Inventions and Discoveries MCQs

Static General Knowledge

Inventions and Discoveries MCQs

Practice Inventions and Discoveries MCQs with answers and detailed explanations covering famous inventors, scientific discoveries, technological innovations, important inventions, groundbreaking research, Nobel-winning discoveries and contributions to science and technology frequently asked in SSC, Railway, Banking, UPSC, JKSSB, Police, Defence, Teaching and other competitive examinations.

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Question #1
Who discovered the phenomenon of radioactivity in 1896?
A. Henri Becquerel
B. Marie Curie
C. Wilhelm Röntgen
D. Ernest Rutherford

Correct Answer: Option A


Explanation:
Henri Becquerel discovered radioactivity in 1896 while working with uranium salts, for which he shared the 1903 Nobel Prize in Physics.

Question #2
The electron was discovered in 1897 by which of the following physicists?
A. James Chadwick
B. J.J. Thomson
C. Ernest Rutherford
D. John Dalton

Correct Answer: Option B


Explanation:
J.J. Thomson discovered the electron through his experiments with cathode ray tubes in 1897.

Question #3
Who is credited with the invention of the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1989?
A. Bill Gates
B. Alan Turing
C. Tim Berners-Lee
D. Vint Cerf

Correct Answer: Option C


Explanation:
Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989 while working at CERN.

Question #4
The X-ray was discovered in 1895 by which Nobel laureate?
A. Albert Einstein
B. Max Planck
C. Niels Bohr
D. Wilhelm Röntgen

Correct Answer: Option D


Explanation:
Wilhelm Röntgen discovered X-rays in 1895 and received the first-ever Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901.

Question #5
Who developed the first successful polio vaccine in 1955?
A. Jonas Salk
B. Louis Pasteur
C. Edward Jenner
D. Albert Sabin

Correct Answer: Option A


Explanation:
Jonas Salk developed the first successful inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) in 1955, while Albert Sabin later developed the oral polio vaccine.

Question #6
Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, the world's first effective antibiotic, in which year?
A. 1935
B. 1942
C. 1918
D. 1928

Correct Answer: Option D


Explanation:
Sir Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in 1928 at St. Mary's Hospital, London, after noticing a mold contaminating a petridish of staphylococci.

Question #7
Who formulated the Laws of Planetary Motion?
A. Galileo Galilei
B. Nicolaus Copernicus
C. Isaac Newton
D. Johannes Kepler

Correct Answer: Option D


Explanation:
Johannes Kepler formulated the three laws of planetary motion in the early 17th century.

Question #8
The periodic table of elements was first proposed in its widely recognized chronological form by whom?
A. Henry Moseley
B. John Newlands
C. Antoine Lavoisier
D. Dmitri Mendeleev

Correct Answer: Option D


Explanation:
Dmitri Mendeleev published the first widely recognized periodic table in 1869, arranging elements by atomic mass.

Question #9
Who invented the safety elevator in 1852, which prevented the cab from falling if the cable broke?
A. Thomas Edison
B. Henry Bessemer
C. Elisha Otis
D. James Watt

Correct Answer: Option C


Explanation:
Elisha Otis invented the elevator safety brake in 1852, making skyscrapers practical and safe.

Question #10
The blood group system (A, B, O) was discovered by which scientist?
A. Edward Jenner
B. Karl Landsteiner
C. Robert Koch
D. William Harvey

Correct Answer: Option B


Explanation:
Karl Landsteiner discovered the ABO blood groups in 1900, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1930.

Question #11
Who discovered the neutron in the year 1932?
A. Niels Bohr
B. James Chadwick
C. J.J. Thomson
D. Ernest Rutherford

Correct Answer: Option B


Explanation:
James Chadwick discovered the neutron in 1932, proving its existence as a neutral particle in the nucleus.

Question #12
The invention of the dynamite is credited to which Swedish chemist?
A. Jöns Jacob Berzelius
B. Svante Arrhenius
C. Carl Wilhelm Scheele
D. Alfred Nobel

Correct Answer: Option D


Explanation:
Alfred Nobel invented dynamite in 1867, and later used his enormous fortune to institute the Nobel Prizes.

Question #13
Who discovered insulin, saving millions of lives affected by diabetes?
A. Frederick Banting and Charles Best
B. Edward Jenner
C. Alexander Fleming
D. Robert Koch

Correct Answer: Option A


Explanation:
Sir Frederick Banting, along with Charles Best and John Macleod, isolated insulin in 1921-1922.

Question #14
Who invented the mercury thermometer in 1714?
A. Lord Kelvin
B. Anders Celsius
C. Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit
D. Galileo Galilei

Correct Answer: Option C


Explanation:
Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit invented the mercury-in-glass thermometer in 1714 and developed the Fahrenheit scale.

Question #15
The structure of DNA was discovered in 1953 by James Watson and Francis Crick with the crucial aid of data from whom?
A. Barbara McClintock
B. Dorothy Hodgkin
C. Marie Curie
D. Rosalind Franklin

Correct Answer: Option D


Explanation:
Rosalind Franklin's X-ray diffraction images (particularly Photo 51) were key to identifying the double-helix structure of DNA.

Question #16
Who invented the lightning rod and bifocal lenses?
A. Thomas Edison
B. Nikola Tesla
C. Benjamin Franklin
D. Michael Faraday

Correct Answer: Option C


Explanation:
Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod, bifocal spectacles, and the Franklin stove.

Question #17
Who discovered circulation of blood in the human body?
A. Karl Landsteiner
B. Andreas Vesalius
C. Robert Hooke
D. William Harvey

Correct Answer: Option D


Explanation:
William Harvey was an English physician who correctly described the systemic circulation and properties of blood being pumped to the brain and body by the heart.

Question #18
The cell was first discovered and named by whom in 1665?
A. Anton van Leeuwenhoek
B. Matthias Schleiden
C. Robert Hooke
D. Theodor Schwann

Correct Answer: Option C


Explanation:
Robert Hooke discovered plant cells in cork tissue under a primitive microscope in 1665 and coined the term 'cell'.

Question #19
Who invented the first working internal combustion engine powered by gasoline?
A. Karl Benz
B. Henry Ford
C. Rudolf Diesel
D. Nikolaus Otto

Correct Answer: Option A


Explanation:
Karl Benz is widely acknowledged as the inventor of the modern gasoline-powered automobile (1885/1886) using an internal combustion engine.

Question #20
Who discovered the law of hereditary transmission through experiments on pea plants?
A. Charles Darwin
B. Thomas Hunt Morgan
C. Gregor Mendel
D. Jean-Baptiste Lamarck

Correct Answer: Option C


Explanation:
Gregor Mendel is known as the father of modern genetics for his discovery of the basic laws of heredity through breeding pea plants.