What did Fleming notice in 1928?

Mold killing bacteria in a dish

What is antibiotic resistance?

Bacteria evolving to survive antibiotics

What did Fleming warn about in his 1945 Nobel lecture?

Misuse could lead to resistance

Antibiotic Discovery Trivia: 10 Questions With Answers

This antibiotic discovery trivia covers Paul Ehrlich's magic bullet, sulfa drugs, Alexander Fleming's penicillin, Florey and Chain, Dorothy Hodgkin, streptomycin and the growing problem of antibiotic resistance. Ten questions with answers on drugs that fight bacteria.

Start Antibiotic Discovery Trivia

🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 150 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Fleming
What did Fleming notice in 1928?
Mold
Which mold produced penicillin?
Development
Which scientists turned penicillin into a usable drug around 1940?
Ehrlich
Who created Salvarsan, an early magic bullet against syphilis, in 1910?
Sulfa
Which class of drugs was introduced in the 1930s before penicillin?
Structure
Who determined penicillin's structure using X-rays?
TB
Which antibiotic was the first effective treatment for tuberculosis?
Viruses
Do antibiotics work against viruses?
Resistance
What is antibiotic resistance?
Fleming
What did Fleming warn about in his 1945 Nobel lecture?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What did Fleming notice in 1928?
Answer: Mold killing bacteria in a dish
He had returned from holiday to find the mold.
Q2: Which mold produced penicillin?
Answer: Penicillium
It is a common fungus.
Q3: Which scientists turned penicillin into a usable drug around 1940?
Answer: Howard Florey and Ernst Chain
They shared the 1945 Nobel Prize with Fleming.
Q4: Who created Salvarsan, an early magic bullet against syphilis, in 1910?
Answer: Paul Ehrlich
It was an early targeted drug.
Q5: Which class of drugs was introduced in the 1930s before penicillin?
Answer: Sulfonamides
Gerhard Domagk discovered Prontosil.
Q6: Who determined penicillin's structure using X-rays?
Answer: Dorothy Hodgkin
She won the 1964 Nobel Prize.
Q7: Which antibiotic was the first effective treatment for tuberculosis?
Answer: Streptomycin
It was discovered in 1943.
Q8: Do antibiotics work against viruses?
Answer: No
They target bacteria.
Q9: What is antibiotic resistance?
Answer: Bacteria evolving to survive antibiotics
Overuse speeds it up.
Q10: What did Fleming warn about in his 1945 Nobel lecture?
Answer: Misuse could lead to resistance
His warning proved true.

Antibiotic Discovery Trivia – Drugs That Fight Bacteria

Before antibiotics, minor infections from cuts or surgery could be deadly. Early breakthroughs included Paul Ehrlich's Salvarsan and the sulfa drugs of the 1930s, which showed that chemicals could target bacteria.

In 1928 Alexander Fleming noticed that Penicillium mold killed bacteria. Howard Florey, Ernst Chain and their team turned penicillin into a mass-produced drug during World War II, saving countless soldiers. More antibiotics, like streptomycin, followed.

Antibiotics transformed medicine, but bacteria evolve resistance, especially when antibiotics are overused. Scientists are searching for new antibiotics, and using these drugs carefully helps keep them effective.

What This Quiz Teaches

This quiz is for students exploring the history of antibiotics.

What Fleming discovered
Who developed penicillin
What sulfa drugs were
What streptomycin treated
Why resistance matters

Did You Know?

Mary Hunt found a high-yield penicillin mold on a cantaloupe.
MRSA is a resistant bacterium.
Antibiotics are used in farming too.
Phage therapy uses viruses against bacteria.
Selman Waksman coined the term antibiotic.