History of Science
Einbürgerungstest
This'n That
120
Friedrich Wöhler's 1828 synthesis of urea was significant because
(1) It disproved the vis vitalis theory ("vitalism")
(2) It immediately kickstarted the nitrogen release fertilizer industry
(3) New urea-based explosives helped coalition forces to defeat Napoleon
(4) It had no scientific or economic significance whatsoever
Nr. 1 (disproving vitalism) is correct.
120
The musical sensation of the year 1791 was an Opera premiered at the Freihaus-Theater in Vienna featuring what superficially appears to be a fantasy story flavoured with masonic references. The opera in question is:
(1) Fidelio (L. v. Beethoven / J. Sonnleithner)
(2) Le nozze di Figaro (W.A. Mozart / L. Da Ponte)
(3) Der Freischütz (C.M. v. Weber / F. Kind)
(4) Die Zauberflöte (W.A. Mozart / E. Schikaneder)
Nr. 4 (Zauberflöte) is correct.
120
What is the maximum possible value of magnetic variation (aka declination, dt. Missweisung) on Earth?
(1) 15.71 deg
(2) 45 deg
(3) 90 deg
(4) 180 deg
Hint? C'me on, it's a trivial problem of spherical geometry...
Nr. 4 (180 deg) is correct.
150
What did Ignatz Semmelweis (1818-1865) discover?
(1) Cowpox vaccination
(2) How to prevent childbed fever
(3) The germ causing tuberculosis
(4) Penicilium
Nr. 2 (prevention of childbed fever) is correct.
150
Who was famously murdered in Cheb/Eger in 1634?
(1) Franz Ferdinand of Austria
(2) Gustav II Adolf of Sweden
(3) Henri IV of France
(4) Albrecht v. Wallenstein
Hint: The person in question was in a way responsible for the death of another one from the same list (though it was not exactly murder).
Nr. 4 (Wallenstein) is correct.
150
Guess the line: What could possibly to wrong (from 2:30)...?
[play https://archive.org/details/the-pink-panther-cartoon-collection/008+Shocking+Pink+(May+13%2C+1965).mp4 from 0:30 - 2:30]
(1) The power cord is cut
(2) The room is cut in half
(3) The garden gets a good ploughing
(4) The Earth is cut in half
Nr. 2 (house sliced) is correct.
180
The Xerox Alto computer system (1973) is most well-known for the following "first":
(1) Semiconductor-based main memory
(2) Hardware accelaration for the LISP language
(3) A water-cooled CPU
(4) A graphical user interface (GUI), complete with mouse input
Hint: What you see here is what you get...
Nr. 4 (GUI) is correct.
180
Who wrote the novel that the movie "Der Blaue Engel" is based on?
(1) Gerhard Hauptmann
(2) Heinrich Mann
(3) Thomas Mann
(4) Carl Zuckmayer
Hint: The person in question also wrote a historical novel about the life of Henri IV as well as "Der Untertan", but neither "Der Zauberberg", nor "Der Hauptmann von Köpenick" nor "Die Weber".
Nr. 2 (Heinrich Mann) is correct.
180
Which element of the political system of the Attic democracy did not really "sit well" and was considered more of a neccessary evil?
(1) Elections
(2) General popular assembly
(3) Trial by jury
(4) Attendance fees
Hint: Don't confuse Attic democracy with what is called by the same name in modern times!
Nr. 1 (elections) is correct. The "right" way to select officials was by drawing lots; elections were only held for a select few positions that required special skills, to wit, the heads of military operations (strategoi) and the head of finance.
210
In what position was James Watt employed at Glasgow-U when he developed his steam engine?
(1) Mechanic
(2) Postdoc of Mathematics
(3) Professor of Theoretical Physics
(4) Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences
Nr. 1 (mechanic) is correct.
210
Which of the following years does NOT mark a major turning point in German (and, in fact: European) history?
(1) 1348
(2) 1648
(3) 1848
(4) 1948
Hint: It helps if you can place in time the following historical events: March Revolution, Black Death pandemic, Peace of Westphalia
Nr. 4 (1948) is correct.
210
What is, originally, the "menetekel"?
(1) A word describing primeval chaos (Gn 1,2)
(2) The "writing on the wall" (Da 5,24 ff.)
(3) What the voice in the burning bush said (Ex 3,14)
(4) A device used for transporting the ark of the convenant
Hint: Maybe the modern day meaning of the word gives it away?
Nr. 2 (writing on the wall) is correct.
240
The first distributed version control system ever developed was:
(1) BitKeeper (BitMover Inc.)
(2) Darcs (David Roundy)
(3) Git (L. Thorvalds)
(4) TeamWare (Sun Microsystems)
Hint: Which of the above companies/individuals would you rate as the consistently most innovative?
Nr. 4 (Sun Microsystems) is correct
240
Which of the following professional groups had the highest proportion of NSDAP membership?
(1) Craftsmen
(2) Industrial workers
(3) Medical doctors
(4) Banking and finance
Nr. 3 (Physicians) is correct.
240
What is today's major technical challange in devising an interplanetary time standard?
(1) The planets' varying orbital periods ("year length")
(2) The planets' varying rotational periods ("day length")
(3) The differences of gravitational potential
(4) None of the above
Hint: If you weigh the question carefully the answer is relatively easy...
Nr. 3 (time delation) is correct.