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Women in Science"Chemical Carcinogenesis in Newborn Animals". 1962 National Cancer Institute / Unsplash

Female Scientists Quiz

How much do you know about Female Scientists?

When we think of famous scientists throughout history, many of us may first think of names like Albert Einstein, Isaac Newton, or Charles Darwin. However, throughout history, female scientists have made significant contributions to various fields of science, yet their achievements are often overlooked or forgotten.

Get ready to test your knowledge of some of the most influential female scientists in history! From Marie Curie to Rosalind Franklin, these groundbreaking women have made significant contributions to various fields of science. In this quiz game, we will explore their lives, achievements, and the impact they have had on the scientific community and the world at large. So, how much do you really know about female scientists? Let's find out!

Start the Female Scientists quiz

Questions and answers about Women in Science

  • Who was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize?

    Marie Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize. Born in Poland in 1867, Curie moved to Paris to study physics and chemistry. Together with her husband, Pierre Curie, she discovered the elements polonium and radium, and she coined the term "radioactivity" to describe the process by which certain materials emit energy. In 1903, Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for her work on radiation, becoming the first woman to win the prize. She went on to win a second Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911 for her discovery and isolation of radium and polonium.

    • Marie Curie
    • Rosalind Franklin
    • Dorothy Hodgkin
    • Lise Meitner

  • Which female scientist discovered the structure of DNA?

    Rosalind Franklin is known for her work on X-ray crystallography, which was critical to the discovery of the structure of DNA. In 1952, Franklin produced an X-ray diffraction image of DNA that provided crucial information about its structure. James Watson and Francis Crick used this image, without Franklin's knowledge or permission, to propose their model of the double helix structure of DNA. Franklin's contribution to the discovery of DNA's structure was recognized posthumously, and her work has been widely acknowledged as instrumental to the discovery.

    • Rosalind Franklin
    • Barbara McClintock
    • Rita Levi-Montalcini
    • Gertrude B. Elion

  • Who was the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry?

    St. Elmo Brady was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry, receiving his degree from the University of Illinois in 1916. However, the first African American woman to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry was Dr. Marie Maynard Daly. Daly earned her Ph.D. from Columbia University in 1947, becoming the first African American woman to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry. Her doctoral thesis focused on the chemistry of histones, proteins that help organize DNA in cells.

    • St. Elmo Brady
    • Percy Julian
    • Marie Maynard Daly
    • Alice Ball

  • Which female mathematician is considered the world's first computer programmer?

    Ada Lovelace is often considered the world's first computer programmer for her work on Charles Babbage's early mechanical computer, the Analytical Engine. Lovelace was an English mathematician and writer who saw the potential of Babbage's machine to do more than just mathematical calculations. She wrote a series of notes describing how the Analytical Engine could be programmed to calculate Bernoulli numbers, making her the first person to write a computer program.

    • Ada Lovelace
    • Sofia Kovalevskaya
    • Maryam Mirzakhani
    • Emmy Noether

  • Who was the first woman to become a member of the Royal Society of London?

    Kathleen Lonsdale (1903-1971) was an x-ray crystallographer and the first of two women elected Fellows of the Royal Society in 1945, along with Marjory Stephenson

    • Kathleen Lonsdale
    • Marie Curie
    • Rosalind Franklin
    • Barbara McClintock

  • Who was the first woman to receive a doctorate in physics?

    Elsa Neumann (23 August 1872 – 23 July 1902) was a German physicist. She was the first woman to receive a PhD in physics from the University of Berlin, in 1899.

    • Elsa Neumann
    • Lise Meitner
    • Rosalind Franklin
    • Chien-Shiung Wu

  • Which female physicist is credited with the discovery of nuclear fission?

    Lise Meitner is credited with the discovery of nuclear fission, along with her collaborator Otto Hahn. Meitner's contributions to nuclear physics were groundbreaking, and she was nominated several times for the Nobel Prize in Physics.

    • Lise Meitner
    • Marie Curie
    • Emmy Noether
    • Dorothy Hodgkin

  • Who was the first woman to win the Fields Medal, the most prestigious award in mathematics?

    Iranian mathematician Maryam Mirzakhani was the first woman to win the Fields Medal in 2014, for her work on the dynamics and geometry of Riemann surfaces and their moduli spaces.

    • Maryam Mirzakhani
    • Emmy Noether
    • Sofia Kovalevskaya
    • Grace Hopper

  • Which female astronomer discovered the first comet?

    On October 1, 1847, at age 29, Maria Mitchell discovered the comet that would be named "Miss Mitchell's Comet," using a two-inch telescope.

    • Caroline Herschel
    • Maria Mitchell
    • Annie Jump Cannon
    • Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin

  • Who was the first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine?

    The first woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was Gerty Cori, who won the award in 1947 with her husband Carl Cori for their discovery of how glycogen is broken down and resynthesized in the body.

    • Gerty Cori
    • Rita Levi-Montalcini
    • Rosalind Franklin
    • Barbara McClintock

  • Which female scientist was a pioneer in the field of primatology and the study of chimpanzees?

    Jane Goodall is a British primatologist and anthropologist who is considered a pioneer in the field of primatology and the study of chimpanzees. Goodall is known for her extensive research on the behavior of chimpanzees in Tanzania's Gombe Stream National Park.

    • Jane Goodall
    • Dian Fossey
    • Birutė Galdikas
    • Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall

  • Who was the first woman to hold a faculty position in the Harvard University astronomy department?

    Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin was the first woman to hold a faculty position in the Harvard University astronomy department. She was a pioneering astronomer and astrophysicist who is best known for her work in determining the composition of stars. Payne-Gaposchkin was also the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in astronomy from Radcliffe College, which was then the women's college at Harvard.

    • Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin
    • Annie Jump Cannon
    • Maria Mitchell
    • Jocelyn Bell Burnell

  • Which female chemist was the first woman to be elected president of the American Chemical Society?

    Mary L. Good was the first woman to be elected president of the American Chemical Society. Good was a renowned chemist and professor who focused on environmental and energy research. She served as president of the ACS from 1987 to 1988 and was also the first woman to receive the ACS's highest honor, the Priestley Medal, in 1997.

    • Mary L. Good
    • Mildred Cohn
    • Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin
    • Marie Maynard Daly

  • Who was the first woman to become a member of the National Academy of Sciences?

    Florence R. Sabin was the first woman to become a member of the National Academy of Sciences. Sabin was a pioneering medical researcher who made significant contributions to the study of the lymphatic system and the causes of tuberculosis. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1925, becoming the first woman to receive this honor.

    • Florence R. Sabin
    • Rita Levi-Montalcini
    • Chien-Shiung Wu
    • Barbara McClintock

  • Which female biologist is known for her groundbreaking work on the molecular structure of ribosomes?

    Ada Yonath is a pioneering biochemist and biophysicist who is known for her groundbreaking work on the structure of ribosomes. Yonath was the first woman from the Middle East to win a Nobel Prize in Chemistry, which she received in 2009 for her work on the structure and function of ribosomes. Her work has led to the development of new antibiotics and has helped to deepen our understanding of how cells function.

    • Ada Yonath
    • Barbara McClintock
    • Rosalind Franklin
    • Elizabeth Blackburn

  • Which female physicist was a key contributor to the Manhattan Project?

    Lise Meitner was a pioneering physicist who made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics. Meitner was part of the team that discovered nuclear fission, a breakthrough that led to the development of the atomic bomb. Although Meitner did not directly work on the Manhattan Project, her research and insights were crucial to the development of nuclear weapons.

    • Lise Meitner
    • Marie Curie
    • Chien-Shiung Wu
    • Rosalind Franklin

  • Which female paleontologist discovered the first known dinosaur eggs?

    Dr. Mary Anning was a self-taught British paleontologist who discovered the first known dinosaur eggs. She also made numerous other significant discoveries, including the first complete plesiosaur and the first pterosaur skeleton outside of Germany.

    • Mary Anning
    • Mary Leakey
    • Yvonne Brill
    • Barbara McClintock

  • Who was the first woman to receive the National Medal of Science?

    1970: The first woman receives a National Medal of Science. The recipient, Barbara McClintock , is recognized for her work on plant genetics.

    • Chien-Shiung Wu
    • Grace Hopper
    • Esther Lederberg
    • Barbara McClintock

  • Which female scientist was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for her work on CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing?

    Dr. Jennifer Doudna, a biochemist at UC Berkeley, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2020 for her work on CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing. Her research has opened up new possibilities for treating genetic diseases and developing more precise ways of editing DNA.

    • Jennifer Doudna
    • Carol Greider
    • Ada Yonath
    • Frances Arnold

  • Who was the first woman to be awarded the Turing Award, the highest honor in computer science?

    Dr. Fran Allen was the first woman to be awarded the Turing Award in 2006 for her pioneering work in computer science, particularly in the field of optimizing compilers. Her contributions have had a profound impact on the development of modern computer systems.

    • Fran Allen
    • Radia Perlman
    • Barbara Liskov
    • Shafi Goldwasser

  • Which female mathematician made significant contributions to the field of abstract algebra and ring theory?

    Emmy Noether was a German mathematician who made significant contributions to the field of abstract algebra and ring theory. She developed Noether's theorem, which relates symmetry in physics to conservation laws. Her work had a major impact on the development of modern theoretical physics.

    • Emmy Noether
    • Sophie Germain
    • Ada Lovelace
    • Hypatia

  • Who was the first woman to receive a degree in electrical engineering from MIT?

    Edith Clarke was the first woman to receive a degree in electrical engineering from MIT. She graduated in 1919 with a master's degree in electrical engineering. Clarke went on to become a pioneering engineer, researcher, and inventor, and was the first female electrical engineer to work for AT&T. She is best known for her contributions to the field of power system analysis, including the invention of the Clarke calculator, a graphical device that simplified calculations used in the analysis of electrical power transmission systems.

    • Edith Clarke
    • Grace Hopper
    • Ada Lovelace
    • Marie Curie

  • Which female scientist developed the first test for HIV/AIDS?

    Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, a renowned scientist and activist, devoted her professional life to combatting the spread of AIDS. Through her groundbreaking discovery of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), she pioneered the development of accurate blood tests for detecting the virus, as well as the creation of antiretroviral drugs that have revolutionized the treatment of AIDS, transforming it from a terminal illness to a manageable, chronic condition. 

    • Françoise Barré-Sinoussi
    • Rosalind Franklin
    • Jane Goodall
    • Luc Montagnier

  • Who was the first woman to receive a doctorate in computer science?

    In 1965, Sister Mary Kenneth Keller PhD'65 achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first woman in the United States to earn a doctoral degree in computer science. While she narrowly missed the distinction of being the first person ever to receive this degree, as a man had accepted his diploma at Washington University in St. Louis on the same day, her accomplishment marked a significant breakthrough for women in the field of computer science.

    • Mary Kenneth Keller
    • Grace Hopper
    • Ada Lovelace
    • Frances Allen

Marie CurieMarie Curie Henri Manuel, Public domain

About Women in Science

Throughout history, female scientists have played a significant role in advancing human knowledge and improving the world around us. Despite facing many obstacles and prejudices, they have made groundbreaking discoveries and contributions to various fields of science.

Marie Curie, for example, is known for her pioneering work in the study of radioactivity and her discovery of two new elements, polonium and radium. Her research laid the foundation for modern nuclear physics and earned her two Nobel Prizes, one in Physics and one in Chemistry.

Another notable female scientist is Rosalind Franklin, whose work was instrumental in the discovery of the structure of DNA. Although she did not receive the same level of recognition as her male colleagues, her contributions were crucial in the development of the double helix model.

In the field of computer science, Ada Lovelace is credited with creating the first algorithm intended to be processed by a machine, making her the world's first computer programmer. Her work laid the groundwork for modern computer programming and artificial intelligence.

In medicine, Dr. Virginia Apgar developed the Apgar Score, a standardized method for evaluating the health of newborns, which has saved countless lives since its introduction in 1952.

These are just a few examples of the many contributions made by female scientists throughout history. However, despite their accomplishments, women in science have often faced discrimination and barriers to entry in the male-dominated field. As we continue to strive for gender equality, it is important to recognize the important role that women have played in advancing science and to encourage and support future generations of female scientists.

 

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