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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where is Stephen Smale from?
(a) Flint, Michigan.
(b) Atlanta, Georgia.
(c) Fargo, North Dakota.
(d) Aurora, Illinois.

2. Who is quoted in Chapter 1, "The Butterfly Effect" as saying "Physicists like to think that all you have to do is say, these are the conditions, now what happens next?"
(a) Stephen Spender.
(b) Thomas S. Kuhn.
(c) Richard Feynman.
(d) Edward Lorenz.

3. In his paper, Kuhn argues that rival paradigms are ______, meaning that it is not possible to understand one paradigm through the conceptual framework and terminology of another rival paradigm.
(a) Incorrigible.
(b) Incommensurable.
(c) Indistinguishable.
(d) Incomprehensible.

4. What is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force?
(a) Physics.
(b) Thermodynamics.
(c) Physiology.
(d) Fluid dynamics.

5. Who said that calling the study of chaos a nonlinear science was akin to calling zoology "the study of nonelephant animals" in Chapter 3, "Life's Ups and Downs"?
(a) Stanislaw Ulam.
(b) Enrico Fermi.
(c) Harvey J. Gold.
(d) Wallace Stevens.

6. What work by Edward Lorenz greatly impacted the thinking of James Yorke, as described in Chapter 3, "Life's Ups and Downs"?
(a) "Deterministic Nonperiodic Flow".
(b) "Period Three Implies Chaos".
(c) "Physical Review Letters".
(d) "Fractals Everywhere".

7. In mathematics, what is a system which does not satisfy the superposition principle, or whose output is not directly proportional to its input?
(a) Nonlinear system.
(b) Hyperlinear system.
(c) Linear system.
(d) Thermolinear system.

8. What is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy?
(a) Butterfly effect.
(b) The Navier-Stokes equation.
(c) Biology.
(d) Physics.

9. What was the profession of Benoit Mandelbrot's mother?
(a) Housekeeper.
(b) Dentist.
(c) Nurse.
(d) Writer.

10. Where is the European Center for Medium Range Forecasts headquartered?
(a) Berlin, Germany.
(b) Reading, England.
(c) Paris, France.
(d) Dublin, Ireland.

11. James Yorke is credited with creating what term in reference to science?
(a) Frantic.
(b) Rambling.
(c) Pandamonium.
(d) Chaos.

12. The National Weather Service is one of the six scientific agencies that make up what division of the U.S. Government?
(a) The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
(b) The U.S. Navy.
(c) The U.S. Coast Guard.
(d) The Interior Department.

13. When was Steven Smale born?
(a) 1938.
(b) 1932.
(c) 1943.
(d) 1930.

14. When was Benoit Mandelbrot born?
(a) 1941.
(b) 1900.
(c) 1924.
(d) 1876.

15. Where was Benoit Mandelbrot born?
(a) Warsaw, Poland.
(b) Reykjavík, Iceland.
(c) Milan, Italy.
(d) Lisbon, Portugal.

Short Answer Questions

1. What can be formed by taking a finite Cartesian product of the Cantor set with itself, making it a Cantor space?

2. From what institution did Thomas S. Kuhn earn his B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in physics?

3. Where was Thomas S. Kuhn born?

4. What refers to a change in the basic assumptions within the ruling theory of science?

5. What concept originated by Thomas S. Kuhn refers to the routine work of scientists experimenting within a paradigm, slowly accumulating detail in accord with established broad theory and not actually challenging or attempting to test the underlying assumptions of that theory?

(see the answer keys)

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