Invention and Discoveries MCQ Quiz - Objective Question with Answer for Invention and Discoveries - Download Free PDF

The correct answer is First effective antibiotic against bacterial infections.

Key Points

• Penicillin, discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928, was the first antibiotic that proved to be highly effective against bacterial infections.
• The discovery marked the beginning of the modern era of antibiotics, revolutionizing the treatment of bacterial diseases such as pneumonia, syphilis, and strep throat.
• During World War II, penicillin was mass-produced and saved countless lives by treating infections in wounded soldiers.
• Penicillin works by inhibiting bacterial cell wall synthesis, making it effective against a wide range of Gram-positive bacteria.
• Its discovery earned Alexander Fleming, Howard Florey, and Ernst Boris Chain the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1945.

Additional Information

• Antibiotics:
  • Substances that kill or inhibit the growth of bacteria without harming the host organism.
  • Penicillin was the first antibiotic discovered, followed by others like streptomycin, tetracycline, and erythromycin.
  • Overuse or misuse of antibiotics can lead to antibiotic resistance, a significant global health concern.
• Alexander Fleming's Discovery:
  • Fleming observed that a mold, later identified as Penicillium notatum, inhibited bacterial growth on a petri dish.
  • This serendipitous discovery laid the foundation for the development of antibiotics.
• Mass Production of Penicillin:
  • During World War II, efforts led by Howard Florey and Ernst Chain enabled large-scale production of penicillin.
  • This breakthrough ensured the availability of the drug for treating battlefield infections and saving civilian lives.
• Impact on Medicine:
  • Penicillin reduced mortality rates from bacterial infections and transformed medical practices worldwide.
  • It is considered one of the most significant discoveries in medical history.

The correct answer is option 3.

Key Points

• Selman Waksman, an American microbiologist, coined the term "antibiotic" in 1942. Hence, option 3 is correct.
• He defined antibiotics as substances produced by microorganisms that can inhibit the growth of or destroy other microorganisms.
• He is also credited with the discovery of streptomycin, the first antibiotic effective against tuberculosis, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1952.

The correct answer is Option 1.

Key Points

• Galileo is known for his support of the Heliocentric model, which posited that the Earth and other planets revolve around the Sun.
• Isaac Newton formulated the Laws of Motion, which are fundamental principles of classical mechanics.
• Albert Einstein developed the Theory of Relativity, which includes the famous equation E=mc².
• Nicholas Copernicus introduced the Heliocentric model, which challenged the geocentric model of the universe.

Additional Information

• Heliocentric Model: This astronomical model places the Sun at the center of the universe with planets, including Earth, revolving around it. It was revolutionary in changing our understanding of the cosmos.
• Laws of Motion: Newton's three laws describe the relationship between a body and the forces acting on it, and its motion in response to those forces.
• Theory of Relativity: Einstein's theory revolutionized physics with its concepts of space-time and the relationship between mass and energy.
• Galileo's Contributions: Apart from supporting the heliocentric model, Galileo made significant advancements in observational astronomy, including improvements to the telescope and the discovery of Jupiter's moons.
• Copernican Revolution: The shift from the geocentric model (Earth-centered) to the heliocentric model marked a pivotal change in scientific thought, leading to the Scientific Revolution.

The correct answer is John Napier.

Key Points

• John Napier was a Scottish mathematician, physicist, and astronomer who is best known for his invention of logarithms.
• Napier's logarithms simplified complex calculations, particularly in navigation, astronomy, and engineering.
• His work, "Mirifici Logarithmorum Canonis Descriptio" (Description of the Wonderful Canon of Logarithms), published in 1614, laid the foundation for logarithmic tables.
• Napier also invented devices such as Napier's bones, which were tools used to facilitate multiplication and division.

Important Points

• Logarithms greatly advanced the fields of mathematics and science, particularly during the 17th century, by reducing the complexity of multiplication and division to addition and subtraction.
• Napier's logarithmic tables became a critical tool for scientists, engineers, and navigators until the invention of calculators and computers.
• John Napier is widely regarded as one of the most influential mathematicians of his era.

The correct answer is Marcelin Berthelot.

Key Points

• Marcelin Berthelot was a renowned French chemist and one of the pioneers in the field of synthetic organic chemistry.
• In 1856, he successfully produced methane by passing carbon disulphide vapour over red-hot copper and hydrogen sulphide.
• This experiment was significant as it demonstrated the ability to synthesize an organic compound from inorganic substances, challenging the earlier theory of vitalism, which suggested that organic compounds could only be produced by living organisms.
• Berthelot’s work laid the foundation for the development of modern organic chemistry and the understanding of chemical synthesis.
• He also contributed significantly to thermochemistry and formulated the principle that the heat of formation of a compound is equal to the heat required to decompose it.
• Marcelin Berthelot’s contributions reflect his dedication to understanding the fundamental processes of chemical reactions, making him a highly influential figure in the field of chemistry.

Additional Information

• Antoine Lavoisier
  • Antoine Lavoisier was a French chemist and is often referred to as the Father of Modern Chemistry.
  • He is renowned for discovering the role of oxygen in combustion and for establishing the law of conservation of mass.
  • Lavoisier’s work led to the development of the modern system of naming chemical substances.
• John Dalton
  • John Dalton was an English scientist known for his work in the development of the atomic theory.
  • He proposed that all matter is composed of atoms, which are indivisible and indestructible particles.
  • Dalton is also credited with discovering Dalton’s Law of Partial Pressures in gases.
• Hennig Brand
  • Hennig Brand was a German alchemist who discovered phosphorus in 1669.
  • He isolated phosphorus by heating urine and was the first person to discover an element through chemical processes.
  • His discovery was significant in advancing the understanding of chemical elements and their properties.

The correct answer is 1674.

Key Points

•  Anton Van Leeuwenhoek:-
  • Microbiologist and microscopist Antonie Philips van Leeuwenhoek was from the Netherlands.
  • He is frequently referred to as "the Father of Microbiology."
  • Single-celled life forms were discovered by Anton Van Leeuwenhoek in 1674.
  • Anton van Leeuwenhoek in Holland made more crucial discoveries using a microscope after Robert Hooke discovered cells in cork. He said that cells are the building blocks of life.

Additional Information

• Single-celled life:-
  • It refers to organisms that consist of only one cell, as opposed to multicellular organisms which are composed of multiple cells.
  • These single-celled organisms are known as unicellular organisms.
  • They are some of the simplest forms of life on Earth and have been present for the majority of the planet's history.
  • Single-celled organisms can be found in various environments, including water, soil, and even inside other organisms.

The correct answer is option 3.

Key Points

• Selman Waksman, an American microbiologist, coined the term "antibiotic" in 1942. Hence, option 3 is correct.
• He defined antibiotics as substances produced by microorganisms that can inhibit the growth of or destroy other microorganisms.
• He is also credited with the discovery of streptomycin, the first antibiotic effective against tuberculosis, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1952.

The correct answer is 1825.Key Points

• Michael Faraday discovered benzene in illuminating gas in the year 1825.
• He collected compressed illuminating gas cylinders from the pyrolysis of whale oil and used them to extract benzene.
• This newly found liquid hydrogen was dubbed a bicarburet of hydrogen by Faraday.
• German chemist Eilhardt Mitscherlich created benzene in 1834 by heating benzoic acid and lime.
• A.W. von Hofmann, a German chemist, separated benzene from coal tar in 1845.

Additional Information

• Benzene is a colorless, highly flammable liquid with a sweet odor.
• It is an important industrial chemical used in the production of various chemicals, including plastics, synthetic fibers, rubbers, dyes, detergents, and pharmaceuticals.

The correct answer is 1879.Key Points

• Walther Flemming coined the term 'chromatin' in the year 1879.
• Chromatin is a complex of DNA and proteins that forms chromosomes within the nucleus of eukaryotic cells.
• The discovery of chromatin was a significant breakthrough in the field of cell biology and helped in understanding the structure and function of chromosomes.

Additional Information

• Chromatin helps the chromosomes segregate properly during mitosis and meiosis;
• DNA coils into highly condensed chromatin to produce the distinctive chromosome shapes that are visible during this stage.
• Histones are the main protein components of chromatin.
• Two sets of four histone cores form an octamer that binds to DNA and serves as "anchors" for the strands to wind around.

The correct answer is 1787.

Key Points

• In 1787, four prominent French chemists – Louis Bernard Guyton de Morveau, Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier, Claude Louis Berthollet, and Antoine François Fourcroy – published a book with the title Méthode de nomenclature chimique.
• In this book, they proposed a new nomenclature of chemical substances, explicated their principles of methodically constructing chemical names, and further presented a taxonomic table of chemical substances.
• Historians of chemistry have unanimously praised the Method as a key document of eighteenth-century chemistry, particularly of Lavoisier’s epoch.
• Since the nomenclatural and the taxonomic proposals of the Méthode were constructed in accordance with Lavoisier’s antiphlogistic chemical system, most historians have regarded it as a fruit and manifestation of this chemical system.

The correct answer is 1925.

Key Points

• Langmuir Trough Experiment:-
  • E Gorter and F Grendel made a breakthrough by examining the surface area of lipids and concluded that the lipid surface surrounding cells must be of two layers in the year 1925.
  • Their experiment involved extracting lipids from red blood cells and then spreading them out on a water surface to form a monolayer.
  • They then measured the area of the monolayer and found that it was twice the area of the surface area of the red blood cells.
  • This led them to conclude that the lipid bilayer model of the cell membrane must be correct.
  • Gorter and Grendel's work was a major breakthrough in the understanding of cell structure and function.
  • It helped to establish the lipid bilayer model of the cell membrane, which is still the accepted model today.

The correct answer is Glenn T Seaborg.

• The Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1951 was awarded jointly to Edwin McMillan and Glenn T. Seaborg "for their discoveries in the chemistry of the transuranium elements."

Key Points

• Edwin McMillan and Glenn T. Seaborg were American chemists who collaborated extensively in the field of nuclear chemistry.
• Their discovery of transuranium elements, which are elements with atomic numbers greater than uranium, was a groundbreaking achievement.
• McMillan and Seaborg developed a new method for synthesizing these elements, which involved bombarding heavier elements with neutrons.
• The first transuranium element they synthesized was neptunium in 1940, followed by plutonium in 1941.
• They also discovered other important transuranium elements, including americium, curium, berkelium, and californium.
• Their work paved the way for the development of nuclear energy and the atomic bomb.
• McMillan and Seaborg's discoveries also had important applications in medicine, including the development of new cancer treatments.

Additional Information Nobel Awards

• The Nobel Prizes are annual awards given to individuals or organizations for outstanding achievements in various fields.
• The awards were established by the will of Swedish chemist and inventor Alfred Nobel and were first awarded in 1901.
• The Nobel Prizes are awarded in the fields of Physics, Chemistry, Medicine or Physiology, Literature, and Peace.
• Each Nobel Prize consists of a medal, a diploma, and a cash prize.
• The amount of the cash prize varies from year to year and is funded by the interest earned on Nobel's fortune.
• The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, while the other prizes are awarded by the respective Swedish academies.
• The Nobel Prize winners are announced in October every year, and the awards ceremony is held in Stockholm, Sweden, on December 10th, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death.
• In addition to the five main categories, the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences was established in 1968 by the Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden's central bank).
• The Nobel Prize has become one of the world's most prestigious awards, and many laureates have gone on to become household names and leaders in their respective fields.
• As of 2021, a total of 603 Nobel Prizes have been awarded to 962 laureates.

The correct answer is 1956.

Key Points

•  Joe Hin Tjio was an American cytogeneticist who published a research finding in the year 1956 that defined 2n = 46 as the exact number of human chromosomes.
•  Tjio's research finding was based on his extensive experiments involving the counting of chromosomes in human cells using microscopy and other techniques.
•  The discovery of the exact number of human chromosomes was a landmark achievement in the field of genetics and had significant implications for the study of human diseases and genetic disorders.

Additional Information

•  Cytogenetics is the branch of genetics that studies the structure and function of chromosomes and their relationship to cell behavior and inheritance.
•  The discovery of the exact number of human chromosomes was a collaborative effort that involved several scientists, including Albert Levan, who worked with Tjio to confirm the finding.
•  (1950) is close to the actual year of Tjio's appointment at the University of Lund in Sweden, where he began his research on human chromosomes. Option 2 (1952) is also close to the actual year when Tjio first observed and counted human chromosomes under the microscope. However, neither of these options represents the year when Tjio published his research findings. Option 4 (1960) is too late as it comes after several other significant discoveries had already been made in the field of cytogenetics.

The correct answer is June 1798.

 Key Points

• Henry Cavendish:-
  • He was a brilliant scientist who made significant contributions to chemistry and physics.
  • He discovered hydrogen in 1766 and measured the gravitational constant in 1798.
  • His work on the gravitational constant was particularly important, as it provided the first accurate measurement of the force of gravity between masses in the laboratory.
  • He reported the measurement of the gravitational constant with the mass and density of the Earth in June 1798. His results were published in a 57-page paper in the Transactions of the Royal Society entitled “Experiments to Determine the Density of the Earth.” 
  • Cavendish's experiment was the first to measure the force of gravity between masses in the laboratory and the first to yield accurate values for the gravitational constant. He used a torsion balance to measure the tiny gravitational attraction between two small lead balls and two much larger stationary lead balls.
  • Cavendish's results were surprisingly accurate, and they remained the best available measurement of the gravitational constant for over a century. His experiment is considered to be one of the most important and influential experiments in the history of physics.

The correct answer is John Napier.

Key Points

• John Napier was a Scottish mathematician, physicist, and astronomer who is best known for his invention of logarithms.
• Napier's logarithms simplified complex calculations, particularly in navigation, astronomy, and engineering.
• His work, "Mirifici Logarithmorum Canonis Descriptio" (Description of the Wonderful Canon of Logarithms), published in 1614, laid the foundation for logarithmic tables.
• Napier also invented devices such as Napier's bones, which were tools used to facilitate multiplication and division.

Important Points

• Logarithms greatly advanced the fields of mathematics and science, particularly during the 17th century, by reducing the complexity of multiplication and division to addition and subtraction.
• Napier's logarithmic tables became a critical tool for scientists, engineers, and navigators until the invention of calculators and computers.
• John Napier is widely regarded as one of the most influential mathematicians of his era.