The Life and Work of Marie Curie
Marie Curie is probably the most famous woman scientist who has ever lived. Born Maria Sklodowska in Poland in 1867, she was famous for her work on radioactivity, and was twice a winner of the Nobel Prize. With her husband, Pierre Curie, and Henri Becquerrel, she was awarded the 1903 Nobel Prize for Physics, and was then sole winner of the 1911 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. She was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize.
From childhood, Marie was remarkable for her prodigious memory, and at the age of 16 won a gold medal on completion of her secondary education. Because her father lost his savings through bad investment, she then had to take work as a teacher. From her earnings, she was able to finance her sister Bronia's medical studies in Paris, on the understanding that Bronia would, in turn, later help her to get an education.
In 1891 this promise was fulfilled and Marie went to Paris and began to study at the Sorborne (the University of Paris). She often worked far into the night and lived on little more than bread and butter and tea. She came first in the examination in the physics sciences in 1893, and in 1894 was placed second in the examination in mathematical sciences. It was not until the spring of that year that she was introduced to Pierre Curie.
Their marriage in 1895 marked the start of a partnership that was soon to achieve results of world significance. Following Henri Becquerel's discovery in 1896 of a new phenomenon, which Marie later called 'radioactivity', Marie Curie decided to find out if the radioactivity discovered in uranium was to be found in other elements. She discovered that this was true for thorium.
Turning her attention to minerals, she found her interest drawn to pitchblende a mineral whose radioactivity, superior to that of pure uranium, could be explained only by the presence in the ore of small quantities of an unknown substance of very high activity. Pierre Curie joined her in the work that she had undertaken to resolve this problem, and that led to the discovery of the new elements, polonium and radium. While Pierre Curie devoted himself chiefly to the physical study of the new radiations, Marie Curie struggled to obtain pure radium in the metallic state.
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage?
In boxes 1 - 6 on your answer sheet, write
True if the statement agrees with the information
False if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this
1. Marie Curie's husband was a joint winner of both Marie's Nobel Prizes.
2. Marie became interested in science when she was a child.
3. Marie was able to attend the Sorborne because of her sister's financial contribution.
4. Marie stopped doing research for several years when her children were born.
5. Marie took over teaching position her husband had held.
6. Marie's sister Bronia studied the medical uses of radioactivity.
Write your answers in boxes 7 - 13 on your answer sheet.
Marie Curie's research on radioactivity
* When uranium was discovered to be radioactive, Marie Curie found that the element called _7._____________ had the same property.
* Marie and Pierre Curie's research into the radioactivity of the mineral known as 8________________ led to the discovery of two new elements.
* In 1911, Marie Curie received recognition for her work on the element 9____________.
* Marie and Irene Curie developed X - radiography which was used as a medical techniquie for _10. _____________ .
* Marie Curie saw the importance of collecting radioactive material both for research and for cases 11_________________
* The radioactive material stocked in Paris contributed to the discoveries in the 1930s of the 12______________ and of what was known as artificial radioactivity.
* During her research, Marie Curie was exposed to radiation and as a result she suffered from 13_________________.
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