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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. In statistics, what refers to any statistical relationship between two random variables or two sets of data?

2. According to Gleick in Chapter 3, "Life's Ups and Downs," what will lead to an increased, steady state in the idealized population?

3. What, according to the author, are created out of things that have come to an end?

4. What was the name of the computer manufacturing and retail division of Royal Typewriter which made the early computers RPC 4000 and RPC 9000?

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

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What variable changed the outcome in the experiment described by Thomas S. Kuhn in Chapter 2, "Revolution"?

4. What led to Benoit Mandelbrot's epiphany in Chapter 4, "A Geometry of Nature"? Where was Benoit Mandelbrot working at the time?

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

6. What role do computers and mathematical equations play in ecology and biology as described in Chapter 3, "Life's Ups and Downs"?

7. When and where was the National Meteorological Center founded in Chapter 1, "The Butterfly Effect"? What existed before it?

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

9. How did Lorenz's work influence James Yorke in Chapter 3, "Life's Ups and Downs"?

10. What impact did The Structure of Scientific Revolutions have on the scientific community? What did Kuhn assert in the book?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the life and work of Thomas S. Kuhn and the scientific revolution he originated. What book did Kuhn publish and what was its impact on science?

Essay Topic 2

Describe the life and work of Stephen Smale. What contributions is Smale responsible for in the study of chaos theory?

Essay Topic 3

Describe and discuss Edward Lorenz and his weather simulator at MIT. What effects did the weather simulator create? What led to the machine's breakdowns?

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