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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Chapter Two ends with Mrs. Einstein expressing her desire that her son becomes what?

2. The title of Chapter Seven says that Einstein is sometimes called the _____________ of the Twentieth Century.

3. Einstein encourages other scientists to check his theories, one of which requires a total eclipse. What prevents that experiment?

4. The two American scientists, Michelson and Morley, are trying to measure the speed of what?

5. The reader learns that Einstein helps a girl understand a math question. How is she going to repay him for his help?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Mileva decide not to move with her husband to Berlin?

2. Why is Einstein sometimes called the Newton of the twentieth century?

3. Why does the author specifically mention that Einstein answers the strange boy on the porch in German?

4. What is interesting about Einstein's approach to the customary visits usually undertaken by new staff members? What is the result of his decision?

5. Why does Einstein change his mind about granting the boy from the porch an interview?

6. Describe Mileva Maritsch.

7. Explain what happens to the group of German astronomers who plan to check Einstein's theory on light rays by observing a total eclipse.

8. The reader learns that Einstein's work eventually leads other scientists to create the atom bomb. Why?

9. In what ways is Elsa just what Einstein needs? Explain.

10. Do the townspeople respect Einstein at the beginning of the book?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does the reader reconcile Einstein's pacifism with his decision to become involved with the production of the atomic bomb? Aren't those two things mutually exclusive? Is Einstein a hypocrite, or is there a bigger picture to consider?

Essay Topic 2

What kind of woman is Mileva Maritsch? Does the author present her fairly? Compare and contrast the author's portrait of Mileva with your own research. In what ways are the accounts of her similar, and in what ways do they differ?

Essay Topic 3

Max Planck and Einstein have an interesting professional relationship that changes and evolves over the years. Planck is an important figure in Einstein's life. Discuss the different stages of their relationship and the reasons it changes.

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