Nobel Prize Quiz: Do You Know the 2026 Winners?

Nobel week wrapped up on October 12 with the economics announcement, closing a run of six awards that began with medicine on October 5. This year's Nobel Prize quiz comes with a milestone attached: the prizes are being awarded for the 125th time, and the Nobel Foundation raised the prize amount by one million kronor per category.

This Nobel Prize quiz tests how closely you followed the announcements. Below are ten questions covering every category, from brain research to peace work. Pick an answer for each, then check the key at the bottom to score yourself.

The prizes were announced in Stockholm and Oslo between October 5 and October 12, according to the Nobel Foundation, which confirmed this year's amount at twelve million Swedish kronor per category, the highest in the award's history. Keep that figure in mind: it is the subject of the last question in this Nobel Prize quiz.

The questions

Ten questions, one point each. Read through the whole Nobel Prize quiz before scrolling to the key.

1. Which discovery was recognized by the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine? A) The structure of the ribosome B) Light-gated ion channels and optogenetics C) The first synthetic insulin D) The mapping of the human genome

2. Who received the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physics? A) Alain Aspect B) Francis Halzen C) Anton Zeilinger D) Donna Strickland

3. Halzen's prize also recognizes the discovery of what? A) Gravitational waves B) The Higgs boson C) High-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin D) The first exoplanet atmosphere

4. The 2026 Chemistry prize went to Henri B. Kagan and Kenso Soai for what? A) The lithium-ion battery B) Non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis C) Click chemistry D) The first noble-gas compounds

5. Who won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Literature? A) Anne Carson B) Haruki Murakami C) Margaret Atwood D) Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

6. Carson's official citation praises her bold and inventive oeuvre for doing what? A) Reinventing the crime novel B) Working in dialogue with the classical tradition to create new forms for contemporary literature C) Chronicling the fall of the Soviet Union D) Translating ancient Chinese poetry

7. Who received the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize? A) Navanethem "Navi" Pillay B) Maria Ressa C) Greta Thunberg D) Volodymyr Zelenskyy

8. The peace citation honors Pillay for what? A) Negotiating a specific ceasefire B) Her efforts to promote peace and international law C) Founding a global relief charity D) Mediating an international trade deal

9. The 2026 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences went to Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford for what? A) Microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic stabilisation B) The invention of index funds C) Modelling cryptocurrency market efficiency D) Measuring the economic cost of climate damage

10. The 2026 prize amount rose to what per category? A) Eight million Swedish kronor B) Ten million Swedish kronor C) Twelve million Swedish kronor D) Fifteen million Swedish kronor

Answers

Done with the Nobel Prize quiz? Here is the key. Every answer in this Nobel Prize quiz comes straight from the official announcements.

1. B — Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel. Their work on light-gated ion channels and optogenetics lets researchers switch nerve cells on and off with light.

2. B — Francis Halzen. He was honored for decisive contributions to the IceCube Neutrino Observatory.

3. C — High-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin. The citation names the discovery of high-energy neutrinos of astrophysical origin.

4. B — Non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis. The prize recognizes work on mirror-image molecules and how tiny imbalances amplify.

5. A — Canadian author Anne Carson. The Swedish Academy announced her win on October 8.

6. B — Working in dialogue with the classical tradition to create new forms for contemporary literature. The citation highlights new forms for contemporary literature rooted in the classics.

7. A — Navanethem "Navi" Pillay. The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced her win on October 9.

8. B — Her efforts to promote peace and international law. That is the wording of the official citation.

9. A — Microeconomic foundations of macroeconomic stabilisation. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences closed Nobel week with this announcement on October 12.

10. C — Twelve million Swedish kronor. The Nobel Foundation raised it by one million kronor to mark 125 years since the first prizes in 1901.

Score yourself on this Nobel Prize quiz: nine or ten correct means you followed Nobel week closely; six to eight is a solid pass; below six, the official announcements are worth a read before the December ceremonies. The laureates collect their medals, diplomas and prize money on December 10, with the peace prize presented in Oslo and the rest in Stockholm. The Associated Press reported that this year's ceremonies fall on the anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death, the traditional date for the awards.

If this Nobel Prize quiz left you curious about the science, GenZ NewZ has been following big research stories too, including the farthest fast radio burst ever detected and Japan's upcoming mission to a Mars moon. Share the Nobel Prize quiz with a friend and compare scores.