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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 mathematical theorem states that every simply connected, closed 3-manifold is homeomorphic to the 3-sphere?
(a) Fractal compression.
(b) Information theory.
(c) Poincare conjecture.
(d) No-slip condition.

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

3. 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) Wallace Stevens.
(c) Enrico Fermi.
(d) Harvey J. Gold.

4. What does Gleick assert was the inspiration for Archimedes in Chapter 2, "Revolution"?
(a) A snail.
(b) A bathtub.
(c) A boulder.
(d) A tree.

5. What is the mathematical study of changes in the qualitative or topological structure of a given family, such as the integral curves of a family of vector fields, and the solutions of a family of differential equations?
(a) Thermodynamics.
(b) Theoretical physics.
(c) Fluid dynamics.
(d) Bifurcation theory.

Short Answer Questions

1. When was Steven Smale born?

2. 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?

3. Where is Stephen Smale from?

4. Where was Edward Lorenz born?

5. Where is the main laboratory for the Thomas J. Watson Research Center?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Lorenz develop ways to reproduce complex behavior in Chapter 1, "The Butterfly Effect"?

2. How is James Yorke described in Chapter 3, "Life's Ups and Downs"? What term did he coin?

3. How is Robert May described in Chapter 3, "Life's Ups and Downs"? What did his work center on?

4. How did the role of chaos theory affect ecologists in the 1970s as described in Chapter 3, "Life's Ups and Downs"?

5. How did Benoit Mandelbrot describe the ideal data source in Chapter 4, "A Geometry of Nature"?

6. In Chapter 2, "Revolution" Gleick refers to the pendulum as being the laboratory mouse of chaos, the new science. What metaphorical examples does Gleick give for other great scientists in this chapter?

7. Who is quoted discussing nonlinear problems in Chapter 3, "Life's Ups and Downs"?

8. What was the early life of Benoit Mandelbrot like, as described by the author in Chapter 4, "A Geometry of Nature"?

9. What did Benoit Mandelbrot and Hendrik Houthakker agree on about the chart in Chapter 4, "A Geometry of Nature"?

10. How is a Cantor set described in Chapter 4, "A Geometry of Nature"?

(see the answer keys)

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