What did she help show in 1931 with Harriet Creighton?

Chromosomes exchange material during crossing over

Barbara McClintock Quiz: Places, People and Key Facts

This Barbara McClintock quiz covers her maize research, the discovery of jumping genes or transposons, her years at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and her 1983 Nobel Prize. Ten questions on places, people and key facts about her pioneering genetics.

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

Question 1 / 10 Time: 150s

Plant
Which plant did Barbara McClintock study?
Discovery
What did McClintock discover in the 1940s?
Term
What are jumping genes also called?
Nobel
In which year did McClintock win the Nobel Prize?
Lab
Where did McClintock work for decades?
Ignored
How was her jumping gene work first received?
University
Where did McClintock study?
Chromosomes
What did she help show in 1931 with Harriet Creighton?
Society
McClintock was elected the first woman president of which society?
Stamp
Which country issued a stamp honoring McClintock in 2005?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: Which plant did Barbara McClintock study?
Answer: Maize (corn)
Colorful kernels revealed genetic changes.
Q2: What did McClintock discover in the 1940s?
Answer: Jumping genes
Genes can move within chromosomes.
Q3: What are jumping genes also called?
Answer: Transposons
They are found in many organisms.
Q4: In which year did McClintock win the Nobel Prize?
Answer: 1983
She was the first woman to win an unshared Nobel in Physiology or Medicine.
Q5: Where did McClintock work for decades?
Answer: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
It is on Long Island, New York.
Q6: How was her jumping gene work first received?
Answer: Largely ignored or doubted
Recognition came decades later.
Q7: Where did McClintock study?
Answer: Cornell University
She earned her PhD in botany in 1927.
Q8: What did she help show in 1931 with Harriet Creighton?
Answer: Chromosomes exchange material during crossing over
It linked genes to chromosomes.
Q9: McClintock was elected the first woman president of which society?
Answer: Genetics Society of America
She became president in 1945.
Q10: Which country issued a stamp honoring McClintock in 2005?
Answer: United States
It was part of an American Scientists series.

Barbara Mcclintock Quiz – The Genes That Jump

Barbara McClintock studied the genetics of maize, using colorful kernels to track how traits were inherited. Her careful microscope work linked genes to structures on chromosomes.

In the 1940s and 1950s, she discovered that some genes could move to new places on chromosomes, switching other genes on and off. Many scientists at first ignored or doubted her findings.

Decades later, transposons were found in bacteria, animals and humans, proving her right. In 1983 she received the Nobel Prize, becoming a symbol of independent thinking in science.

What This Quiz Teaches

This quiz is for science fans exploring McClintock's life.

What plant she studied
What jumping genes are
When she won the Nobel
Where she worked
Why recognition came late

Did You Know?

Nearly half of human DNA comes from transposons.
She worked independently for years.
She was known for intense focus.
She received the National Medal of Science.
She died in 1992.