Nobel Prize controversies

Nobel Prize controversies - Quiz

1. Why was the 1918 Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to Fritz Haber?

A) For his work on chemical fertilizers during WWI.
B) For his role in chemical warfare.
C) For the discovery of nitrogen gas.
D) For the invention of the Haber-Bosch process.

2. What controversy surrounded Fritz Haber's 1918 Nobel Prize?

A) He stole his research from a colleague.
B) He oversaw Germany's chemical weapons program during WWI.
C) He was accused of falsifying his data.
D) He refused to accept the prize money.

3. How many times was Gilbert N. Lewis nominated for the Nobel Prize without winning?

A) 10 times.
B) 5 times.
C) 22 times.
D) 41 times.

4. What is Gilbert N. Lewis famous for coining?

A) The covalent bond.
B) Radioactivity.
C) The water channel protein.
D) The atom smasher.

5. Why is it speculated that Gilbert N. Lewis was blocked from winning a Nobel Prize?

A) He insulted the Nobel Committee.
B) He had a lifelong enmity with Walther Nernst.
C) He was not a chemist by trade.
D) He refused to publish his results.

6. Who used his position on the Nobel Committee to block Gilbert N. Lewis?

A) Walther Nernst.
B) Fritz Haber.
C) Wilhelm Palmær.
D) Peter Agre.

7. What did Gilbert N. Lewis call Walther Nernst's work on the heat theorem?

A) A fundamental contribution to science.
B) A brilliant breakthrough.
C) A regrettable episode in the history of chemistry.
D) An accidental discovery.

8. Who claimed priority over the Joliot-Curie discovery of induced radioactivity?

A) Ștefania Mărăcineanu.
B) Peter Agre.
C) Walther Nernst.
D) Gilbert N. Lewis.

9. For what discovery did Peter Agre win the 2003 Nobel Prize?

A) The synthesis of ammonia.
B) The discovery of water channels.
C) The discovery of induced radioactivity.
D) The heat theorem.

10. Who was omitted from the 2003 Nobel Prize despite showing the existence of a protein water channel in 1986?

A) Ștefania Mărăcineanu.
B) Gilbert N. Lewis.
C) Gheorghe Benga.
D) Fritz Haber.

11. What did Peter Agre acknowledge in his Nobel Lecture regarding his prize?

A) That he did not deserve the award.
B) The contributions of pioneers who preceded his study.
C) That he alone discovered aquaporins.
D) That he stole the idea from Gheorghe Benga.

12. In what year was the first Nobel Prize awarded?

A) 1905
B) 1969
C) 1896
D) 1901

13. Which field was not included in Alfred Nobel's original will?

A) Literature
B) Mathematics
C) Physics
D) Chemistry

14. What is the reason often cited for the exclusion of mathematics from the Nobel Prizes?

A) Nobel hated mathematicians
B) The Nobel family forbid it
C) It was considered too theoretical and not practical
D) There were not enough mathematicians in 1901

15. Why has the theory about Nobel's spouse having an affair with a mathematician been debunked?

A) The mathematician was a woman
B) The affair happened after his death
C) Nobel was never married
D) His wife was a scientist

16. Which prizes are considered the 'Nobel Prize of mathematics'?

A) Dirac Medal and Shaw Prize
B) Copley Medal and Kyoto Prize
C) Wolf Prize and Turing Award
D) Fields Medal and Abel Prize

17. When was the Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel first awarded?

A) 1969
B) 1901
C) 1990
D) 1950

18. Which three categories are identified as having the most notorious controversies?

A) Physics, Chemistry, and Medicine
B) Literature, Peace, and Economics
C) Medicine, Economics, and Chemistry
D) Physics, Literature, and Peace

19. What common criticisms are leveled against the Nobel selection process?

A) Political bias and Eurocentrism
B) Ageism and lack of funding
C) Nationalism and technical incompetence
D) Sexism and poor communication

20. How many individuals can share a scientific Nobel Prize according to current rules?

A) No more than five
B) No more than three
C) Only one
D) Unlimited

21. What major shift in scientific research creates tension with the current Nobel rules?

A) Lack of focus on practical discoveries
B) Large-scale international cooperation
C) Increased cost of equipment
D) The decline of theoretical research

22. Who created the rule limiting the number of recipients per prize?

A) The award committee
B) The Swedish Parliament
C) Alfred Nobel
D) The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences

23. Which Nobel Prize is frequently awarded to organizations?

A) Economic Sciences Prize
B) Peace Prize
C) Chemistry Prize
D) Physics Prize

24. What does the text suggest regarding the current rules on recipient limits?

A) They are mandated by law
B) They are required by Nobel's will
C) They could be easily changed
D) They are impossible to modify

25. What is the historical preference of awards committees mentioned in the text?

A) Theoretical over practical work
B) Inventions over discoveries
C) Individual over team effort
D) Discoveries over inventions

26. Who was the sole recipient of the 2007 Nobel Prize in Chemistry?

A) Osamu Shimomura
B) Gábor Somorjai
C) Martin Chalfie
D) Gerhard Ertl

27. Who did Gerhard Ertl believe should have shared the 2007 Nobel Prize with him?

A) Roger Y. Tsien
B) Gábor Somorjai
C) Douglas Prasher
D) Rachid Yazami

28. For what scientific development was the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded?

A) Green fluorescent protein
B) Biological cell tracing
C) Catalytic metal surfaces
D) Lithium-ion batteries

29. Who was the first person to clone the GFP gene?

A) Roger Y. Tsien
B) Osamu Shimomura
C) Martin Chalfie
D) Douglas Prasher

30. What was Douglas Prasher working as when the 2008 Nobel Prize was awarded?

A) A laboratory researcher
B) A shuttle bus driver
C) A university professor
D) An oceanographic institute director

31. Which researcher nominated Douglas Prasher for the Nobel Prize in 2004?

A) Roger Y. Tsien
B) Osamu Shimomura
C) Gerhard Ertl
D) Martin Chalfie

32. Where did Douglas Prasher eventually work after his academic career stalled?

A) Stanford University
B) Oxford University
C) Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
D) UCSD

33. Whose invention of a working graphite anode was omitted from the 2019 Nobel Prize recognition?

A) John Goodenough
B) Akira Yoshino
C) Rachid Yazami
D) Stanley Whittingham

34. What specifically did Akira Yoshino receive recognition for in the 2019 Nobel Prize?

A) The cathode development
B) The first working prototype
C) The graphite anode
D) The initial gene cloning

35. Which scientist besides Francisco Mojica was left out of the 2020 CRISPR Nobel Prize according to the text?

A) Henry Moseley
B) Dmitri Mendeleev
C) Henry Eyring
D) Virginijus Šikšnys

36. In what year did Dmitri Mendeleev complete his first periodic table?

A) 1906
B) 1907
C) 1869
D) 1866

37. Who proposed a periodic law in 1866 before Mendeleev's table?

A) Henry Eyring
B) John Alexander Reina Newlands
C) Henry Moseley
D) Julius Lothar Meyer

38. Who determined that the periodic table should be based on atomic number?

A) Dmitri Mendeleev
B) Julius Lothar Meyer
C) John Alexander Reina Newlands
D) Henry Moseley

39. How close did Dmitri Mendeleev come to winning a Nobel Prize in 1906?

A) Two votes
B) One vote
C) He tied for the prize
D) He was not nominated

40. Who claimed that Mendeleev's omission was due to machinations of a Nobel Committee dissenter?

A) Virginijus Šikšnys
B) Henry Moseley
C) István Hargittai
D) Francisco Mojica

Created with That Quiz — the math test generation site with resources for other subject areas.