Mass Spectrometry Quiz

1.
What is the trajectory of a charged particle moving perpendicularly to a uniform magnetic field in a vacuum?
- The particle follows a curved path and continues to follow this path until it forms a complete circle
- The particle follows a helical path
- The particle follows a straight line and accelerates
Your answer:

Correct answer:

The magnetic force is perpendicular to the velocity so that it does no work on the charged particle. The particle’s kinetic energy and speed thus remain constant. The direction of motion is affected but not the speed.
2.
Which mass spectrometer was carried by the American spacecraft Viking 1 sent to the planet Mars in 1975?
- Double-focusing mass spectrometer
- Time-of-flight mass spectrometer
- Quadrupole mass spectrometer
Your answer:

Correct answer:

Viking 1 carried two mass spectrometers, both equipped with double-focusing analyzers and electron ionization sources. The first spectrometer with a Mattauch-Herzog geometry was designed by Alfred Nier; it was intended to analyze the upper atmosphere of Mars. The second one with a Nier- Johnson geometry was part of the GC/MS apparatus designed by Klaus Biemann. It was used to analyze the regolith and the atmosphere at the landing site.
3.
Who built the first mass spectrometer in Czechia?
- Čermák, Hanuš, Jech, Cabicar
- Červinka, Dědek, Ferles
- Jára Cimrman
Your answer:

Correct answer:

The first mass spectrometer in the country was built in the Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences. Four young scientists, Vladimír Čermák, Vladimír Hanuš, Čestmír Jech and Josef Cabicar, took part in its construction. At the time of the post-war shortage, it was very difficult to find the necessary components; some parts originated from captured German military equipment. The mass spectrometer was of the Nier type with simple focusing and 60° magnetic field, pumped by a mercury diffusion pump. The device was completed after two years, in 1953. The construction of this instrument was an extraordinary achievement awarded a year later by the State Prize. [Z. Herman, Chem. Listy 104, 955, 2010]
4.
Joseph John Thomson (1856 - 1940), Nobel laureate in physics, is credited with the invention of the mass spectrometer, the discovery of the electron and isotopes of stable elements. A lesser-known fact is his father's profession. What was it?
- Electrical engineer
- Owner of an antiquarian bookshop
- Circus ringmaster
Your answer:

Correct answer:

His father, Joseph James Thomson, ran an antiquarian bookshop founded by Thomson’s great-grandfather. [Wikipedia]
5.
John Zeleny was an American physicist whose work laid the theoretical foundations of electrospray ionization. He was born in 1872 into a family of immigrants from Europe. Where did his family come from?
- Slovakia
- Czechia
- Poland
Your answer:

Correct answer:

The parents of John Zelený, Antonín Zelený and Josefa Pitková, came from Křídla, a small village near Žďár nad Sázavou in Austria-Hungary (now the Czech Republic).
6.
Lunar craters are usually named after scientists and explorers. One of the craters on the Moon is named after a prominent scientist in the field of mass spectrometry. Who is named after?
- Francis William Aston
- Wolfgang Paul
- John Bennett Fenn
Your answer:

Correct answer:

Aston is a 44-kilometer lunar impact crater located along the northwestern limb of the Moon. The crater was named in honor of Francis W. Aston.
7.
Until 2019, the kilogram unit was defined using an international prototype kept at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in France. The International Prototype of the Kilogram was made of an alloy of platinum and one other metal. The metal was:
- Gold
- Iridium
- Rhenium
Your answer:

Correct answer:

The International Prototype of the Kilogram was a cylinder with a height and diameter of 39 mm made of an alloy of 90% platinum and 10% iridium.
8.
List these compounds according to their increasing mass: hydrazine (H4N2), oxygen (O2), methanol (CH4O).
- Hydrazine, oxygen, methanol
- Methanol, hydrazine, oxygen
- Oxygen, methanol, hydrazine
Your answer:

Correct answer:

The monoisotopic masses of these compounds are 31.989829 Da (oxygen), 32.026215 Da (methanol), and 32.037448 Da (hydrazine).
9.
What ionization technique was used for the first sequencing of peptides by mass spectrometry?
- Electron ionization
- Fast atom bombardment
- Matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization
Your answer:

Correct answer:

Mass spectrometry was used to sequence peptides for the first time in 1959 when K. Biemann described an innovative method based on the reduction of small peptides to polyamino alcohols with characteristic EI spectra. [https://doi.org/10.1021/ja01518a069]
10.
Chemical ionization (CI) is a soft ionization technique used in mass spectrometry. Who discovered it?
- Burnaby Munson and Frank H. Field
- Michael Barber
- Hans-Dieter Beckey
Your answer:

Correct answer:

Chemical ionization was discovered in the laboratories of the Humble Oil and Refining Company in Baytown, TX. Munson and Field’s seminal paper on chemical ionization was published in 1966. [https://doi.org/10.1021/ja00964a001]

Mass Spectrometry Quiz

Mass Spectrometry Quiz

Thank you for taking our quiz!

1.
What is the trajectory of a charged particle moving perpendicularly to a uniform magnetic field in a vacuum?

2.
Which mass spectrometer was carried by the American spacecraft Viking 1 sent to the planet Mars in 1975?

3.
Who built the first mass spectrometer in Czechia?

4.
Joseph John Thomson (1856 - 1940), Nobel laureate in physics, is credited with the invention of the mass spectrometer, the discovery of the electron and isotopes of stable elements. A lesser-known fact is his father's profession. What was it?

5.
John Zeleny was an American physicist whose work laid the theoretical foundations of electrospray ionization. He was born in 1872 into a family of immigrants from Europe. Where did his family come from?

6.
Lunar craters are usually named after scientists and explorers. One of the craters on the Moon is named after a prominent scientist in the field of mass spectrometry. Who is named after?

7.
Until 2019, the kilogram unit was defined using an international prototype kept at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in France. The International Prototype of the Kilogram was made of an alloy of platinum and one other metal. The metal was:

8.
List these compounds according to their increasing mass: hydrazine (H4N2), oxygen (O2), methanol (CH4O).

9.
What ionization technique was used for the first sequencing of peptides by mass spectrometry?

10.
Chemical ionization (CI) is a soft ionization technique used in mass spectrometry. Who discovered it?

Czech Museum
of Mass Spectrometry

Our partners

Mass Spectrometry Quiz

Mass Spectrometry Quiz

Thank you for taking our quiz!

1. What is the trajectory of a charged particle moving perpendicularly to a uniform magnetic field in a vacuum?

2. Which mass spectrometer was carried by the American spacecraft Viking 1 sent to the planet Mars in 1975?

3. Who built the first mass spectrometer in Czechia?

4. Joseph John Thomson (1856 - 1940), Nobel laureate in physics, is credited with the invention of the mass spectrometer, the discovery of the electron and isotopes of stable elements. A lesser-known fact is his father's profession. What was it?

5. John Zeleny was an American physicist whose work laid the theoretical foundations of electrospray ionization. He was born in 1872 into a family of immigrants from Europe. Where did his family come from?

6. Lunar craters are usually named after scientists and explorers. One of the craters on the Moon is named after a prominent scientist in the field of mass spectrometry. Who is named after?

7. Until 2019, the kilogram unit was defined using an international prototype kept at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in France. The International Prototype of the Kilogram was made of an alloy of platinum and one other metal. The metal was:

8. List these compounds according to their increasing mass: hydrazine (H4N2), oxygen (O2), methanol (CH4O).

9. What ionization technique was used for the first sequencing of peptides by mass spectrometry?

10. Chemical ionization (CI) is a soft ionization technique used in mass spectrometry. Who discovered it?

Czech Museumof Mass Spectrometry

Our partners

1.
What is the trajectory of a charged particle moving perpendicularly to a uniform magnetic field in a vacuum?

2.
Which mass spectrometer was carried by the American spacecraft Viking 1 sent to the planet Mars in 1975?

3.
Who built the first mass spectrometer in Czechia?

4.
Joseph John Thomson (1856 - 1940), Nobel laureate in physics, is credited with the invention of the mass spectrometer, the discovery of the electron and isotopes of stable elements. A lesser-known fact is his father's profession. What was it?

5.
John Zeleny was an American physicist whose work laid the theoretical foundations of electrospray ionization. He was born in 1872 into a family of immigrants from Europe. Where did his family come from?

6.
Lunar craters are usually named after scientists and explorers. One of the craters on the Moon is named after a prominent scientist in the field of mass spectrometry. Who is named after?

7.
Until 2019, the kilogram unit was defined using an international prototype kept at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in France. The International Prototype of the Kilogram was made of an alloy of platinum and one other metal. The metal was:

8.
List these compounds according to their increasing mass: hydrazine (H4N2), oxygen (O2), methanol (CH4O).

9.
What ionization technique was used for the first sequencing of peptides by mass spectrometry?

10.
Chemical ionization (CI) is a soft ionization technique used in mass spectrometry. Who discovered it?

Czech Museum
of Mass Spectrometry