Fun Trivia : Gregor Mendel

Structure Sub-topic of: Scientists & Inventors Quizzes Interesting Questions, Facts and Information There are a total of 10 general entries.

Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information

Gregor Mendel

Mendel was born in 1822. Which European country was he from?

Gregor Mendel


Austria. Mendel was born on July 22, 1822 in a small Austrian town, Heinzendorf, which is now a part of Czech Republic. His parents were both farmers.



Which university did Mendel graduate from?

Gregor Mendel


University of Vienna. Mendel studied in the University of Vienna from 1851 to 1853. Apart from zoology and botany, he also took up history, mathematics and physics. This university was founded in 1365. The Gregor Mendel Institute (GMI) of Molecular Plant Biology, which was founded in 2000, was named after him.



What plant did Mendel use to study the hereditary trait?

Gregor Mendel


Pea. There are several reasons why Mendel chose the pea. First and foremost, the pea has a very short life cycle, which means that the results can be observed very quickly. Secondly, there are many discrete traits that can be observed easily just by naked eyes, for example, the color of the flowers, the height of the plants and the shape of the pods.



Apart from doing experiments on plants, Mendel also carried out his experiments on animals. However, his experiments on animals failed miserably due to the fact that it was very hard to control animals' mating behavior. What animal did he use?

Gregor Mendel


Honeybee. Mendel studied beekeeping when he was a child. After studying the pea for several years, he wanted to extend and generalize his experiment on animals. Nowadays, a very popular insect that is used by geneticists to study genetics is the fruit fly (its scientific name is Drosophila melanogster). This species has only four chromosome pairs so it is very easy to study its genetics variation and inheritance.



What was the title of Mendel's essay that was published in 1866 that contained the findings of his experiments?

Gregor Mendel


"Experiments on Plant Hybridization". Mendel recorded his observations and came out with his Mendelian inheritance theory in his paper entitled "Experiments on Plant Hybridization" in 1866. "On the Origin of Species" was written by Charles Darwin.



Mendel died at the age of 61 of what disease?

Gregor Mendel


Nephritis (kidney inflammation). Mendel died in 1884. After his death, all his works and papers on genetics were burnt by his abbot. "My scientific studies have afforded me great gratification; and I am convinced that it will not be long before the whole world acknowledges the results of my work." ~ Gregor Mendel (1822-1884)