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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. What bell rings as Virginia entered her father's room? (Scene III)

2. While talking to Andrea about the ships that had found new continents, what does Galileo call the "dreaded ocean"?

3. Where does Scene IV open?

4. How old is Galileo's daughter, Virginia, in Scene II?

5. Where did Ludovico Marsili's letter say he has studied?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the Clerk mean when he tells Galileo "We can only afford moves like this"?

2. Cardinal Barberini quoted Ecclesiastes, the Preacher, when he first addressed Galileo at the party. What is Galileo's response to the Cardinal?

3. Why does Galileo believe that he and Virgina need to move to Florence?

4. What is the relevance of the song at Cardinal Bellarmin's party?

5. What is happening at the opening of Scene I?

6. What does the telescope do for Galileo by January of 1610?

7. What is the significance of Galileo telling the Court Clerks of the "new way" to play chess?

8. Why does Galileo believe that naming the new stars by the name Medici would allow him some leeway on his studies?

9. Why does the Inquisitor tell Virginia that Galileo's new picture of the universe was harmful?

10. Why does Ludovico seem upset with Galileo at the end of Scene II?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The invention of the telescope creates social unrest given the new discoveries that Galileo comes upon from peering through it. Therefore, based upon the discovery of the telescope, society experiences unrest because of the questions that the new discoveries create in regard to currently socially accepted beliefs, i.e. the Earth is the center of the universe. Based upon this fact, discuss two textually specific examples where scientific discoveries created social unrest. What was the discovery? Why did society react as it did? What was the reaction of Galileo to the unrest? What was the outcome of the unrest?

Essay Topic 2

What do you think was the main theme of the play? Discuss your answer using evidence gathered to support your claim. Why did you think that this was the theme of the play? What support did you find in the play? Why did this support your claim for this being the theme?

Essay Topic 3

Two of the scientific instruments/discoveries that Galileo made were concepts derived by other people. Discuss what kind of person/scientist that made Galileo. Do you think that science is a constantly evolving theory? Can discoveries be made by one person alone? Or did Galileo have the right, as a scientist, to "better" what had been made/speculated on to that point?

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