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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The Parliamentary committee assembled to respond to the problem of longitude relied on which two experts?
(a) Ptolomy and Jupiter.
(b) Flamsteed and Thacker.
(c) Newton and Halley.
(d) Whiston and Ditton.

2. What was the official title of the monetary award for solving the longitude problem?
(a) The Longitude Prize.
(b) The Longitude Award.
(c) The Longitude Problem.
(d) The Longitude Solution.

3. Hooke nor Huygens were able to:
(a) Collaborate on a working clock.
(b) Collect on the monetary prize offered for solving the problem of longitude.
(c) Get the Royal Society to declare a winner.
(d) Produce a clock that worked at sea.

4. What is the main difference in measuring longitude and latitude?
(a) Longitude is measured by the sun.
(b) Latitude is measured by time.
(c) Latitude is measured in degrees and longitude is not.
(d) Longitude is measured by time.

5. What was the problem with pendulum clocks on ships?
(a) Pendulum clocks were so valuable, the main concern was theft.
(b) The ship's rocking would slow down or speed up the clock.
(c) Pendulum clocks would always point north.
(d) There were no problems, pemdulum clocks were very accurate onboard ships.

6. What unusual occurrence helped in early navigation at sea?
(a) Asteroids.
(b) Storms.
(c) Comets.
(d) Solar and lunar eclipses.

7. What was the punishment for mutiny on the Association?
(a) Decapitation.
(b) Water boarding.
(c) Hanging.
(d) Thrown overboard.

8. How was John Harrison educated?
(a) He attended elementary school in his town.
(b) He learned alongside Newton.
(c) He went to Oxford.
(d) He had no formal education.

9. What was one benefit of the Whiston-Ditton proposal?
(a) It led to glory for England for being the first to solve the problem of longitude.
(b) It was a reliable method of determining longitude.
(c) It led to the monetary award for a solution to the longitude problem.
(d) Whiston and Ditton each became rich off of their proposal.

10. What did the Longitude Act of 1714 establish?
(a) A uniform way to calculate longitude.
(b) A monetary prize for solving the problem of longitude.
(c) The lunar method as the government's way to calculate longitude.
(d) Taxes on the use of maps with longitude.

11. What does the coiled balance spring do in clocks?
(a) Allows the clock to keep a constant temperature.
(b) Prevents waves from destabilizing the clock.
(c) Prevents the pendulum from losing time.
(d) Allows the navigator to know the time in the home port.

12. When was the magnetic compass invented?
(a) 17th century.
(b) 12th century.
(c) 10th century.
(d) 15th century.

13. What toy does the narrator play with at the beginning of Chapter 1: Imaginary Lines?
(a) A spinning top.
(b) A globe.
(c) A beaded wire ball.
(d) A yo-yo.

14. Where does the quote at the beginning of Chapter 3: Adrift in a Clockwork Universe have the author dreaming he is locked in?
(a) In a hidden basement.
(b) On the moon.
(c) In a ship.
(d) In his father's watch.

15. What could have avoided the tragedy near the Scilly Islands?
(a) If the admiral had listened to a sailor who kept his own navigation.
(b) If the rudder on the ship hadn't been broken, the captain could have steered away from the islands.
(c) If the lead ship had followed the directions of the admiral.
(d) If the stars had been out so the captains could utilize them for navigation.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who was in command of the ships that ran into the Scilly Islands near England?

2. Besides clocks, what was Hooke known for?

3. What disease afflicted many sailors at sea for long periods of time?

4. At the end of Chapter 6: The Prize, how had Newton changed his thinking about the longitude problem?

5. Why was it remarkable for Harrison to build his first pendulum clock?

(see the answer keys)

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