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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What did Marcellus have his workmen build when he noticed a poorly guarded wall and tower in Syracuse?
(a) Climbing poles.
(b) Bridges.
(c) Step ladders.
(d) Scaling ladders.

2. How did the people of Syracuse celebrate their favorite festival?
(a) By fasting.
(b) By making sacrifices.
(c) With plays and feasts.
(d) With dancing, games, food and wine.

3. In how many books that Archimedes sent to his friends, did he make deliberate errors?
(a) One.
(b) Four.
(c) Two.
(d) Three.

4. How do people know that some of Archimedes' writings have been lost?
(a) A list of his writings was engraved on his tomb.
(b) He refers to them or other mathematicians refer to them in other writings.
(c) A list of them survives.
(d) Oral tradition.

5. What is the solid of a triangle?
(a) Sphere.
(b) Box.
(c) Cube.
(d) Cone.

Short Answer Questions

1. What word means balance?

2. What scientist do most people believe was the first to understand the laws of gravitation?

3. What festival was a favorite of the people in Syracuse?

4. What did Marcellus' soldiers use to make noise when they entered Syracuse?

5. How much larger did Archimedes believe that the Greek universe (our solar system) was larger than the earth?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why did Marcellus watch the battle for Syracuse with tears in his eyes?

2. Why did Archimedes not want to help King Hiero make plans to defend Syracuse from a possible attack?

3. Where is the earth's center of gravity?

4. Why isn't the center of gravity always at the center of an object?

5. What practical joke did Archimedes play on his friends in Alexandria?

6. What calculations did Archimedes use to show how numbers were infinite?

7. What interests mathematicians regarding Archimedes and square roots?

8. What is a chain reaction in a nuclear explosion?

9. What are some reasons why Archimedes is held in such high esteem by mathematicians?

10. How do mathematicians figure the area of a circle?

(see the answer keys)

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