1
The telephone was invented by:
Correct answer: A. Alexander Graham Bell
Alexander Graham Bell received the patent for the telephone in 1876.
easy
Inventions and Discoveries MCQs
Solved MCQs on famous inventions and scientific discoveries and the people behind them, from the telephone and penicillin to DNA and the World Wide Web.
26 MCQsUpdated 27 October 2026
From the telephone and the polio vaccine to radium, the periodic table, blood circulation and insulin, this set covers great inventions and discoveries and the scientists behind them.
Questions usually pair an inventor with an invention, sometimes with a date. Group the discoveries by field, such as medicine, physics and communication, to keep the names in order.
- 2
Penicillin, the first widely used antibiotic, was discovered by:
Correct answer: D. Alexander Fleming
Alexander Fleming noticed in 1928 that a mould (Penicillium) killed bacteria in his culture plates.
easy - 3
The first successful vaccine, against smallpox, was developed by:
Correct answer: B. Edward Jenner
In 1796 Edward Jenner showed that infection with cowpox protected people against smallpox, the beginning of vaccination.
Read detailseasy - 4
The polio vaccine first introduced in 1955 was developed by:
Correct answer: D. Jonas Salk
Jonas Salk developed the injected (inactivated) polio vaccine. Albert Sabin later developed the oral polio vaccine.
medium - 5
X-rays were discovered by:
Correct answer: C. Wilhelm Röntgen
Wilhelm Röntgen discovered X-rays in 1895 and received the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901.
easy - 6
Radioactivity was discovered by:
Correct answer: D. Henri Becquerel
Henri Becquerel discovered radioactivity in uranium salts in 1896 and shared the 1903 Nobel Prize with Pierre and Marie Curie.
Read detailsmedium - 7
The elements polonium and radium were discovered by:
Correct answer: A. Marie and Pierre Curie
Marie and Pierre Curie discovered both elements in 1898. Marie Curie named polonium after her native Poland.
easy - 8
The electron was discovered by:
Correct answer: A. J. J. Thomson
J. J. Thomson identified the electron in 1897 through his experiments with cathode rays.
easy - 9
The neutron was discovered in 1932 by:
Correct answer: A. James Chadwick
James Chadwick discovered the neutron, an uncharged particle in the atomic nucleus, and won the 1935 Nobel Prize in Physics.
Read detailsmedium - 10
The periodic table of elements was first organized in its modern form by:
Correct answer: A. Dmitri Mendeleev
Dmitri Mendeleev published his periodic table in 1869 and left gaps for elements that were discovered later.
easy - 11
The laws of motion and universal gravitation were formulated by:
Correct answer: D. Isaac Newton
Isaac Newton set out his three laws of motion and the law of universal gravitation in the Principia (1687).
easy - 12
The theory of relativity was proposed by:
Correct answer: A. Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein published special relativity in 1905 and general relativity in 1915.
easy - 13
The circulation of blood in the human body was described by:
Correct answer: B. William Harvey
English physician William Harvey described the circulation of blood pumped by the heart in 1628.
medium - 14
The laws of inheritance were discovered by:
Correct answer: C. Gregor Mendel
Gregor Mendel's experiments with pea plants in the 1860s laid the foundations of genetics.
easy - 15
The double-helix structure of DNA was described in 1953 by:
Correct answer: B. Watson and Crick
James Watson and Francis Crick proposed the double helix, drawing on X-ray images produced by Rosalind Franklin.
medium - 16
Insulin was discovered in 1921 by:
Correct answer: A. Banting and Best
Frederick Banting and Charles Best isolated insulin at the University of Toronto. It transformed the treatment of diabetes.
Read detailsmedium - 17
The first powered, controlled aeroplane flight was made in 1903 by:
Correct answer: A. Wright brothers
Orville and Wilbur Wright flew the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on 17 December 1903.
easy - 18
The printing press with movable metal type was developed in Europe by:
Correct answer: B. Johannes Gutenberg
Johannes Gutenberg developed his press around 1440 in Mainz, Germany. The Gutenberg Bible was one of its first major works.
Read detailseasy - 19
Dynamite was invented by:
Correct answer: B. Alfred Nobel
Alfred Nobel patented dynamite in 1867. His fortune later funded the Nobel Prizes.
easy - 20
The World Wide Web was invented in 1989 by:
Correct answer: D. Tim Berners-Lee
Tim Berners-Lee proposed the World Wide Web while working at CERN. Vint Cerf co-designed the internet's TCP/IP protocols.
Read detailseasy