ScienceAges 12+15 questions

Famous Inventions Quiz

From the printing press to the World Wide Web, a handful of inventions changed how everyone lives. This quiz asks who made them, when and what they did, with a few British inventors you may not know about along the way. Each answer comes with a short explanation.

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The questions

  1. 1.Who patented the first practical telephone in 1876?

    • AThomas Edison
    • BGuglielmo Marconi
    • CAlexander Graham Bell
    • DNikola Tesla
    Show the answer

    Alexander Graham Bell. Alexander Graham Bell was granted a US patent for the telephone in March 1876.

  2. 2.Which brothers made the first powered aeroplane flight in 1903?

    • AThe Wright brothers
    • BThe Montgolfier brothers
    • CThe Lumière brothers
    • DThe Grimm brothers
    Show the answer

    The Wright brothers. Orville and Wilbur Wright flew their Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on 17 December 1903.

  3. 3.Who developed a printing press with movable metal type in Europe around 1440?

    • ALeonardo da Vinci
    • BWilliam Caxton
    • CGalileo Galilei
    • DJohannes Gutenberg
    Show the answer

    Johannes Gutenberg. Gutenberg's press in Mainz made books far cheaper to produce; his Bible was printed in the 1450s.

  4. 4.Who invented the World Wide Web in 1989?

    • ABill Gates
    • BTim Berners-Lee
    • CSteve Jobs
    • DAlan Turing
    Show the answer

    Tim Berners-Lee. Tim Berners-Lee, a British scientist working at CERN, proposed the World Wide Web in 1989.

  5. 5.Which explosive did Alfred Nobel invent?

    • ADynamite
    • BGunpowder
    • CTNT
    • DNitroglycerin
    Show the answer

    Dynamite. Nobel patented dynamite in 1867; his fortune later funded the Nobel Prizes.

  6. 6.Galileo Galilei invented the telescope.

    True or false?

    Show the answer

    False. The first telescopes appeared in the Netherlands in 1608; Galileo built improved versions and used them to study the sky.

  7. 7.Which sound-recording device did Thomas Edison invent in 1877?

    • AThe gramophone
    • BThe radio
    • CThe phonograph
    • DThe cassette tape
    Show the answer

    The phonograph. Edison's phonograph recorded sound on a tinfoil-wrapped cylinder and could play it back.

  8. 8.Which scientist discovered penicillin in 1928?

    • ALouis Pasteur
    • BAlexander Fleming
    • CMarie Curie
    • DEdward Jenner
    Show the answer

    Alexander Fleming. Alexander Fleming noticed that a mould had killed bacteria in a dish at St Mary's Hospital, London.

  9. 9.Which Scottish engineer greatly improved the steam engine by adding a separate condenser?

    • AGeorge Stephenson
    • BIsambard Kingdom Brunel
    • CThomas Newcomen
    • DJames Watt
    Show the answer

    James Watt. James Watt patented his separate condenser in 1769, making steam engines far more efficient.

  10. 10.Who gave the first public demonstration of television in London in 1926?

    • AJohn Logie Baird
    • BCharles Babbage
    • CMichael Faraday
    • DGuglielmo Marconi
    Show the answer

    John Logie Baird. John Logie Baird demonstrated moving television pictures to members of the Royal Institution in January 1926.

  11. 11.Frank Whittle, a British engineer, filed a patent for a jet engine design in 1930.

    True or false?

    Show the answer

    True. Frank Whittle filed his jet engine patent in 1930; his engine first ran in 1937.

  12. 12.Which road safety device did Percy Shaw invent in 1934?

    • AThe zebra crossing
    • BThe traffic light
    • CCat's eyes
    • DThe speed camera
    Show the answer

    Cat's eyes. Percy Shaw's cat's eyes are reflectors set into the road that light up in car headlights.

  13. 13.Who invented the diesel engine?

    • AKarl Benz
    • BRudolf Diesel
    • CGottlieb Daimler
    • DHenry Ford
    Show the answer

    Rudolf Diesel. Rudolf Diesel patented his engine in 1892; it ignites fuel using the heat of compressed air.

  14. 14.Who developed the first successful polio vaccine, announced in 1955?

    • AEdward Jenner
    • BLouis Pasteur
    • CRobert Koch
    • DJonas Salk
    Show the answer

    Jonas Salk. Jonas Salk's injected vaccine was declared safe and effective in 1955 after large field trials.

  15. 15.Who designed the Analytical Engine, an early plan for a general-purpose mechanical computer?

    • ACharles Babbage
    • BAlan Turing
    • CBlaise Pascal
    • DIsaac Newton
    Show the answer

    Charles Babbage. Charles Babbage designed the Analytical Engine in the 1830s; Ada Lovelace wrote notes on how it could be programmed.

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