate for the group in front of you.

Bringing it all together

Science (Cards) Against Humanity takes the best parts of an outrageously popular party game and channels them into biology, chemistry and physics learning. Students get:

Fast, funny, low-stress review of core concepts
Repeated exposure to key vocabulary and ideas
Opportunities to explain and justify their choices
Memories of science lessons where they laughed and learned at the same time

Teachers get:

A flexible, reusable resource for review, sub plans, exam prep and enrichment
Clean and spicy versions that can be matched to different contexts
A way to bring humour and creativity into serious content areas
Something that, once printed and laminated, can last for years

If you have ever wished your end-of-unit revision could feel more like game night and less like a worksheet marathon, a science-themed Cards Against Humanity–style deck might be exactly the tool you need. It will not replace your core lessons, but it can transform the way students remember them – with curiosity, laughter and a lot of unexpected science connections.

Thanks for Reading

Cheers and stay curious

Oliver - The Teaching Astrophysicist