Nano-Quiz

(20 questions to test your nano-IQ)

Question 1: The prefix "nano" comes from a ...
French word meaning billion
Greek word meaning dwarf
Spanish word meaning particle
Latin word meaning invisible
Question 2: Who first used the term nanotechnology and when?
Richard Feynman, 1959
Norio Taniguchi, 1974
Eric Drexler, 1986
Sumio Iijima, 1991
Question 3: What is a buckyball?
A carbon molecule (C60)
Nickname for Mercedes-Benz's futuristic concept car (C111)
Plastic explosives nanoparticle (C4)
Concrete nanoparticle with a compressive strength of 20 nanonewtons (C20)
Question 4: Which of these historical works of art contain nanotechnology?
Lycurgus cup
Medieval stained glass windows in churches
Damascus steel swords
All of the above
Question 5: What is depicted in this famous image?
Artist's nanoscale illustration of the Circus Maximus in Rome
Scanning Tunneling Microscope image of electrons surrounded by iron atoms
Simulation of underwater volcanoes near the Hawaiian Islands
Nanoscale version of a bear trap to capture nanoparticles
Question 6: Richard Feynman is often credited with predicting the potential of nanotechnology. What was the title of his famous speech given on December 29, 1959?
There is a tiny room at the bottom
Things get nanoscopic at the bottom
Bottom? What bottom?
There is plenty of room at the bottom
Question 7: How many oxygen atoms lined up in a row would fit in a one nanometer space?
None; an oxygen atom is bigger than 1 nm
One
Seven
Seventy
Question 8: Which one of these statements is NOT true?
Gold at the nanoscale is red
Copper at the nanoscale is transparent
Silicon at the nanoscale is an insulator
Aluminum at the nanoscale is highly combustible
Question 9: Which of these consumer products is already being made using nanotechnology methods?
Fishing lure
Golf ball
Sunscreen lotion
All of the above
Question 10: If you were to shrink yourself down until you were only a nanometer tall, how thick would a sheet of paper appear to you?
170 meters
1.7 kilometers (a bit more than a mile)
17 kilometers
170 kilometers
Question 11: What is graphene?
A new material made from carbon nanotubes
A one-atom thick sheet of carbon
Thin film made from fullerenes
A software tool to measure and graphically represent nanoparticles
Question 12: Which of these well-known phrases from Star Trek depends on the (fictional) use of nanotechnology?
Beam me up, Scotty!
Tea. Earl Grey. Hot.
You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.
All of the above
Question 13: What is grey goo?
A hypothetical substance composed of out-of-control self-replicating nanobots that consumes all living matter on Earth
The feeder material used to grow grey nanoparticles in the laboratory
Toxic byproduct resulting from the synthesis of carbon nanotubes
Waste product from the production of nanoglue made from the membranes on the feet of the Madagascan Grey Gecko
Question 14: Which one of these condiments is unique due to the nanoscale interactions between its ingredients?
Ketchup
Mustard
Mayonnaise
All of the above
Question 15: Nanorobots (nanobots)...
Do not exist yet
Exist in experimental form in laboratories
Are already used in nanomedicine to remove plaque from the walls of arteries
Will be used by NASA in the next unmanned mission to Mars
Question 16: What has been the cumulative budget for the U.S. National Nanotechnology Initiative since its inception in 2001?
$187 million
$1.9 billion
$14 billion
$29 billion
Question 17: Plasmonics is...
A field of nanophotonics that holds the promise of molecular-size optical device technology
The science of fluorescent nanoparticles used in modern fireworks
A hypothetical science used in science fiction weaponry (plasma cannons)
The technology used to design and build the laser-guided photonic gyroscopes used in aviation.
Question 18: Optical tweezers...
Are used to remove facial hair with miniaturized laser beams
Use light to manipulate particles as small as a single atom
Are a nanotechnology-based tool for stamp collectors
Don't exist
Question 19: A silver coin with a diameter of 4 cm (such as the U.S. silver dollar) contains 26.96 grams of coin silver and has a surface area of about 27.7 square cm. If the same 26.96 grams of coin silver were divided into particles 1 nanometer in diameter, what would their combined surface area be?
11.4 square meters
140 square meters
1,400 square meters
11,400 square meters
Question 20: And what exactly is a quantum dot?
A semiconductor nanostructure that confines the motion of conduction band electrons, valence band holes, or excitons in all three spatial directions.
The sharpest possible tip of an Atomic Force Microscope
A fictional term used in science fiction for the endpoints of wormholes
Unexplained spots that appear in electron microscopy images of nanostructures smaller than 1 nanometer
 
 
Why not read our extensive tutorials on nanotechnology and on graphene (which includes a fantastic infographic)? We spent a lot of time compiling all the relevant information for you.