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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who was the division chief of The Flight Research Division when Katherine Goble Johnson was sent to work there?
(a) John Becker.
(b) James William.
(c) R. T. Jones.
(d) Henry Pearson.

2. Besides fearing an attack, what bothered Americans about Russia launching Sputnik?
(a) Americans were only weeks away from launching a manned spacecraft.
(b) Americans were humiliated that Russia had beat them to space.
(c) Americans believed Russia had stolen plans for its satellite from America.
(d) Americans believed Russia was using the satellite to monitor their communications.

3. How did Mary Jackson see her son's opportunity to build a soap box derby car?
(a) As a way of boosting his self-esteem.
(b) As a way to show that he could do anything white children could do.
(c) As a waste of time.
(d) As an apprenticeship in engineering.

4. Who were the Greensboro Four?
(a) Four women in West Computing who were all from Greensboro.
(b) Black leaders who helped integrate schools.
(c) Engineers who designed the Mercury capsule.
(d) Students who sat at a segregated lunch counter.

5. What did the reporter who interviewed Dorothy Lee say that women had to work like?
(a) Mules.
(b) Slaves.
(c) Dogs.
(d) Men.

6. What branch of the military did Katherine Goble Johnson's second husband serve in?
(a) Marines.
(b) Navy.
(c) Army.
(d) Airforce.

7. What was special about Mary Jackson's son winning the soap box derby?
(a) Mary was the first mother to help her son in the derby.
(b) It was the last soap box derby ever held.
(c) He was the first black boy to win the peninsula's competition.
(d) He was awarded a scholarship to attend college.

8. What instruction did Katherine Goble Johnson give her daughters' principal after her husband died?
(a) To avoid talking about her husband's death.
(b) Not to give her daughters any special treatment.
(c) To allow Dorothy Vaughan to pick the children up from school.
(d) To go easy on her grieving daughters.

9. What did Katherine Goble Johnson's husband die from?
(a) Malaria.
(b) A brain tumor.
(c) Tuberculosis.
(d) A heart attack.

10. What was the name of the first satellite the Russian's put into orbit?
(a) Red One.
(b) Mercury.
(c) Sputnik.
(d) Apollo.

11. What was the name of the white woman who went with Mary Jackson to speak to a group of black female students about science and engineering careers?
(a) Emily Jamison.
(b) Blanche Sponsler.
(c) Emma Jean Landrum.
(d) Margery Hannah.

12. How did Dorothy Lee feel after agreeing with a report that women had to act like ladies in the workplace?
(a) Embarrassed.
(b) Angry.
(c) Happy.
(d) Confused.

13. Which group at Langley had already developed expertise in rockets when the space race began?
(a) The Flight Research Division.
(b) PARD.
(c) The Materials Research Division.
(d) The Formal Methods Research Group.

14. How had Katherine Goble Johnson's father taught her to treat other people?
(a) As superiors to herself.
(b) As equals.
(c) As inferior to herself.
(d) As strangers to be wary of.

15. Why did Dorothy Vaughan believe the West Computers would need to learn to use the electronic computers?
(a) Their male coworkers would think they were not capable if they did not learn to use them.
(b) The East Computers would take their jobs if they did not learn to use them.
(c) The electronic computers would eventually replace them, so they would need to be able to use them to keep their jobs.
(d) Their male coworkers would not learn to use the electronic computers.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was Kaz's response when Mary told him about being laughed at by the white computers?

2. What was the name of Mary Jackson's son who entered into the soap box derby race?

3. Why was it difficult for Mary Jackson to attend engineering classes at Hampton High School?

4. What was the name of America's first manned space project?

5. Why did Mary Jackson's calculations come up wrong when she was given an assignment by the chief of the Compressibility Division?

(see the answer keys)

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