Which scientific technique was Franklin an expert in?

Electron spin resonance imaging

Why did Franklin not share the 1962 Nobel Prize for the structure of DNA?

She had died, and the prize is not given after death

She refused it on principle at the ceremony in Stockholm

She was not nominated by anyone

Rosalind Franklin Quiz: Photo 51 and the Secret of DNA

This Rosalind Franklin quiz looks at the scientist whose X-ray images helped reveal the structure of DNA, from Photo 51 at King's College London and the race with Watson and Crick to Maurice Wilkins, the 1962 Nobel Prize, her virus research and the Mars rover named after her.

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🎯 Daily Trivia Challenge • 🧠 10 Questions • ⏱️ 90 Seconds

Question 1 / 10 Time: 90s

Photo 51
What did Rosalind Franklin's famous Photo 51, taken in 1952, show?
Method
Which scientific technique was Franklin an expert in?
Workplace
At which institution was Franklin working when she took Photo 51?
Discovery
Which two scientists published the double-helix model of DNA in 1953?
Nobel Prize
Why did Franklin not share the 1962 Nobel Prize for the structure of DNA?
Viruses
After leaving King's, Franklin did important research on the structure of which virus?
Early Work
Before DNA, Franklin studied the structure of what in Paris?
Space
Which space mission's rover is named after Rosalind Franklin?
Biography
In which city was Rosalind Franklin born in 1920?
Recognition
What is the shape of the DNA molecule that Franklin's work helped reveal?

Explanations: answer key for all 10 questions

Q1: What did Rosalind Franklin's famous Photo 51, taken in 1952, show?
Answer: An X-ray pattern of DNA
The X-shaped pattern pointed to a helical structure. It was captured with her PhD student Raymond Gosling.
Q2: Which scientific technique was Franklin an expert in?
Answer: X-ray crystallography
X-ray crystallography reveals the arrangement of atoms in a molecule by studying how X-rays scatter off a crystal or fiber.
Q3: At which institution was Franklin working when she took Photo 51?
Answer: King's College London
Franklin joined King's College London in 1951. Her relationship with colleague Maurice Wilkins was famously difficult.
Q4: Which two scientists published the double-helix model of DNA in 1953?
Answer: Watson and Crick
James Watson and Francis Crick built their model after seeing Franklin's data, which Wilkins showed Watson without her knowledge.
Q5: Why did Franklin not share the 1962 Nobel Prize for the structure of DNA?
Answer: She had died, and the prize is not given after death
Franklin died of ovarian cancer in 1958, aged 37. The prize went to Watson, Crick and Maurice Wilkins.
Q6: After leaving King's, Franklin did important research on the structure of which virus?
Answer: Tobacco mosaic virus
At Birkbeck College in London, she studied plant viruses and began work on the polio virus. Her colleague Aaron Klug later won a Nobel Prize.
Q7: Before DNA, Franklin studied the structure of what in Paris?
Answer: Coal and carbon
Her research on coal and graphite carbons helped industry and earned her an international reputation.
Q8: Which space mission's rover is named after Rosalind Franklin?
Answer: ESA's ExoMars
The European Space Agency's Rosalind Franklin rover is designed to drill beneath the surface of Mars and search for signs of past life.
Q9: In which city was Rosalind Franklin born in 1920?
Answer: London
Franklin was born into a prominent London family. She studied chemistry at Newnham College, Cambridge.
Q10: What is the shape of the DNA molecule that Franklin's work helped reveal?
Answer: Double helix
The double helix looks like a twisted ladder. Its rungs are pairs of bases that store genetic information.

Rosalind Franklin Quiz – The Scientist Behind Photo 51

Rosalind Franklin was a brilliant British chemist whose work was essential to one of the greatest discoveries of the 20th century: the structure of DNA. For many years, her role was overlooked, but today she is recognized as a pioneering scientist and a symbol of the women whose contributions to science were not fully credited during their lifetimes.

Born in London in 1920, Franklin studied chemistry at Cambridge. After World War II, she worked in Paris, where she became an expert in X-ray crystallography, using X-rays to study the structure of materials such as coal. In 1951 she moved to King's College London to apply this technique to DNA.

At King's, she and her student Raymond Gosling captured Photo 51, an X-ray image that strongly suggested DNA was a helix. Without her knowledge, her colleague Maurice Wilkins showed the image to James Watson. Along with her detailed data, it helped Watson and Francis Crick build their famous double-helix model in 1953.

Franklin later moved to Birkbeck College, where she studied the structure of viruses, including the tobacco mosaic virus. She died of cancer in 1958, at only 37. In 1962, Watson, Crick and Wilkins received the Nobel Prize, which is not awarded after death. Today, buildings, awards and even a European Mars rover carry her name.

This quiz covers Rosalind Franklin's life, research and legacy.

Franklin was known for her careful, precise methods. She insisted on collecting high-quality data before drawing conclusions, and her measurements of DNA's dimensions and the position of its phosphate backbone were crucial. Historians who later studied her notebooks found that she was very close to working out the structure herself. Her story has inspired many debates about credit, teamwork and the treatment of women in science.

What This Quiz Teaches

This quiz is perfect for science students and anyone interested in the story of DNA.

What Photo 51 showed and how it was taken
How X-ray crystallography works
How Franklin's data helped Watson and Crick
Why she did not receive the Nobel Prize
Her later work on viruses
How she is honored today

Quick Facts About Rosalind Franklin

Franklin enjoyed hiking and traveling, especially in the mountains.
In Paris she worked at the Laboratoire Central des Services Chimiques de l'État.
Her work on viruses continued with her team after her death.
The Rosalind Franklin Institute in Britain studies new imaging methods.
A play called Photograph 51 tells her story.
Her role in DNA research became widely known only decades after her death.