Co-authored by Thomas Manning*, Thomas Wilson*
*Valdosta State University, Valdosta, GA
The 1960’s were a unique decade in that there were great strides made in human rights, both in the United States and worldwide, as well as science and technology. The Jim Crow segregationist laws in the Deep South were outlawed. Gender equity issues, American Indian Movement, The Chicano Movement, Black Power movement, Northern Ireland civil rights movement, Canada's Quiet Revolution, anti-imperialism movements worldwide were all in the news on a regular basis. Some movements hit their peaks in the 1960’s, others were started in that decade.
The race to space in which the Soviet Union (USSR) and the United State battled for the first man in space prize, then the first man on the moon race, helped launch other endeavors ranging from the use of satellites to the field of robotics. Computer technology started to advance in bigger leaps. For example, the Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) memory chip was invented 1968 by Robert Dennard in Pittsburgh (Pa). BASIC (Beginner’s All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) programing language was invented at Dartmouth College. This program was a starting point for thousands of future programmers.
Light-emitting diodes (LED) were introduced in the 1960’s and represented advances in electronics, materials science, chemistry and mass production techniques. The roots of the internet were developed at DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) but much of that work was classified.
The Vietnam War was fought by the United States and the South Vietnamese against troops from North Vietnam with strong support from China and USSR. Over 58,000 Americans lost their lives in this conflict that was highly controversial not just in the U.S. but worldwide. In the 1960’s the smallpox vaccine program targeted over two dozen countries with high infections rates of the lethal virus. This effort laid the groundwork for the successful eradication of smallpox, one of the great killers in the history of humanity. In the 1950’s the Salk-Sabin rivalry brought the Salk vaccine to the world. In 1960 Albert Sabin’s vaccine was approved and it could be given orally, often the live virus was dropped on a sugar cube.
The 1960’s saw new forms of music hit the airwaves, starting with Otis Redding’s, Sitting on the Dock of the Bay and Elvis Presley’s It’s Now or Never, in the early 60’s, to the Beatles 11th and last album, Abbey Road, in 1969.
The 1960’s also saw an explosion of science fiction novels and some movies. Literary works like this often stimulate student’s interest in STEM fields. Some popular authors and their titles include Frank Herbert’s, Dune; Joanna Russ’s, Picnic on Paradise; and Kurt Vonnegut’s, Slaughterhouse-Five.
Niel Armstrongs' “That's one small step for man. One giant leap for mankind” as he stepped on the moon for the first time, and Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream”, were likely two of the most famous quotes of the decade, defining new advances in technology and human rights.
Nobel Prize
Here you will find
- Version 1:
Nobel Prize 1961-1970 Puzzle with Word Bank & Clues - Version 2: Nobel Prize 1961-1970 Puzzle w/ Clues (no word bank)
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See our other Nobel Prize puzzles on ChemEd X!
Nobel Laureate Crossword Puzzle 1901 - 1909
Nobel Laureate Crossword Puzzle 1909 - 1919
Nobel Laureate Crossword Puzzle 1920 - 1930
Nobel Laureate Crossword Puzzle 1931 - 1940
Nobel Laureate Crossword Puzzle 1941 - 1950
Nobel Laureate Crossword Puzzle 1951 - 1960
Nobel Laureate Crossword Puzzle 1961 - 1970
Nobel Laureate Crossword Puzzle 1971 - 1980
Nobel Laureate Crossword Puzzle 1981 - 1990
Nobel Laureate Crossword Puzzle 1991 - 2000
Nobel Laureate Crossword Puzzle 2000 - 2009
The Nobel Prize is awarded every year in six disciplines; Chemistry, Physics, Medicine and Physiology, Literature, Peace, and Economics. Alfred Nobel, active as an inventor and businessperson, left a will in 1895, to acknowledge "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Scientists can typically spend years or even decades developing their projects that can advance humanity. Once the concept or event has been brought into the public’s view, its impact is evaluated. The announcements of the year’s recipients take place in the fall of each year, with a ceremony held in Sweden typically in early December. The award includes a gold medallion, a diploma, and a significant monetary award. Awards are often correlated with popularity, as many Nobel Awards winners have been known to shape our society, from Watson and Cricks double helix structure of DNA and Marie Curie's work with radioactivity, to Jennifer Anne Soudan and Emmanuelle Charpentier work with CRISPR and Carolyn Bertozzi, Morten Meldal and Barry Sharpless (his 2nd Nobel Prize) for their work with click chemistry. We are working on a series of puzzles that will provide some introductory material on every Nobel Prize awarded from 1901 to 2022. In addition, some key concepts in the Nobel Award in medicine and physics with strong links to various areas of chemistry will also be included. These will range from Watson and Cricks model of DNA to the Bohr model of the atom.
Our first educational puzzle submitted to ChemEd X was developed during the pandemic and focused on infectious diseases (see Using an Abbreviation Puzzle as a Method to Familiarize Students with Infectious Diseases)1. It allows players to learn something about over 150 infectious diseases using a strategic method.
Recently we developed a novel puzzle that allows students to think strategically while familiarizing themselves with the elements and their symbols from the periodic table (see Turning Element Abbreviations into a Strategic Exercise). Read this post for more information about the educational benefits of using puzzles.
This series of puzzles can be completed individually or in groups, and it can be used in a classroom setting or given as homework. And don’t forget, there are always a few parents and other family members that might enjoy the activity.
Nobel Prizes 1961 - 1970
Across
6. Professor Ronald Norrish was one of three recipients of the 1967 Nobel Prize in chemistry. He used short pulses of energy (i.e. photons) to alter the equilibrium in chemical reactions. In many experiments the burst of light caused molecules to split into fragments and form ________.
9. In 1964, the Verrazano Narrows Bridge in New York City, linked _______ and Staten Island and set a standard for span bridges.
13. The 1962 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Dr. Max Perutz and Dr. John Kendrew for their work determining the the structures of ________ proteins.
14. Dr. Dorothy ______ developed x-ray techniques and complex calculations to determine the structure of penicillin and vitamin B12.
17. A _____is a string like structure that has a repeating structure.
19. Vitamin B12 is the most complex structure of the vitamins. X-rays (high energy photons) were _____ through their stucture in order to determine the positions of the atoms.
20. _______, Plants transform light (electromagnetic radiation) into chemical energy. In green plants, light converts water, carbon dioxide, and some minerals into O2 (oxygen) and organic compounds such as sugars (i.e. glucose).
22. Neil ________ and Buzz Aldrin were inside the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle when they landed on the moon on July 20, 1969. ________'s famous quote when first putting his foot on the moon was "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
26. Dr. ___________ developed the dating technique that utilized the carbon-14 isotope to measure age of carbon containing objects (aka radiocarbon dating). Dr. Willard _____ of UC Berkley.
27. A proteins tertiary structure is its _______-dimensional shape.
30. MASER stands for _______amplification by stimulated emission of radiation.
32. The measles vaccine, the _____ vaccine and the rubella vaccine were all developed in the 1960's.
33. Robert S. ________ won the Nobel “for his fundamental work concerning chemical bonds and the electronic structure of molecules by the molecular orbital method”.
34. Globular proteins are spherical structures that are water-soluble and shaped like a sphere. They naturally fold into the shape of a sphere (aka as _______).
35. Polystyrene is a synthetic polymer made from monomers (single units) of _______.
37. The _______ is a brand of spacecraft developed in the USSR (Soviet Union) in the 1960's and made over 120 flights.
38. Dr. Charles Townes was a co-recipient of the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physics. He invented the ______.
42. Liquid helium is used to cool _______magnets used in instruments such as NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance).
45. Lev Landau won the 1962 Nobel Prize in physics for his work in condensed matter, specifically for his work with liquid ____ (BP = 4.2 Kelvin / -269 °C).
46. Laser stands for Light amplification by _______ emission of radiation
48. The 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature was awarded to John _____.for his novels, such as the Grapes of Wrath, Cannery Row, and Of Mice and Men. Some of his stories focused on the struggles of the oppressed working class.
49. Scuba stands for Self Contained Underwater Breathing _______
50. Dr. Lars Onsager won the 1968 Nobel Prize in chemistry for his work describing reactions that, thermodynamically were not ________.
51. Quinine is a natural product that was extracted from the bark of the _______ tree. Quinine is a well-known natural product that was used by native populations in South America to kill the parasite that caused malaria. While an effective source for small groups of people, this source could not meet the worlds requirement.
Down
1. Dr. Robert _______ was a ground breaking synthetic organic chemist. He developed unique chemical reactions to convert small molecules into larger organic molecules that were of great use to humanity. He was the sole recipient of the chemistry prize in 1965.
2. The 1961 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Dr. Melvin ____ for tracing the path of carbon through the photosynthesis process (used carbon dioxide).
3. The 1964 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Dr. Martin Luther ___ Jr. for his peaceful approach to seeking civil rights for African Americans.
4. Dr. Dorothy Hodgkin won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1964). Her work was focused on biology at the _______ level.
5. The 1965 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, Julian Schwinger and Richard P. Feynman developing quantum electrodynamics. Dr. Feynman would later publish a very popular book, read by laymen around the world, called “Surely You’re Joking, Mr. Feynman!”: Adventures of a ______Character." (hint, its a good read).
7. _________ utilizes ultrasound to accelerate or change the type of reaction taking place. It uses ultrasound radiation in the 20 kHz to 20 MHz range..
8. Three common examples of globular proteins are antibodies, enzymes and _____.
10. Jacques Cousteau, the French ______, was working on 3 underwater villages called Precontinent I, Precontinent II and Precontinent III in the 1960's. They were at different depths for underwater workers.
11. Dr. Manfred ____ won the 1967 Nobel Prize in chemistry. He was one of three recipients that year. He used sound waves to stimulate some chemical reactions to go faster. One example was dissolving salts in a specific solvent
12. The element Rf or _____ is a man made radioactive element that has chemical and physical properties similar to hafnium and zirconium.
15. Yuri ______ (USSR) was the first human in space. He circled the planet at 27,000 km/hour. It lasted less than 2 hours..
16. Mycobacterium tuberculosis is the bacterium responsible for ____ (Tb). Up until the early 1960s, Tb patients were treated for up to 24 months, with time spent in the hospital. New antibiotics in the 1960's, many are still in use today, helped reduce the time needed to treat Tb down to 3 to 6 months. Tb is one of the deadliest diseases in the history of humanity, and drug resistant Tb is now a problem. One sneeze from an infected person can infect up to two dozen people in close quarters (i.e. crowded room).
18. ______ is the study of ultrafast chemical reactions that can be studied by pulses of light that take place on the order of 10-15 seconds (a femto-second).
21. The ________-14 isotope has a half life of 5730 years. As a rule of thumb, it can not measure the age of an object that is more than 60,000 years old.
23. The 1964 __________Act, the U.S. Congress started a formal process of setting aside wilderness areas for the long term benefit of Americans.
24. The total synthesis of _______ was published in 1944 by by Dr. Robert Woodward and William Doering. _____ was a critical anti-malaria drug needed by the military fighting in the South Pacific (WW2).
25. Polyethylene (PE), Polystyrene (PS), Polypropylene, Polyvinyl chloride (PVC), Polyester, Nylon, Acetals are example of ______
28. Dr. Mulliken outlined how a Linear Combination of Atomic Orbitals (LCAO) could be used to construct a set Molecular Orbitals (MO). MO's are the paths that electrons travel in covalent bonds, bonding atoms together to form _______.
29. Dr. George _______ shared the 1967 Nobel Prize for his studies of extremely fast chemical reactions using very short pulses of light. He worked with Dr. Norrish.
31. Dr. Peyton Rous was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for demonstrating that cancer can be spread from one organism (i.e. chicken) to another by transferring _____ cells.
36. "For example, we used seeds and plant material from ________'s tomb, which is very precisely dated. We also used seeds from a room underneath the Saqqara step pyramid dated to a specific year of the reign of King Djoser." from: https://www.bbc.com/news/10345875
39. __________ inversion exists in a laser. It is when there are more electrons in the excited state than in the ground state.
40. The 1962 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded to Francis Crick, James Watson and Maurice Wilkins for uncovering the Double ______ structure of DNA.
41. A simple polymer is _______, which is composed of -CH2- units,
43. An example of a non-reversible chemical reaction is the ______ process in a flame, where air (oxygen, nitrogen) and hydrocarbons react to form a product.
44. The 1965 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to United Nations Children’s Fund : _____ for their efforts to bring economic equality for those in poor nations.
47. Helium is unique as a (elemental) liquid. The liquid form that follows the laws of physics is called Helium I; it exists from the BP at 4.2 Kelvin down to 2.18 Kelvin. The second form of liquid Helium 2, exists below 2.18 K, and follows some unique and interesting laws of ______ quantum physics. Absolute zero ( O K) has never been achieved. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YVMuI_shltE A classic video (1963) showing the superfluid (He(II)) - which has zero entropy.
Provide students with blank puzzle and clues. Note there are two versions available. Both versions include clues but the more advanced version does not include a word bank.
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