Mass Spectrometry Quiz

1.
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).
2.
What was the largest number of quadrupoles connected in series for tandem mass spectrometry in a commercial instrument?
- 5
- 7
- 9
Your answer:

Correct answer:

A penta-quadrupole mass spectrometer contains three quadrupole filters and two rf-only quadrupole collision cells. It allows MS³ experiments. Extrel once offered such a spectrometer.
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.
The first on-line coupling of gas chromatography to a mass spectrometer was reported in 1959. What type of spectrometer was used for this purpose?
- Double-focusing mass spectrometer
- Time-of-flight mass spectrometer
- Quadrupole mass spectrometer
Your answer:

Correct answer:

The first GC/MS experiments were carried out by Fred McLafferty and Roland Gohlke at Dow Chemical with Bill Wiley and Ian McLaren at Bendix Research Laboratories. They used a Bendix timeof- flight mass spectrometer, which had been commercially introduced in 1956. The instrument was fast enough to keep up with the changing output of the GC column.
5.
Which element has the largest number of stable isotopes?
- Molybdenum
- Tin
- Ytterbium
Your answer:

Correct answer:

Naturally occurring tin is a mixture of its ten stable isotopes and they are found in the percentages as follows: ¹¹²Sn (1.0 %), ¹¹⁴Sn (0.7 %), ¹¹⁵Sn (0.3 %), ¹¹⁶Sn (14.5 %), ¹¹⁷Sn (7.7 %), ¹¹⁸Sn (24.2 %), ¹¹⁹Sn (8.6 %), ¹²⁰Sn (32.6 %), ¹²²Sn (4.6 %), and ¹²⁴Sn (5.8 %). Molybdenum has six stable isotopes, ytterbium seven.
6.
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]
7.
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.
8.
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.
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.
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.

Mass Spectrometry Quiz

Mass Spectrometry Quiz

Thank you for taking our quiz!

1.
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?

2.
What was the largest number of quadrupoles connected in series for tandem mass spectrometry in a commercial instrument?

3.
Who built the first mass spectrometer in Czechia?

4.
The first on-line coupling of gas chromatography to a mass spectrometer was reported in 1959. What type of spectrometer was used for this purpose?

5.
Which element has the largest number of stable isotopes?

6.
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?

7.
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?

8.
Which mass spectrometer was carried by the American spacecraft Viking 1 sent to the planet Mars in 1975?

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

10.
What is the trajectory of a charged particle moving parallel to a uniform electric field in a vacuum?

Czech Museum
of Mass Spectrometry

Our partners

Mass Spectrometry Quiz

Mass Spectrometry Quiz

Thank you for taking our quiz!

1. 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?

2. What was the largest number of quadrupoles connected in series for tandem mass spectrometry in a commercial instrument?

3. Who built the first mass spectrometer in Czechia?

4. The first on-line coupling of gas chromatography to a mass spectrometer was reported in 1959. What type of spectrometer was used for this purpose?

5. Which element has the largest number of stable isotopes?

6. 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?

7. 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?

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

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

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

Czech Museumof Mass Spectrometry

Our partners

1.
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?

2.
What was the largest number of quadrupoles connected in series for tandem mass spectrometry in a commercial instrument?

3.
Who built the first mass spectrometer in Czechia?

4.
The first on-line coupling of gas chromatography to a mass spectrometer was reported in 1959. What type of spectrometer was used for this purpose?

5.
Which element has the largest number of stable isotopes?

6.
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?

7.
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?

8.
Which mass spectrometer was carried by the American spacecraft Viking 1 sent to the planet Mars in 1975?

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

10.
What is the trajectory of a charged particle moving parallel to a uniform electric field in a vacuum?

Czech Museum
of Mass Spectrometry