Science & Inventions
Instructions: Discover how much you know about famous inventions, scientific discoveries, and the brilliant minds behind them.
- 1.
Who is credited with inventing the practical electric light bulb?
AThomas EdisonBNikola TeslaCBenjamin FranklinDAlexander Graham Bell - 2.
Who invented the telephone?
ASamuel MorseBThomas EdisonCGuglielmo MarconiDAlexander Graham Bell - 3.
The Wright brothers made their famous first powered flight in which year?
A1910B1895C1899D1903 - 4.
What did Alexander Fleming accidentally discover in 1928?
APenicillinBX-raysCAspirinDInsulin - 5.
What force keeps us on the ground and was famously associated with a falling apple?
AInertiaBFrictionCGravityDMagnetism - 6.
Who developed the theory of relativity?
AAlbert EinsteinBStephen HawkingCNiels BohrDIsaac Newton - 7.
What invention by Johannes Gutenberg around 1440 revolutionized the spread of knowledge?
AThe clockBThe compassCThe telescopeDThe printing press - 8.
Which scientist is known for her pioneering research on radioactivity?
ALise MeitnerBDorothy HodgkinCMarie CurieDRosalind Franklin - 9.
What does DNA stand for?
ADeoxyribonucleic acidBDinitro acidCDual nitrogen acidDDynamic nucleic acid - 10.
Who invented the World Wide Web?
ABill GatesBVint CerfCSteve JobsDTim Berners-Lee - 11.
What did Louis Pasteur develop that has saved millions of lives from infectious disease?
AAnesthesiaBPasteurization and vaccinesCAntibioticsDBlood transfusions - 12.
Which element on the periodic table has the chemical symbol 'O'?
AOganessonBGoldCOsmiumDOxygen - 13.
What year did Neil Armstrong become the first person to walk on the Moon?
A1971B1967C1969D1965 - 14.
Who is considered the 'father of modern computing'?
AJohn von NeumannBAlan TuringCAda LovelaceDCharles Babbage - 15.
What was the name of the first artificial satellite launched into space?
AVanguard 1BExplorer 1CLuna 1DSputnik 1
Answer Key
Thomas Edison developed the first commercially practical incandescent light bulb in 1879. He tested thousands of materials before finding the right filament.
Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone in 1876. His first words spoken over it were to his assistant: 'Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see you.'
Wilbur and Orville Wright made the first successful powered airplane flight on December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The flight lasted just 12 seconds.
Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin when he noticed that mold had killed bacteria in a petri dish he had left uncovered. This discovery revolutionized medicine.
Gravity is the force that attracts objects toward each other. The story goes that Isaac Newton developed his theory of gravity after watching an apple fall from a tree.
Albert Einstein published his special theory of relativity in 1905 and his general theory of relativity in 1915. His famous equation E=mc2 changed our understanding of physics.
Gutenberg's movable-type printing press allowed books to be produced quickly and cheaply. It transformed education, religion, and culture across Europe.
Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize and the only person to win Nobel Prizes in two different sciences (Physics in 1903 and Chemistry in 1911).
DNA stands for deoxyribonucleic acid. It carries the genetic instructions for the development and functioning of all known living organisms.
Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989 while working at CERN in Switzerland. He also created the first web browser and web server.
Louis Pasteur developed pasteurization to kill harmful bacteria in beverages and also created vaccines for rabies and anthrax. His work founded the field of microbiology.
Oxygen has the chemical symbol 'O' and is the third most abundant element in the universe. It makes up about 21% of Earth's atmosphere.
Neil Armstrong set foot on the Moon on July 20, 1969, during the Apollo 11 mission. His famous words were, 'That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.'
Alan Turing is widely considered the father of modern computing and artificial intelligence. During WWII, he helped crack the German Enigma code, which was crucial to Allied victory.
Sputnik 1 was launched by the Soviet Union on October 4, 1957. It was a 23-inch metal sphere that orbited Earth and kicked off the Space Age and the space race.