Mass Spectrometry Quiz

1.
The quadrupole mass filter has been known since the mid-1950s thanks to the work of Wolfgang Paul. The motion of ions in a quadrupole field can be described by solving second-order differential equations. When were these equations solved mathematically?
- 1868
- 1968
- 1989
Your answer:

Correct answer:

The solution of differential equations of this type came from the French mathematician Émile Léonard Mathieu (1835-1890), who studied the mechanical vibrations of the elliptical drumheads.
2.
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]
3.
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.
4.
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]
5.
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]
6.
Josef Mattauch is known for the development of Mattauch-Herzog double-focusing mass spectrometer and his work on isotopes and atomic weights. His career is connected with the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry in Berlin. Do you know where he was born?
- Berlin, Germany
- Ostrava, Czechia
- Klosterneuburg, Austria
Your answer:

Correct answer:

Josef Mattauch was born in 1895 in the city of Mährisch Ostrau, in what is now the Czech Republic, then part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire.
7.
How many elements of the periodic table have only a single stable isotope?
- 0
- 15
- 26
Your answer:

Correct answer:

These so-called monoisotopic elements are beryllium, fluorine, sodium, aluminum, phosphorus, scandium, vanadium, manganese, cobalt, arsenic, rubidium, yttrium, niobium, rhodium, indium, iodine, cesium, lanthanum, praseodymium, europium, terbium, holmium, thulium, lutecium, rhenium, and gold.
8.
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]
9.
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.
10.
What is the electric charge of an ion with m/z = m?
- 1 C
- 1.602 176 634 x 10^-19 C
- 1 eV
Your answer:

Correct answer:

The particle carries one elementary charge, the value of which is 1.602 176 634 × 10⁻¹⁹ C (exactly).

Mass Spectrometry Quiz

Mass Spectrometry Quiz

Thank you for taking our quiz!

1.
The quadrupole mass filter has been known since the mid-1950s thanks to the work of Wolfgang Paul. The motion of ions in a quadrupole field can be described by solving second-order differential equations. When were these equations solved mathematically?

2.
Who built the first mass spectrometer in Czechia?

3.
Which mass spectrometer was carried by the American spacecraft Viking 1 sent to the planet Mars in 1975?

4.
What ionization technique was used for the first sequencing of peptides by mass spectrometry?

5.
Chemical ionization (CI) is a soft ionization technique used in mass spectrometry. Who discovered it?

6.
Josef Mattauch is known for the development of Mattauch-Herzog double-focusing mass spectrometer and his work on isotopes and atomic weights. His career is connected with the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry in Berlin. Do you know where he was born?

7.
How many elements of the periodic table have only a single stable isotope?

8.
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?

9.
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?

10.
What is the electric charge of an ion with m/z = m?

Czech Museum
of Mass Spectrometry

Our partners

Mass Spectrometry Quiz

Mass Spectrometry Quiz

Thank you for taking our quiz!

1. The quadrupole mass filter has been known since the mid-1950s thanks to the work of Wolfgang Paul. The motion of ions in a quadrupole field can be described by solving second-order differential equations. When were these equations solved mathematically?

2. Who built the first mass spectrometer in Czechia?

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

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

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

6. Josef Mattauch is known for the development of Mattauch-Herzog double-focusing mass spectrometer and his work on isotopes and atomic weights. His career is connected with the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry in Berlin. Do you know where he was born?

7. How many elements of the periodic table have only a single stable isotope?

8. 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?

9. 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?

10. What is the electric charge of an ion with m/z = m?

Czech Museumof Mass Spectrometry

Our partners

1.
The quadrupole mass filter has been known since the mid-1950s thanks to the work of Wolfgang Paul. The motion of ions in a quadrupole field can be described by solving second-order differential equations. When were these equations solved mathematically?

2.
Who built the first mass spectrometer in Czechia?

3.
Which mass spectrometer was carried by the American spacecraft Viking 1 sent to the planet Mars in 1975?

4.
What ionization technique was used for the first sequencing of peptides by mass spectrometry?

5.
Chemical ionization (CI) is a soft ionization technique used in mass spectrometry. Who discovered it?

6.
Josef Mattauch is known for the development of Mattauch-Herzog double-focusing mass spectrometer and his work on isotopes and atomic weights. His career is connected with the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry in Berlin. Do you know where he was born?

7.
How many elements of the periodic table have only a single stable isotope?

8.
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?

9.
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?

10.
What is the electric charge of an ion with m/z = m?

Czech Museum
of Mass Spectrometry