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Quiz about The History of Chemistry Composition

The History of Chemistry: Composition Quiz

For chemistry & history fans, or pure chemists, here is a quiz on the history of chemistry. How well do you know your chemistry past?

A multiple-choice quiz by scottycan. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
scottycan

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
182,654

Updated
May 08 23

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Difficult

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
1953

Last 3 plays: Guest 103 (9/10), Guest 103 (2/10), Guest 92 (4/10).

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Of the options given, who were the first to think of ideas relating to the definition of "substance"? Hint

Greeks

English

Romans

French

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Question 2 of 10

2. This philosopher's idea was that change in matter could be explained by the motion of the particles in a void. Who was he? Hint

Plato

Empedocles

Democritus

Aristotle

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Question 3 of 10

3. Empedocles was the first to say that these 4 metaphysical elements were the "essence" of all material substances. What were they? Hint

fire; earth; wind; water

water; fire; earth; air

water; sun; earth; fire

sun; god; fire; water

4. Aristotle, most likely the greatest philosopher ever, had views concerning the entire universe. He accepted Empedocles' 4 elements but said they were a combination of these 4 qualities that we sense. What are the qualitites? Hint

soft; hard; dark; light

hot; cold; soft; hard

hot; cold; wet; dry

wet; dry; dark; light

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. Thanks to Harry Potter, it is now much more well-known that alchemists sought the Philosopher's Stone, a catalyst capable of doing what? Hint

Giving immortality

Changing base metals into gold

Curing all diseases

Giving information related to time travel

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Question 6 of 10

6. During what century was the balance introduced for chemical processes? Hint

16th

19th

18th

17th

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Question 7 of 10

7. Paracelsus gave a further philosophical suggestion where the Aristotelian elements combined to give his "tria prima", or "three principles". What were these 3 principles? Hint

copper; sulphur; mercury

salt; sulphur; mercury

copper; salt; mercury

sulphur; copper; salt

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. One of the world's best known chemistry texts, "The Sceptical Chymist", written in 1661, was written by what famed chemist? Hint

Francis Bacon

Joseph Black

Robert Boyle

Isaac Newton

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Question 9 of 10

9. Who was the first to publish an Affinity Table in 1718? Hint

E. F. Geoffroy

Steven Hales

Georg Stahl

Antoine Lavoisier

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Question 10 of 10

10. The balance was used accurately for chemical processes during the 17th century. But who was the man who used the balance accurately for the first time? Hint

Antoine Lavoisier

Joseph Black

C. L. Berthollet

J. L. Proust

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Most Recent Scores

Oct 31 2024 : Guest 103: 9/10
Oct 29 2024 : Guest 103: 2/10
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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Of the options given, who were the first to think of ideas relating to the definition of "substance"?

Answer: Greeks

Around 600-400 B.C., early philosophers postulated that there was one primary matter that everything was composed of. Water, fire, and air were all candidates for this basic elemental matter.

2. This philosopher's idea was that change in matter could be explained by the motion of the particles in a void. Who was he?

Answer: Democritus

Born in 460 B.C., Democritus said that the prime matter was composed of a large number of indivisible atoms and that change could be explained through the particles' motion in a void.

3. Empedocles was the first to say that these 4 metaphysical elements were the "essence" of all material substances. What were they?

Answer: water; fire; earth; air

Empedocles said that these were more than the everyday observational species. They were the 'essence' of which tangible things were the most illustrative examples.

Answer: hot; cold; wet; dry

Aristotle suggested that all substances were derived from an essential "beingness" plus all the properties in pairs. For example, earth is cold and dry, fire is hot and dry, water is cold and wet, and air is hot and wet.

5. Thanks to Harry Potter, it is now much more well-known that alchemists sought the Philosopher's Stone, a catalyst capable of doing what?

Answer: Changing base metals into gold

Depending on the period and region in which it was sought, the Philosopher's Stone was thought to have various characteristics. Alchemists tried to get support from princes to "fund" their research but if the princes got frustrated by the lack of results, this could end the research...or the alchemist!

6. During what century was the balance introduced for chemical processes?

Answer: 17th

Although used for metallurgy, the balance was not used for chemical processes until the 17th century when Joseph Black was the first to use it in an accurate way. We obviously know now how important mass changes are in chemistry.

7. Paracelsus gave a further philosophical suggestion where the Aristotelian elements combined to give his "tria prima", or "three principles". What were these 3 principles?

Answer: salt; sulphur; mercury

Salt was seen as the principle of incombustibility & non-volatility. Sulphur was the principle of inflammability.
Mercury was the principle of volatility & fusibility.

8. One of the world's best known chemistry texts, "The Sceptical Chymist", written in 1661, was written by what famed chemist?

Answer: Robert Boyle

Boyle attacked Aristotelian & Paracelsian views of elements and principles. He gave his famous definition of an element and this was adapted by practical chemists until the mid-18th century. He was more into the physical science based on experimental data, rather than theory.

9. Who was the first to publish an Affinity Table in 1718?

Answer: E. F. Geoffroy

Georg Stahl used the notion of affinity to explain data that he produced. However, he never made a table from the data. Geoffroy put these data into his "Table des Rapports" consisting of 16 columns, each headed by the traditional symbol for the substance for which the column referred. Underneath were the symbols of substances with which that substance reacted, in order of affinity.

10. The balance was used accurately for chemical processes during the 17th century. But who was the man who used the balance accurately for the first time?

Answer: Joseph Black

Black was a very influential chemist. Although his work and achievements were many, there were 2 important reasons that came out of his work. The first was the accurate use of the balance, as mentioned previously, and second was his demonstration for the first time of properties of a chemically distinct "air".

I do hope all who play have enjoyed this quiz and learned something from it. I get some flack for how dry my quizzes can be but I hope if you are a chemist enthusiast, you will like them. Feel free to email me and let me know what you think, or how I can improve them for players, or if you'd like to see more of them. Thanks again!

Source: Author scottycan

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