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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. Who does the monk say that he has to have permission from before Galileo can see an eye doctor?

2. While Galileo is in with the inquisition, what is Virginia doing?

3. What author has Galileo begun to read again? (Revealed by Galileo to the "Little Monk" during their conversation in Scene VII.)

4. What type of language does the Inquisitor say that Galileo writes in?

5. What philosopher does Galileo and Andrea study in regard to objects floating?

Short Essay Questions

1. In the opening of Scene VII, why does the "Little Monk" admit to Galileo that he has not been able to sleep?

2. What problems does Virginia find with Galileo traveling to Padua and taking time off?

3. Why does Galileo use the satire of Horace to explain the necessity of all parts of his study being present in his observations?

4. What do the experiment with the iron needle and water prove?

5. What does the Court's expect to happen at 5:00 on the day of Galileo's inquisition?

6. During Galileo's students conversation, while waiting for Galileo's recanting, the students did find some humor in the situation. What humor did they find?

7. What were Federzoni and Andrea's worries concerning Galileo's Inquisition?

8. Why does the "Little Monk" use the story of his family and town's history to show Galileo his fears about the mixing of science and religion?

9. What did the astronomer at the University tell Virginia about her horoscope?

10. What lie does Galileo tell Virginia about being summoned by The Duke?

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

Choose one of the scenarios that Galileo used to describe a statement or argument. Describe why the argument/statement worked to explain what Galileo was trying to say. What point was he trying to make? What was the example that he used to illustrate his meaning? How effective was the illustration?

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