Discoveries and Inventions General Knowledge Questions
1. Who discovered Alpha Rays?
A) J.J. Thomson
B) Paul Villard
C) Rutherford
D) James Chadwick
Correct Answer: C) Rutherford
Explanation: Alpha Rays were discovered by Ernest Rutherford, and they are positively charged particles emitted from certain radioactive materials.
2. Who discovered Beta Rays?
A) Rutherford
B) Paul Villard
C) J.J. Thomson
D) Goldstein
Correct Answer: A) Rutherford
Explanation: Beta Rays, which are high-energy, high-speed electrons, were discovered by Ernest Rutherford.
3. Who discovered Gamma Rays?
A) J.J. Thomson
B) Paul Villard
C) Rutherford
D) Henry Becquerel
Correct Answer: B) Paul Villard
Explanation: Gamma Rays were discovered by French physicist Paul Villard and are a form of electromagnetic radiation.
4. Who discovered the Electron?
A) J.J. Thomson
B) Rutherford
C) Goldstein
D) James Chadwick
Correct Answer: A) J.J. Thomson
Explanation: The electron was discovered by J.J. Thomson in 1897 through experiments involving cathode rays.
5. Who discovered the Proton?
A) Rutherford
B) J.J. Thomson
C) Goldstein
D) Chadwick
Correct Answer: C) Goldstein
Explanation: The proton was discovered by Eugen Goldstein in 1886 during his study of cathode rays.
6. Who discovered the Neutron?
A) Rutherford
B) J.J. Thomson
C) James Chadwick
D) Paul Villard
Correct Answer: C) James Chadwick
Explanation: James Chadwick discovered the neutron in 1932, completing the picture of the atom’s subatomic particles.
7. Who discovered Oxygen?
A) James Chadwick
B) J.J. Thomson
C) Joseph Priestley
D) Antoine Lavoisier
Correct Answer: C) Joseph Priestley
Explanation: Oxygen was discovered by Joseph Priestley in 1774 through the heating of mercuric oxide.
8. Who discovered Penicillin?
A) Louis Pasteur
B) Alexander Fleming
C) Edward Jenner
D) Robert Koch
Correct Answer: B) Alexander Fleming
Explanation: Penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming in 1928, revolutionizing medicine by introducing antibiotics.
9. Who discovered Radioactivity?
A) Albert Einstein
B) Henri Becquerel
C) Marie Curie
D) J.J. Thomson
Correct Answer: B) Henri Becquerel
Explanation: Henri Becquerel discovered radioactivity in 1896 while studying uranium’s emission of radiation.
10. Who discovered Insulin?
A) Albert Einstein
B) Dr. F.G. Banting
C) Alexander Fleming
D) Robert Hooke
Correct Answer: B) Dr. F.G. Banting
Explanation: Dr. Frederick Banting discovered insulin in 1921, a critical hormone in the regulation of blood sugar.
11. Who discovered the Structure of DNA?
A) Albert Einstein
B) James Watson and Francis Crick
C) Gregor Mendel
D) Charles Darwin
Correct Answer: B) James Watson and Francis Crick
Explanation: James Watson and Francis Crick discovered the double-helix structure of DNA in 1953.
12. Who formulated the Genetic Laws of Heredity?
A) Darwin
B) Mendel
C) Watson and Crick
D) J.J. Thomson
Correct Answer: B) Mendel
Explanation: Gregor Mendel formulated the fundamental laws of inheritance in genetics through his pea plant experiments.
13. Who proposed the Heliocentric Solar System?
A) Galileo Galilei
B) Isaac Newton
C) Nicolaus Copernicus
D) Johannes Kepler
Correct Answer: C) Nicolaus Copernicus
Explanation: Copernicus proposed the heliocentric model, stating that the Sun, not the Earth, is at the center of the solar system.
14. Who discovered the Chromosome?
A) Thomas Hunt Morgan
B) Waldeyer
C) Gregor Mendel
D) Charles Darwin
Correct Answer: B) Waldeyer
Explanation: Waldeyer coined the term “chromosome” in 1888, referring to structures in cells that carry genetic information.
15. Who discovered X-rays?
A) Marie Curie
B) Albert Einstein
C) Wilhelm Roentgen
D) Paul Villard
Correct Answer: C) Wilhelm Roentgen
Explanation: Wilhelm Roentgen discovered X-rays in 1895, a form of electromagnetic radiation.
16. Who invented Dynamite?
A) Thomas Edison
B) Albert Nobel
C) Nikola Tesla
D) Michael Faraday
Correct Answer: B) Alfred Nobel
Explanation: Alfred Nobel invented dynamite in 1867, a safer and more stable form of nitroglycerin.
17. Who created the Periodic Table?
A) John Dalton
B) Dimitri Mendeleev
C) Marie Curie
D) Albert Einstein
Correct Answer: B) Dimitri Mendeleev
Explanation: Dmitri Mendeleev is credited with creating the periodic table of elements in 1869, organizing them by atomic weight.
18. Who discovered Energy Quanta?
A) Max Planck
B) Albert Einstein
C) Niels Bohr
D) Werner Heisenberg
Correct Answer: A) Max Planck
Explanation: Max Planck discovered the concept of energy quanta in 1900, forming the foundation of quantum mechanics.
19. Who invented the Typewriter?
A) Thomas Edison
B) Christopher Latham Sholes
C) Nikola Tesla
D) Alexander Graham Bell
Correct Answer: B) Christopher Latham Sholes
Explanation: Christopher Latham Sholes invented the typewriter in 1868, revolutionizing office work.
20. Who invented the Richter Scale?
A) Charles Francis Richter
B) Alfred Wegener
C) William Gilbert
D) Isaac Newton
Correct Answer: A) Charles Francis Richter
Explanation: Charles Francis Richter invented the Richter Scale in 1935 to measure the magnitude of earthquakes.
21. Who developed the Polio Vaccine?
A) Edward Jenner
B) Albert Calmette
C) Jonas Salk
D) Louis Pasteur
Correct Answer: C) Jonas Salk
Explanation: Jonas Salk developed the first successful polio vaccine in 1955, significantly reducing the disease worldwide.
22. Who invented the Seismograph?
A) Thomas Edison
B) Robert Mallet
C) Charles Francis Richter
D) Albert Einstein
Correct Answer: B) Robert Mallet
Explanation: Robert Mallet invented the seismograph in 1840 to detect and record earthquake waves.
23. Who discovered Laughing Gas?
A) J.J. Thomson
B) Joseph Priestley
C) Alfred Nobel
D) Robert Hooke
Correct Answer: B) Joseph Priestley
Explanation: Joseph Priestley discovered nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas, in 1772.
24. Who invented the Ballpoint Pen?
A) Christopher Latham Sholes
B) Laszlo Biro
C) Albert Einstein
D) Hiram Maxim
Correct Answer: B) Laszlo Biro
Explanation: Laszlo Biro invented the ballpoint pen in 1938, which replaced fountain pens for everyday writing.
25. Who invented the Chronometer?
A) Albert Einstein
B) John Harrison
C) Galileo Galilei
D) Thomas Edison
Correct Answer: B) John Harrison
Explanation: John Harrison invented the marine chronometer in the 1730s, which helped determine longitude at sea.
26. Who developed the Atom Bomb?
A) Enrico Fermi
B) Robert Oppenheimer
C) Albert Einstein
D) Niels Bohr
Correct Answer: B) Robert Oppenheimer
Explanation: Robert Oppenheimer is known as the father of the atomic bomb, developed as part of the Manhattan Project during World War II.
27. Who invented the Digital Computer?
A) Charles Babbage
B) Alan Turing
C) John Vincent Atanasoff
D) Bill Gates
Correct Answer: C) John Vincent Atanasoff
Explanation: John Vincent Atanasoff invented the digital computer in 1937, laying the foundation for modern computing.
28. Who invented the Mobile Phone?
A) Steve Jobs
B) Nikola Tesla
C) Martin Cooper
D) Alexander Graham Bell
Correct Answer: C) Martin Cooper
Explanation: Martin Cooper invented the mobile phone in 1973, revolutionizing communication worldwide.
29. Who invented the Computer Mouse?
A) Steve Jobs
B) Bill Gates
C) Douglas Engelbart
D) Alan Turing
Correct Answer: C) Douglas Engelbart
Explanation: Douglas Engelbart invented the computer mouse in 1964, making it easier to interact with computers.
30. Who invented the Vaccine?
A) Edward Jenner
B) Louis Pasteur
C) Albert Calmette
D) Jonas Salk
Correct Answer: A) Edward Jenner
Explanation: Edward Jenner invented the smallpox vaccine in 1796, laying the groundwork for modern immunology.
31. Who invented the Television?
A) Albert Einstein
B) John Logie Baird
C) Nikola Tesla
D) Philo Farnsworth
Correct Answer: B) John Logie Baird
Explanation: John Logie Baird is credited with inventing the first working television system in the 1920s.
32. Who invented the Telephone?
A) Thomas Edison
B) Graham Bell
C) Alexander Bain
D) Nikola Tesla
Correct Answer: B) Graham Bell
Explanation: Alexander Graham Bell is credited with inventing the telephone in 1876, revolutionizing communication.
33. Who invented the Radio?
A) Thomas Edison
B) Nikola Tesla
C) Marconi
D) Benjamin Franklin
Correct Answer: C) Marconi
Explanation: Guglielmo Marconi is credited with inventing the radio and transmitting the first wireless message in 1895, a major milestone in communication technology.
34. Who invented the AK-47?
A) John Browning
B) Mikhail Kalashnikov
C) Samuel Colt
D) Eugene Stoner
Correct Answer: B) Mikhail Kalashnikov
Explanation: Mikhail Kalashnikov, a Russian military engineer, invented the AK-47 assault rifle in 1947, which became one of the most widely used weapons in history.
35. Who invented the Thermometer?
A) Galileo Galilei
B) Sir Thomas Allbut
C) Benjamin Franklin
D) Antoine Lavoisier
Correct Answer: B) Sir Thomas Allbut
Explanation: Sir Thomas Allbut developed the modern clinical thermometer in 1867, significantly improving the accuracy of temperature measurement.