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Quiz about The Story of Invention 2
Quiz about The Story of Invention 2

The Story of Invention [2] Trivia Quiz


As they say, Science is eternal. Here's one more quiz on the lives of great scientists of the past, who have changed the way we lead our lives. Each question contains a short excerpt from the life of a great scientist.

A multiple-choice quiz by Shrivats. Estimated time: 9 mins.
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Author
Shrivats
Time
9 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
197,230
Updated
Jul 23 22
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
6 / 10
Plays
4297
Awards
Editor's Choice
- -
Question 1 of 10
1. He was sixty-nine years old, and his hair and beard were as white as hoar frost. His eyes, which had looked deep into the heavens, and had seen further than any human being before him, were now dimmed by age. His reputation as one of the great scientists of his time had made kings, queens, princes and dukes vie for his services. Now he knelt before the dreaded tribunal of the Inquisition, compelled to publicly confess an error that was no error. His lips moved, uttering the words that were put in them, and he rose.

Nevertheless, some say, that as he stood, he muttered inaudibly, "Eppur si move" (The earth does move). Who was this man, one of the most famous men of the 17th century, a man whose name is still uttered with awe even today?
Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. King Ptolemy I was, to put not too fine a point on it, a bit put out. When he was having difficulty studying "Geometry from the Elements", and had requested its author for some easier way for a monarch to learn the subject, he received the answer, "Sire, there is no royal road to Geometry."

Who was the scholar who delivered this royal rebuff, who has been called by ancient writers of history, "a gentle and kindly old man"?
Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. The room was unbearably hot, and eleven upstanding Dutch citizens were wondering why they had allowed themselves to be coaxed into coming there. Two of the men were priests, one a notary public, and the rest were burghers of the town of Delft, who frequented the store of the owner of the room. One by one, they stepped near a glass window, held up a lens and stared at the world of the 'little beasties' that wriggled beneath the convex glass all around them. They were looking at a sight which only one man in the world had seen before. When they had seen their fill, they attached their signatures to an affidavit that the owner of the shop had thoughtfully drawn up. The world was about to be informed of a discovery that would turn the world of science on its head, the microscope.

Who was the Scientist who was responsible for this earth-shattering discovery, that there exist beings in this world that we cannot see with the naked eye, but that still affect every facet of our lives?
Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. The year was 1696. He had just recovered from a prolonged illness of the nervous system and had been given a lucrative job at the London Mint. There was widespread anxiety among the scientific community as to whether he, the most famous scientist in the world, still retained his edge. John Bernoulli, famous for his work in integral and exponential calculus, sent a letter to all leading mathematicians propounding a problem. He challenged the world's mathematicians to solve this problem within six months. He received a reply within a week. When he read it, he recognised the touch of the master, and remarked, "Tanquam ex ungue leonem". (It is the touch of the lion's paw.) Thus was the scientific world informed that the 'master' had not yet yielded his pre-eminence.

Who was the 'master'?
Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. The rear door of the fashionable London townhouse opened slowly. A shadowy figure, dressed in clothing which had gone out of style some twenty years ago, appeared in the doorway. He glanced furtively up and down the street and then, when he was sure that the neighbourhood was deserted, slipped into the blackness of the evening. Suddenly a coach clattered around the corner, and its two female occupants, catching sight of the muffled figure, called out to him, "Good evening, Sir."
He looked up for a moment, terrified. Then, burying his face in his great coat, he sprinted out into the night, to the mortification of the ladies. Thief? No. Spy? No. Murderer? Certainly Not! Abnormal Genius out for an evening stroll? Of course!

Who was he?
Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. The beautiful velvet knee breeches, the glossy buckled shoes, and the gleaming sword were all laid out for him to wear. He was to be presented to King George IV in a traditional ceremony in which the King honoured his most distinguished subjects. But he was a Quaker, and his beliefs forbade him from wearing such garments or wearing a sword. The Lord Chamberlain was in a fury over his stubbornness, but he would not listen. At long length, a bright young groom saved the day. He was told that he could cover himself with a robe that he had recently been awarded when accepting an honourary degree from Oxford. The flaming red cloth was draped over his frail shoulders and he was ushered into the impatient King's prescence. A number of Quakers in the audience gasped when they saw him bedecked in scarlet, a colour that no true Quaker would be permitted to wear. However he was colour-blind and was hence unaware of the faux pas he was commiting.

Who was he?
Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. When this scientist was ten years old, his teacher, thinking to keep the class occupied for some time, asked the class to find out the sum of all numbers from one to one hundred. He was therefore extremely astonished a young boy put up his hand and came up with the correct answer immediately. At first the teacher thought the boy had memorised the answer, but when the student revealed that he had found the answer out through algebra, he realized the true extent of the child's mathematical prowess. Who was this child? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. The wind whistled through past the ropes of the small craft, and tore at the furled sails. Would this wretched storm never end? Perhaps he should quit this uncomfortable voyage now, before it really began. He had failed to qualify for the medical profession, unlike his father and grandfather, and now, at twenty two years of age, was the naturalist on board the HMS Beagle, under the command of young Captain Fitzroy. What would his father, who was successful and respected, think of him if he withdrew from the career that he had chosen in Science? Little did he know that this very voyage would make him one of the most famous scientists of all time.

Who was this man, whose discoveries virtually led to the establishment of a new branch of Science?
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. On the sixth of April, 1846, an group of eminent scientists had just begun their regular meeting. It featured the reading of a scientific paper on the production of ovals and refraction. The speaker was Professor James Forbes, a distinguished mathematician from the University of Edinburgh, and group was the Royal Society of Edinburgh.

The unique feature about this meeting was the fact that the original author of this noteworthy paper had been barred from appearing and publicly reporting on his work for "it was not thought proper for a boy in a round jacket to mount the rostrum there."

Who was this young genius who was fourteen years old at the time?
Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. The world famous English scientist Michael Faraday, had just clapped his hands with glee and said, "Hurrah for the Yankee Experimenter! What in the world did you do?" If the recipient of this barbed praise had been anyone but who he was, then he might have exploded with, "If you would only read what I publish, and understand what you read, you'd know what you just saw!" Instead, the Princeton Science professor patiently explained the phenomenon of self-induction to the man whom the world had already credited with the discovery of induction.

Who was this man, America's greatest experimental investigator of the nineteenth century?
Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. He was sixty-nine years old, and his hair and beard were as white as hoar frost. His eyes, which had looked deep into the heavens, and had seen further than any human being before him, were now dimmed by age. His reputation as one of the great scientists of his time had made kings, queens, princes and dukes vie for his services. Now he knelt before the dreaded tribunal of the Inquisition, compelled to publicly confess an error that was no error. His lips moved, uttering the words that were put in them, and he rose. Nevertheless, some say, that as he stood, he muttered inaudibly, "Eppur si move" (The earth does move). Who was this man, one of the most famous men of the 17th century, a man whose name is still uttered with awe even today?

Answer: Galileo Galilei

Galileo was a noncomformist in many ways. For example, when at the University of Pisa, he refused to wear the academic robes worn by his colleagues, saying that they restricted his movements unnecessarily. For this seemingly harmless infringement, he was forced to pay many fines out of his meager salary, and was in the end dismissed from the faculty at Pisa.
2. King Ptolemy I was, to put not too fine a point on it, a bit put out. When he was having difficulty studying "Geometry from the Elements", and had requested its author for some easier way for a monarch to learn the subject, he received the answer, "Sire, there is no royal road to Geometry." Who was the scholar who delivered this royal rebuff, who has been called by ancient writers of history, "a gentle and kindly old man"?

Answer: Euclid

On one occasion, a pupil of Euclid's complained because he saw no practical knowledge in having to know geometry. Euclid turned to one of his servants, and replied: "Give this pupil a piece of money, for he must have profit from what he learns." In his book, the Elements, which in reality contains 13 books, he set forth the geometry that is still taught to children all over the world, setting forth definitions and axioms that remain unchallenged even today.
3. The room was unbearably hot, and eleven upstanding Dutch citizens were wondering why they had allowed themselves to be coaxed into coming there. Two of the men were priests, one a notary public, and the rest were burghers of the town of Delft, who frequented the store of the owner of the room. One by one, they stepped near a glass window, held up a lens and stared at the world of the 'little beasties' that wriggled beneath the convex glass all around them. They were looking at a sight which only one man in the world had seen before. When they had seen their fill, they attached their signatures to an affidavit that the owner of the shop had thoughtfully drawn up. The world was about to be informed of a discovery that would turn the world of science on its head, the microscope. Who was the Scientist who was responsible for this earth-shattering discovery, that there exist beings in this world that we cannot see with the naked eye, but that still affect every facet of our lives?

Answer: Anton van Leeuwenhoek

This eye-witness testimony was attached to a letter that Leeuwenhoek sent to London's Royal Society. Although the heading of the letter which read, "A Specimen of some Observations made by a Microscope Contrived by Mr. Leeuwenhoek, concerning Mould upon the skin, flesh etc", did reflect the Dutchman's lack of formal education, it showed the more perceptive members of the Royal Society the thoroughness of Leeuwenhoek's work. Leeuwenhoek accumulated more 'firsts' than any other man in History, his unbridled curiosity extended even upto the nature of the disease that would ultimately lead to his death. Even at the age of ninety, he was still active enough to send two letters to the Royal Society about the illness that eventually lead to his death, describing it as a disorder of the diaphragm.
4. The year was 1696. He had just recovered from a prolonged illness of the nervous system and had been given a lucrative job at the London Mint. There was widespread anxiety among the scientific community as to whether he, the most famous scientist in the world, still retained his edge. John Bernoulli, famous for his work in integral and exponential calculus, sent a letter to all leading mathematicians propounding a problem. He challenged the world's mathematicians to solve this problem within six months. He received a reply within a week. When he read it, he recognised the touch of the master, and remarked, "Tanquam ex ungue leonem". (It is the touch of the lion's paw.) Thus was the scientific world informed that the 'master' had not yet yielded his pre-eminence. Who was the 'master'?

Answer: Sir Isaac Newton

"Nature and Nature's laws lay hid in the night;
God said, 'Let Newton be!' and all was light."

- Alexander Pope
5. The rear door of the fashionable London townhouse opened slowly. A shadowy figure, dressed in clothing which had gone out of style some twenty years ago, appeared in the doorway. He glanced furtively up and down the street and then, when he was sure that the neighbourhood was deserted, slipped into the blackness of the evening. Suddenly a coach clattered around the corner, and its two female occupants, catching sight of the muffled figure, called out to him, "Good evening, Sir." He looked up for a moment, terrified. Then, burying his face in his great coat, he sprinted out into the night, to the mortification of the ladies. Thief? No. Spy? No. Murderer? Certainly Not! Abnormal Genius out for an evening stroll? Of course! Who was he?

Answer: Henry Cavendish

Henry Cavendish was without doubt, one of the most eccentric of all scientists. Despite being one of the richest scientists ever, he was also one of the most reticent. As he grew older, and more famous, London saw less and less of this great scientist. He had a back staircase built in his house so that he could come and go without being seen by the maids. Every morning the servants would find a slip of paper requesting certain meals for the day. Once the food was prepared, they would bring it to the dining room and then leave before Cavendish tiptoed into the room.

He was worth millions of pounds, and yet, he had absolutely no interest in money, and his enormous fortune remained untouched throughout his life. After his life, his fortune was used to further our knowledge of the unknown. It is certain that he would have approved.
6. The beautiful velvet knee breeches, the glossy buckled shoes, and the gleaming sword were all laid out for him to wear. He was to be presented to King George IV in a traditional ceremony in which the King honoured his most distinguished subjects. But he was a Quaker, and his beliefs forbade him from wearing such garments or wearing a sword. The Lord Chamberlain was in a fury over his stubbornness, but he would not listen. At long length, a bright young groom saved the day. He was told that he could cover himself with a robe that he had recently been awarded when accepting an honourary degree from Oxford. The flaming red cloth was draped over his frail shoulders and he was ushered into the impatient King's prescence. A number of Quakers in the audience gasped when they saw him bedecked in scarlet, a colour that no true Quaker would be permitted to wear. However he was colour-blind and was hence unaware of the faux pas he was commiting. Who was he?

Answer: John Dalton

Subsequent to this, Dalton became the first person to conduct a number of experiments on colour-blindness, and to this day, the phenomneon is also known as Daltonism. He, unlike most other scientists of his day and age, lived to enjoy the plaudits of his countrymen.

He was presented with the key to Paris and was given the Medal of the Royal Society of England. He was the first person to formulate the atomic theory of matter, and on his death, more than forty thousand people filed by his coffin as he lay in state.

A fitting tribute to one of the greatest scientists that this world has known.
7. When this scientist was ten years old, his teacher, thinking to keep the class occupied for some time, asked the class to find out the sum of all numbers from one to one hundred. He was therefore extremely astonished a young boy put up his hand and came up with the correct answer immediately. At first the teacher thought the boy had memorised the answer, but when the student revealed that he had found the answer out through algebra, he realized the true extent of the child's mathematical prowess. Who was this child?

Answer: Karl Gauss

When young Karl was a student at Gottigen, he discovered that a regular polygon of 17 sides could be constructed using just a straight edge and a compass. This discovery, which might seem unimportant to the ordinary listener, was in reality a truly path-breaking accomplishment, for it was the first major improvement on Euclidian Geometry in 2200 years. Karl Gauss went on to formulate his own theory of geometry known as astral geometry.
8. The wind whistled through past the ropes of the small craft, and tore at the furled sails. Would this wretched storm never end? Perhaps he should quit this uncomfortable voyage now, before it really began. He had failed to qualify for the medical profession, unlike his father and grandfather, and now, at twenty two years of age, was the naturalist on board the HMS Beagle, under the command of young Captain Fitzroy. What would his father, who was successful and respected, think of him if he withdrew from the career that he had chosen in Science? Little did he know that this very voyage would make him one of the most famous scientists of all time. Who was this man, whose discoveries virtually led to the establishment of a new branch of Science?

Answer: Charles Darwin

After meeting the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Mr. Gladstone, Darwin was said to have remarked, "Mr. Gladstone is a great man and yet he talked to me as if he were an ordinary person like me." Mr. Gladstone when told of this, remarked, "My feelings towards Mr. Darwin are exactly the same as his towards me."

It is indeed ironic, that a man like Charles Darwin, who was gentle and philantrophic by nature, was the focal point of one of the greatest controversies of his century, and was accused, by those who did not understand his work, of seeking to debase mankind.
9. On the sixth of April, 1846, an group of eminent scientists had just begun their regular meeting. It featured the reading of a scientific paper on the production of ovals and refraction. The speaker was Professor James Forbes, a distinguished mathematician from the University of Edinburgh, and group was the Royal Society of Edinburgh. The unique feature about this meeting was the fact that the original author of this noteworthy paper had been barred from appearing and publicly reporting on his work for "it was not thought proper for a boy in a round jacket to mount the rostrum there." Who was this young genius who was fourteen years old at the time?

Answer: James Clerk Maxwell

This young genius was to accomplish so much in his brief lifetime of 48 years, that he is still regarded as one of the world's greatest two theoretical physicists of the nineteenth century.

At the age of eighteen, when James Clerk Maxwell entered Cambridge, he was a propounder of some strange theories, such as one on the economy of sleep. He would sleep from 5:00pm. to 9:30pm, study from 10:00pm to 2:00am, excercise by running up and down the stairs from 2:00am to 2:30am, and then sleep until 7:00am. However, he was soon forced to abandon this experiment as he was greeted with a barrage of shoes and other flying objects wherever he went. His place in History is secure as one among the Great of Mathematics and Physics.
10. The world famous English scientist Michael Faraday, had just clapped his hands with glee and said, "Hurrah for the Yankee Experimenter! What in the world did you do?" If the recipient of this barbed praise had been anyone but who he was, then he might have exploded with, "If you would only read what I publish, and understand what you read, you'd know what you just saw!" Instead, the Princeton Science professor patiently explained the phenomenon of self-induction to the man whom the world had already credited with the discovery of induction. Who was this man, America's greatest experimental investigator of the nineteenth century?

Answer: Joseph Henry

This incident occured in an English laboratory, where Charles Wheatstone and Michael Faraday were trying in vain to draw sparks by closing and opening an electric circuit which was only capable of carrying a weak current. While Faraday and Wheatstone argued back and forth over the probable cause of the failure to produce a spark, Joseph Henry absent-mindedly wound a small length of wire around one of his fingers in the form of a corkscrew shaped coil. Before the world famous electrical scientists could stop him, Henry had opened the circuit, added his tiny coil to one of the leads, closed the circuit and then drawn some clearly visible sparks on opening the circuit again, prompting this reaction from Faraday.

Joseph Henry was truly one of the most successful scientists ever. In fact, he was so far ahead of his field, that it took the world of science half a century, to truly appreciate his work.

Thanks to everyone who played this quiz, and its prequel.

Research:- 100 Great Scientists (Dr. Jay E. Greene)
Source: Author Shrivats

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor Jim_in_Oz before going online.
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