Mass Spectrometry Quiz

1.
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]
2.
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).
3.
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.
4.
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.
5.
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]
6.
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.
7.
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]
8.
What is the trajectory of a charged particle moving parallel to a uniform electric field in a vacuum?
- The particle follows a curved path and continues to follow this path until it forms a complete circle
- Neither the trajectory nor the velocity of the particle changes
- The particle either accelerates or decelerates, depending on the field direction and the particle charge sign
Your answer:

Correct answer:

If a positive charge is moving in the same direction as the electric field vector the particle's velocity will increase. If it is moving in the opposite direction it will decelerate. If a negative charge is moving in the same direction as the electric field vector the particle will decelerate. If it is moving in the opposite direction it will accelerate.
9.
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).
10.
Mass spectrometers known as calutrons were used for the industrial separation of uranium isotopes during the Manhattan Project. A large amount of copper was needed to make their magnetic coils. How was the highly-valued metal obtained during the war?
- By confiscating almost year-round copper production from mines in the Belgian Congo
- By purchasing discarded copper stills from the Federal distillery in Port Melbourne
- By replacing copper with silver borrowed from the West Point Bullion Depository
Your answer:

Correct answer:

During the war, copper was preferably used for the production of brass shell casings and it was not available for the construction of calutrons. The designers came up with the idea of replacing copper with silver. They borrowed about 13,300 tons of silver from the West Point Bullion Depository in West Point, NY. After the war, the silver was returned to the Treasury with virtually no loss.

Mass Spectrometry Quiz

Mass Spectrometry Quiz

Thank you for taking our quiz!

1.
Who built the first mass spectrometer in Czechia?

2.
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?

3.
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:

4.
Which mass spectrometer was carried by the American spacecraft Viking 1 sent to the planet Mars in 1975?

5.
What ionization technique was used for the first sequencing of peptides by mass spectrometry?

6.
What is the trajectory of a charged particle moving perpendicularly to a uniform magnetic field in a vacuum?

7.
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?

8.
What is the trajectory of a charged particle moving parallel to a uniform electric field in a vacuum?

9.
List these compounds according to their increasing mass: hydrazine (H4N2), oxygen (O2), methanol (CH4O).

10.
Mass spectrometers known as calutrons were used for the industrial separation of uranium isotopes during the Manhattan Project. A large amount of copper was needed to make their magnetic coils. How was the highly-valued metal obtained during the war?

Czech Museum
of Mass Spectrometry

Our partners

Mass Spectrometry Quiz

Mass Spectrometry Quiz

Thank you for taking our quiz!

1. Who built the first mass spectrometer in Czechia?

2. 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?

3. 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:

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

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

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

7. 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?

8. What is the trajectory of a charged particle moving parallel to a uniform electric field in a vacuum?

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

10. Mass spectrometers known as calutrons were used for the industrial separation of uranium isotopes during the Manhattan Project. A large amount of copper was needed to make their magnetic coils. How was the highly-valued metal obtained during the war?

Czech Museumof Mass Spectrometry

Our partners

1.
Who built the first mass spectrometer in Czechia?

2.
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?

3.
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:

4.
Which mass spectrometer was carried by the American spacecraft Viking 1 sent to the planet Mars in 1975?

5.
What ionization technique was used for the first sequencing of peptides by mass spectrometry?

6.
What is the trajectory of a charged particle moving perpendicularly to a uniform magnetic field in a vacuum?

7.
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?

8.
What is the trajectory of a charged particle moving parallel to a uniform electric field in a vacuum?

9.
List these compounds according to their increasing mass: hydrazine (H4N2), oxygen (O2), methanol (CH4O).

10.
Mass spectrometers known as calutrons were used for the industrial separation of uranium isotopes during the Manhattan Project. A large amount of copper was needed to make their magnetic coils. How was the highly-valued metal obtained during the war?

Czech Museum
of Mass Spectrometry