ECC10 Quiz - The Answers

1. Who was the first president or chairperson of the German Chemical Society (GDCh)? 

a)    Karl Ziegler
b)    Feodor Lynen
c)    Ernst Otto Fischer
d)    Egon Wiberg

After World War II, the GDCh’s predecessor organizations—the German Chemical Society and the Association of German Chemists—were merged into the German Chemical Society, initially in the British Zone in 1946 and throughout West Germany in 1949. The first chairman or president of the GDCh was Karl Ziegler (1898–1973), who later won the Nobel Prize.
Shortly thereafter (in 1953), the Chemical Society of the GDR (CG) was founded in the German Democratic Republic. Its first chairman (1953–1955) was Erich Thilo (1898–1977).

More information 
https://en.gdch.de/gdch/about-us.html  

https://en.gdch.de/gdch/board-and-other-bodies/board-of-directors-and-executive-committee/gdch-presidents.html  

2. Which GDCh division celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2026?  

a)    Analytical Chemistry
b)    Electrochemistry 
c)    Society of Water Chemistry 
d)    Wöhler Association for Inorganic Chemistry

The “Division for Water Chemistry” was founded in 1926 and renamed the “Society of Water Chemistry” Division in 2000. Its approximately 850 members are committed to the effective protection, sensible use, appropriate treatment and purification, as well as the proper analysis and assessment of water.

More information
https://en.gdch.de/network-structures/gdch-structures/society-of-water-chemistry.html  

3. When was the first issue of Angewandte Chemie published? 

a)    1867
b)    1887
c)    1907
d)    1947

The first issue of Angewandte Chemie was published in 1887 as Zeitschrift für die chemische Industrie. Since 1888, it has been published as Zeitschrift für Angewandte Chemie. 

More information
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/15213757 

4. How many countries (not societies!) are members of ChemistryEurope? 

a)    10
b)    12
c)    15
d)    16

Founded in 1995, Chemistry Europe is an association of 16 chemical societies from 15 European countries. Two Belgian companies, namely the Société Royale de Chimie (SRC) and the Koninklijke Vlaamse Chemische Vereniging (KVCV) belong to ChemistryEurope. It publishes a family of high-quality scholarly chemistry journals, covering a very broad range of disciplines.

More information
https://chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/hub/member-societies 

5. Which artist appears in front of a periodic table in a scene from a well-known music film?

a)    John Lennon in Help (1965)
b)    Olivia Newton-John in Grease (1978)
c)    Jennifer Gray in Dirty Dancing (1987)
d)    Jaafar Jackson in Michael (2026)

In the movie Help, the Beatles had to deal with a shady cult that desperately needed the flashy ring for a sacrificial ritual—a ring that Ringo Starr, despite his best efforts, couldn’t get off his finger. In their efforts to somehow remove the ring from Ringo’s finger—so as not to lose their drummer as a ritual sacrifice—the Beatles also visited a somewhat eccentric scientist in his laboratory. There, a periodic table of elements was hanging on the wall.  
 

1. How many young members (members of the JCF; JungesChemieForum) does the GDCh have?

a)    over 4,500
b)    over 5,500
c)    over 6,500
d)    over 7,500

Currently, the JCF has over 7,500 members. The JCF (JungesChemieForum) is the organization of young, mostly student members of the GDCh. It gives them a platform to coordinate their interests, connect with fellow chemists across Germany, and get active through initiatives like a podcast, conferences such as the annual Frühjahrssymposium, and working groups on topics like sustainability, career development, and equal opportunities. 

More information
https://en.gdch.de/network-structures/jcf-jungeschemieforum/about-us.html 

2. Since when has the August Wilhelm von Hofmann Medal been awarded?

a)    1899 
b)    1903
c)    1931
d)    1949

The GDCh awards the August Wilhelm Hofmann Commemorative Medal for outstanding contributions to chemistry to foreign chemists and to German individuals who are not chemists but have made significant contributions to the field of chemistry. 
The award has a long tradition. It was established in 1902 by one of GDCh’s predecessor organizations, the Deutsche Chemische Gesellschaft (DCG), and was first awarded in 1903. It honors A. W. von Hofmann (1818–1892), the founder and long-time president of the Deutsche Chemische Gesellschaft.
 
More information
https://en.gdch.de/gdch/prizes-and-awards/gdch-awards/august-wilhelm-von-hofmann-commemorative-medal.html

3. Which journal is the GDCh NOT involved with?

a)    Analytical Science Advances
b)    Batteries & Supercaps 
c)    Chemistry – A European Journal
d)    ChemPhysChem
 
Analytical Science Advances is published by nine European societies, but the GDCh is not among them. Instead, it is a partner, along with other societies, in the journal Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry (ABC).

More information
https://chemistry-europe.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/26285452
https://link.springer.com/journal/216 

4. Which scientist has published the most articles in Angewandte Chemie?

a)    Fraser Stoddart
b)    Kyriacos Costa Nicolaou 
c)    Frances Arnold
d)    Matthias Beller

Kyriacos Costa Nicolaou has published the most articles in Angewandte Chemie to date. Nicolaou, who was born in Cyprus in 1946 and has lived in the United States for many years, works in the field of organic chemistry, particularly in the synthesis of natural products.

More information
https://www.leopoldina.org/en/members/member-list/detail/kyriacos-costa-nicolaou

5. Which artist or group sings the following lines: 
„Ich weiß, das Leben geht weiter, solange Sterne explodier‘n und Atome reagier‘n“ 
(I know life goes on as long as stars explode and atoms react)

a)    Helene Fischer: „Atemlos durch die Nacht“
b)    Ich +Ich: „Was wär‘ ich ohne dich“
c)    Udo Lindenberg: „Darum lieb ich dich noch mehr“
d)    Die Toten Hosen: „Tage wie diese“

The German pop band Ich+Ich, consisting of Annette Humpe and Adel Tawil, sold over three million albums between 2004 and 2010 and won numerous music awards. Their third album, Gute Reise (2009), included the song “Was wär’ ich ohne dich,” which contains the line described above.