Quiz: The International Day of Women and Girls in Science

International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2022

On the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, we celebrate all female pioneers whose achievements changed the world.

Quiz Time!

How well do you know your science history? Have a go at our quiz and test your knowledge below!

1. Who was the first female Muslim Astronaut?

A. Yamsin Abdel Aziz

B. Ayesha Khalid

C. Anousheh Ansari

D. Fatima Hussain

C. Anousheh Ansari

Anousheh Ansari is an Iranian-born American businesswoman who was the first female space tourist and the first Muslim woman to go into space. She emigrated from Iran to the United States in 1984 as a teenager.

2. Who founded the world first University?

A. Fatimah Al Fihri

B. Sumaya Mukhtar

C. Mary Anning

D. Maria Merian

A. Fatimah Al Fihri

In the Moroccan city of Fez, Fatima al-Fihri founded a mosque that developed into the famous al-Qarawiyyin university. Today it is recognized as the oldest existing university in the world.

3. What percentage of female scientific researchers worldwide are female?

A. 5%

B. 10%

C. 20%

D. 30%

D. 30%

According to UIS data, less than 30% of the world’s researchers are women. UIS data also show the extent to which these women work in the public, private or academic sectors, as well as their fields of research. But to truly reduce the gender gap, we must go beyond the hard numbers and identify the qualitative factors that deter women from pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

4. Who is the founder of ‘Girls who code’?

A. Ms Shen LI

B. Reshma Saujani

C. Emily Harris

D. Omolara Adejuwon

B. Reshma Saujani

Reshma Saujani is the Founder and CEO of Girls Who Code, an international nonprofit organization working to close the gender gap in technology and change the image of what a computer programmer looks like and does. Reshma is also an American lawyer, politician and civil servant. She was born in Illinois, USA but is of Gujarati Indian descent.

5. Who was the first woman to win the noble prize in Sciences?

A. Dorothy  Hodgkin

B. Ada Lovelace

C. Marie Curie

D. Rosalind Franklin

C. Marie Curie

Marie Curie won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 for her contribution to the understanding of radiation. She was also the first person to win two Nobel Prizes, and the only person to win in multiple sciences. Those prizes were the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903, and the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1911

6. Who became the first woman on the Iranian Mathematical Olympics team?

A. Maryam Mirzakhani

B. Alenush Teiran 

C. Saba Valadkhan

D. Mina Bissell

A. Maryam Mirzakhani

Maryam Mirzakhani was an Iranian mathematician and a professor of mathematics at Stanford University. She later went on to get a PhD at Harvard focused on Reiman surfaces, with implications for quantum physics. Mirzakhani was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2013. She passed away on 14 July 2017 at the age of 40. The Breakthrough Prize Foundation announced that the Maryam Mirzakhani New Frontiers Prize has been created.

7. How many women have received a noble prize in the sciences?

A. 10

B. 20 

C. 30

D. 40

B. 20

The Nobel Prizes are a series of annual awards given in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. Of the more than 600 Nobel Prizes that have been given out in the sciences, just 20 have gone to women. But efforts to diversify Nobel winners are slow going, and there’s a long history to overcome.

8. Who developed the signal flares that are still used by the US Navy?

A. Lisie Mertiner 

B. Chien Shung Wu

C. Martha Coston

D. Katherine Johnson

C. Martha Coston 

Martha Jane Coston was an American inventor and businesswoman. In 1859, she created and patented a device for signalling at sea. Martha’s flares served as the basis of a system of communication that helped save lives and win battles during the Civil War.

9. Who invented signal hopping which was a precursor for WIFI, GPS, Bluetooth?

A. Alice Ball

B. Vera Rubin

C. Jess Wade

D. Hedy Lamarr

D. Hedy Lamarr 

Hedy Lamarr was an Austrian-born American inventor that had no formal training and was primarily self-taught, she worked in her spare time on various hobbies and inventions, which included an improved traffic stoplight. Not only did Hedy Lamarr invent signal hopping, but she was also a well-known film actress.

10. Who has been nicknamed ‘the mother of the internet’?

A. Maria Tekles

B. Radia Perlman

C. Jess Wade

D. Elizabeth Blackburn

B. Radia Perlman

Radia Perlman is an American computer programmer and network engineer. She is most famous for her invention of the spanning-tree protocol (STP), which is fundamental to the operation of network bridges while working for Digital Equipment Corporation. She also made large contributions to many other areas of network design and standardization, such as link-state routing protocols.

Quiz Results

4/10 (or below) = Poor

5/10 = Average

7/10 = Good

8/10 (or above) = Excellent

A Chance To Shine

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Higher Education Scholarship Fund

This is where we step in to help. Here at Islamic Relief, we strive to ensure that orphans in need are given the means to excel at school and then go on to higher education. Through our higher education scholarship fund, children are then able to shine brightly and fulfil their dreams.