Questions & Answers
Browse all 20 questions from the
Modern Scientific History study set below.
Each question shows the correct answer — select a study format above to practice interactively.
1
Which specific isotope was utilized by Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch in 1939 to perform the first physical interpretation of nuclear fission?
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A
Uranium-235
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B
Uranium-238
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C
Plutonium-239
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D
Thorium-232
2
In 1952, which experimental setup was used by Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase to confirm that DNA, rather than protein, is the genetic material?
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A
Tobacco Mosaic Virus
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B
T2 Bacteriophage
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C
Drosophila melanogaster
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D
Neurospora crassa
3
The 1964 discovery of the Cosmic Microwave Background radiation by Penzias and Wilson provided empirical evidence for which cosmological model?
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A
Steady State Theory
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B
Big Bang Theory
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C
Plasma Cosmology
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D
Cyclic Model
4
Which scientist performed the first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction at the University of Chicago in 1942?
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A
J. Robert Oppenheimer
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B
Edward Teller
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C
Enrico Fermi
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D
Leo Szilard
5
What was the primary chemical component identified by Mario Molina and F. Sherwood Rowland in 1974 as the cause of stratospheric ozone depletion?
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A
Chlorofluorocarbons
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B
Sulfur Dioxide
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C
Nitrous Oxide
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D
Methane
6
The 1927 Solvay Conference focused on the interpretation of which foundational physical theory?
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A
General Relativity
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B
Quantum Mechanics
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C
Thermodynamics
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D
Electromagnetism
7
Which Nobel laureate discovered the phenomenon of 'transposable elements' (jumping genes) in maize during the 1940s and 1950s?
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A
Barbara McClintock
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B
Rosalind Franklin
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C
Erwin Chargaff
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D
George Beadle
8
In 1919, Arthur Eddington's observation of the deflection of starlight during a solar eclipse provided the first empirical confirmation of which theory?
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A
Special Relativity
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B
Quantum Field Theory
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C
General Relativity
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D
Newtonian Gravity
9
Which molecular structure was identified by Dorothy Hodgkin using X-ray crystallography in 1956?
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A
Penicillin
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B
Insulin
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C
Hemoglobin
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D
DNA
10
The 1995 discovery of the first exoplanet orbiting a sun-like star, 51 Pegasi b, was made using which observational technique?
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A
Transit Photometry
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B
Radial Velocity
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C
Direct Imaging
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D
Gravitational Microlensing
11
What is the name of the 1947 mathematical theorem, proposed by Claude Shannon, that established the fundamental limits of data transmission?
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A
Nyquist-Shannon Sampling Theorem
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B
Noisy-Channel Coding Theorem
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C
Information Entropy Theorem
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D
Source Coding Theorem
12
Which astronomer formulated the empirical relationship known as the Tully-Fisher relation in 1977, linking galaxy luminosity to rotation speed?
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A
Edwin Hubble
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B
Vera Rubin
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C
R. Brent Tully
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D
George Gamow
13
In 1967, Jocelyn Bell Burnell discovered the first pulsar, an object initially designated as what due to its periodic signal?
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A
LGM-1
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B
quasar-01
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C
nebula-X
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D
dark-matter-1
14
Which synthetic element, created in 1940 at the University of California, Berkeley, was the first transuranic element to be synthesized?
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A
Americium
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B
Curium
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C
Neptunium
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D
Plutonium
15
The 1980 Alvarez hypothesis proposed that an asteroid impact caused the K-Pg extinction; what chemical element was found in high concentrations in the boundary clay?
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A
Iridium
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B
Osmium
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C
Platinum
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D
Palladium
16
Which biologist coined the term 'selfish gene' in his 1976 book to describe the gene-centered view of evolution?
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A
Stephen Jay Gould
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B
Richard Dawkins
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C
E.O. Wilson
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D
Ernst Mayr
17
In 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered the antibacterial properties of Penicillium notatum, but which team later succeeded in mass-producing it in 1940?
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A
Florey and Chain
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B
Watson and Crick
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C
Banting and Best
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D
Salk and Sabin
18
The 1932 discovery of the neutron, a subatomic particle with no charge, was made by which physicist?
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A
Werner Heisenberg
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B
James Chadwick
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C
Ernest Rutherford
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D
Niels Bohr
19
Which geological theory, accepted in the 1960s after the discovery of seafloor spreading, unified the concept of moving continents?
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A
Geosyncline Theory
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B
Plate Tectonics
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C
Expanding Earth
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D
Contraction Theory
20
What breakthrough in 1983 by Kary Mullis allowed for the rapid amplification of specific DNA segments?
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A
CRISPR-Cas9
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B
Polymerase Chain Reaction
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C
Sanger Sequencing
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D
Southern Blotting
