Knowledge exploration refers to the process of seeking information to deepen one's understanding of new topics or concepts. It involves engaging with unfamiliar and challenging stimuli, such as new objects, events, or ideas, with the goal of integrating new experiences and expanding one's knowledge base. However, the mechanisms behind exploration remain underexplored, particularly in academic settings. This study utilized an experimental framework involving 104 high school students, who answered 15 multiple-choice questions of varying difficulty and subsequently reported their epistemic emotions. They were then given the opportunity to explore the answers. The findings indicate that difficult tasks significantly increased knowledge exploration. Moreover, the study identified that accuracy feedback significantly moderates this relationship. The within-person path analysis revealed that epistemic emotions, particularly curiosity and confusion, were found to mediate the impact of task difficulty on knowledge exploration. However, boredom did not emerge as a significant mediator. These results highlight the importance of task design in educational settings, suggesting that educators and curriculum designers can strategically leverage task difficulty to promote active engagement and in-depth understanding among students. By incorporating challenging tasks into the curriculum, they can stimulate students' curiosity and motivation to explore the knowledge domain.