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Science Quiz: Which came first?

By The Doc

question

Challenge

Try our science quiz. It’s just ten questions.

Which came first

Decide which of the following events came first to test your knowledge of scientific progress.

Hint

In each question, the two events compared are always at least one decade apart – usually more.

Answers:

Come after the images below each question.

Assessment:

Check what your score means at the bottom of the page. Are you an Einstein, or… ?

Which Came First?

1. The discovery of the first Neanderthal skull or the discovery of the Rosetta Stone?

Neanderthal Rosetta

Answer 1

The discovery of The Rosetta Stone – 1799, Pierre-François Bouchard in Egypt – came before the discovery of first Neanderthal skull – 1829, Philippe-Charles Schmerling in Belgium.

2. The discovery of infrared radiation or the first use of rabies vaccine?

infrared-rabies

Answer 2

The discovery of infrared radiation – 1800, Sir William Herschel – came before the first use of rabies vaccine – 1885, Louis Pasteur/Pierre Roux.

3. The discovery of irrational numbers or the first use of negative numbers?

irrational-negative

Answer 3

Irrational numbers – c. 520 BC, Pythagoreans – came before the first use of negative numbers – c. 200 BC, Han Dynasty mathematicians.

4. The discovery and isolation of the hormone insulin or the discovery of radioactivity?

insulin-radioactivity

Answer 4

The discovery of radioactivity – 1896, Antoine-Henri Becquerel – came before the isolation of insulin – 1921, Frederick Banting and Charles Best.

5. The discovery of hydrogen’s isotope deuterium or the invention of radiocarbon dating?

deuterium-radiocarbon

Answer 5

The discovery of hydrogen’s isotope deuterium – 1931, Harold Urey – came before the invention of radiocarbon dating – 1947, Willard Libby.

6. The invention of the Richter Scale for earthquake measurement or the discovery of the electron?

richter-electron

Answer 6

The discovery of the electron – 1897, J.J. Thomson – came before the invention of the Richter Scale – 1935, Charles Richter.

7. The invention of group theory in mathematics or the invention of dynamite?

grouptheory-dynamite

Answer 7

The invention of group theory in mathematics – 1830, Evariste Galois – came before the invention of dynamite – 1866, Alfred Nobel.

8. The discovery of new forms of life at deep-sea vents or Moore’s Law of silicon chip processing power doubling every two years?

vent-siliconchip

Answer 8

Moore’s Law – 1965, Gordon Moore – came before the discovery of new forms of life at deep-sea vents – 1977, Robert Ballard and John Corliss.

9. The invention of the mercury thermometer or the discovery of the planet Uranus?

thermometer-uranus

Answer 9

The invention of the mercury thermometer – 1714, Daniel Fahrenheit – came before the discovery of Uranus – 1781, Sir William Herschel.

10. The Goldbach Conjecture or the invention of the electric battery?

goldbach-battery

Answer 10

The Goldbach Conjecture – 1742, Christian Goldbach – came before the invention of the electric battery – 1800, Alessandro Volta.

Your Score?

10 out of 10. When it comes to the history of science, you are an Einstein.

8 or 9 out of 10. Not quite Einstein, but enough for a Nobel Prize.

7 out of 10. No prizes, but definitely a professor in the making.

5 or 6 out of 10. A little more effort, and you’ll be up there with the best of them.

4 or less. Ooops. Guessing the answers at random will usually give a better result than this!

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Comments

  1. Brad Perkins says

    October 4, 2015 at 7:48 pm

    Electric batteries ~3000 yrs old have been found in Egypt, so I consider your answer to that (last) question incorrect which brings my score to 10.

    • The Doc says

      October 5, 2015 at 10:24 am

      Thanks Brad, ancient batteries are at best highly controversial. The most famous and well researched are the Baghdad ‘Batteries’ from Mesopotamia, and it’s fair to say that most scientists simply do not believe they are batteries. So we may have to agree to disagree about your score. 😎

      • sweety says

        October 17, 2015 at 2:00 am

        thanks because I learn more things from the information of the scientists.

    • Eva says

      November 19, 2015 at 8:47 pm

      I first read about these batteries when I was 10 in Chariots of the Gods. I believed at the time but I’m a lot older now and I don’t any more.

  2. Harlee says

    March 5, 2015 at 5:26 pm

    Einstein. I wasn’t quite sure about the infrared and rabies vaccine question, but I went with what I believed a little more, the infrared.

  3. Jimmy says

    January 24, 2015 at 4:07 am

    He he – i’m a Nobel prize winner. 🙂

    Would never have thought infrared came before the rabies vaccine… that was the only one I got wrong.

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