Question 1

The Nobel Prize in Economics was part of Alfred Nobel's original will.

Accepted Answer

It was not in his will. It was established in 1968 by Sweden's central bank and is officially named the 'Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel'.

Question 2

Geoffrey Hinton and John Hopfield won a computer science prize for creating Artificial Intelligence.

Accepted Answer

They won the Nobel Prize in Physics because their foundational artificial neural networks were built using fundamental concepts from statistical physics.

Question 3

Consider the following statements regarding the 2024 Nobel Prizes: 1) The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Japanese organisation Nihon Hidankyo for its efforts toward nuclear disarmament. 2) The Nobel Prize in Medicine was awarded for the discovery of the CRISPR-Cas9 genetic scissors. 3) The Nobel Prize in Economics is officially funded and awarded by the Norwegian Parliament.

Accepted Answer

(a) Only one — Only statement 1 is correct. Statement 2 is incorrect; the 2024 Medicine Nobel was awarded for the discovery of microRNA (CRISPR won Chemistry in 2020). Statement 3 is incorrect; the Economics prize was established by the Sveriges Riksbank (Sweden's central bank), not the Norwegian Parliament (which handles the Peace Prize).

Question 4

Match List I (2024 Nobel Prize Category) with List II (Associated Field/Winner): List I: A. Physics, B. Chemistry, C. Economics, D. Literature. List II: 1. Han Kang, 2. Artificial neural networks, 3. Societal institutions and prosperity, 4. Protein structure prediction.

Accepted Answer

(a) A-2, B-4, C-3, D-1 — Physics (Hopfield/Hinton) was for artificial neural networks. Chemistry (Baker/Hassabis/Jumper) was for computational protein design and prediction. Economics (Acemoglu/Johnson/Robinson) was for studies on institutions and prosperity. Literature was awarded to Han Kang.

Question 5

Assertion (A): The 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to pioneers of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Reason (R): The laureates utilised concepts from statistical physics, such as atomic spin and energy states, to construct foundational neural networks like the Boltzmann machine.

Accepted Answer

(a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A. — Hopfield and Hinton won the Physics Nobel explicitly because their algorithms (the Hopfield network and Boltzmann machine) were derived from the principles of statistical mechanics and physics, explaining why an AI breakthrough was recognised in the Physics category.

2024 Nobel Prize Award Ceremony Held

NDCT Rules Draft Amendment for BA/BE Studies