Print
Word
PDF
|
| Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. In statistics, what refers to any statistical relationship between two random variables or two sets of data?
2. Where was Hendrik Houthakker born?
3. For what company had Benoit Mandelbrot been working in economics, studying distribution of various incomes in the economy when he was invited by Houthakker to speak at Harvard?
4. Where is the European Center for Medium Range Forecasts headquartered?
5. Where is the National Weather Service headquartered?
Short Essay Questions
1. What variable changed the outcome in the experiment described by Thomas S. Kuhn in Chapter 2, "Revolution"?
2. How is Edward Lorenz described in Chapter 1, "The Butterfly Effect"? Where was he working at the time?
3. What did Edward Lorenz develop in order to assist in working with computer technology in Chapter 1, "The Butterfly Effect"? How did he feel about the future of forecasting?
4. What led to Benoit Mandelbrot's epiphany in Chapter 4, "A Geometry of Nature"? Where was Benoit Mandelbrot working at the time?
5. 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?
6. What did Benoit Mandelbrot and Hendrik Houthakker agree on about the chart in Chapter 4, "A Geometry of Nature"?
7. Who is quoted discussing nonlinear problems in Chapter 3, "Life's Ups and Downs"?
8. What were the biggest issues with weather forecasting during Lorenz's time as described in Chapter 1, "The Butterfly Effect"? How is the Butterfly Effect defined?
9. What role do computers and mathematical equations play in ecology and biology as described in Chapter 3, "Life's Ups and Downs"?
10. How did the role of chaos theory affect ecologists in the 1970s as described in Chapter 3, "Life's Ups and Downs"?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Describe Benoit Mandelbrot's work for International Business Machines Corporation. When was IBM founded and how was Mandelbrot involved in its evolution?
Essay Topic 2
Define and discuss turbulence and the problems its discovery created for scientists and physicists. How is turbulence dealt with today by science?
Essay Topic 3
Discuss Albert Libchaber's major contributions in experimental condensed matter physics. How did his discoveries relate to the Rayleigh-Benard systems?
|
This section contains 904 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
|
