Q 01/05

Which ring-shaped molecule did August Kekulé say he pictured after daydreaming of a snake seizing its own tail?

A) Cyclohexane

B) Pyridine

C) Benzene

D) Naphthalene

Answer · why

C) Benzene

Benzene had been isolated by Michael Faraday in 1825 from the oily residue of gas lighting, 40 years before Kekulé proposed its ring of six carbons.

Q 02/05

Which sedative sold for morning sickness around 1960 caused thousands of birth defects and led to stricter drug rules?

A) Thalidomide

B) Phenobarbital

C) Diazepam

D) Meprobamate

Answer · why

A) Thalidomide

Thalidomide is made as a 50:50 mix of mirror-image molecules, and the body converts each form into the other. So a pill of just one form would still e...

Q 03/05

Which DuPont material was discovered by accident in 1938 inside a gas bottle lined with a slippery white wax?

A) Kevlar

B) Neoprene

C) Lucite

D) Teflon

Answer · why

D) Teflon

Teflon came from a failed experiment: Roy Plunkett's team was trying to make a new refrigerant when the gas in the bottle turned solid. An early use w...

Q 04/05

Which gas, the simplest alkene, doubles as a natural plant hormone that farmers use to ripen fruit?

A) Propylene

B) Ethylene

C) Butadiene

D) Butylene

Answer · why

B) Ethylene

Ethylene showed its power over plants in the 19th century, when gas leaking from street lights stunted nearby growth and made leaves fall early. Scrub...

Q 05/05

Which French chemist opened the study of mirror-image molecules by manually sorting two shapes of tartrate crystal?

A) Antoine Lavoisier

B) Marie Curie

C) Louis Pasteur

D) Joseph Gay-Lussac

Answer · why

C) Louis Pasteur

Louis Pasteur was the first to produce a pure sample of one mirror-image form, picking the crystals apart by their shape. His famous work on germs and...