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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. How many women, both black and white, were working as computers when Dorothy Vaughan started at Langley?

2. How did Dorothy Vaughan get from her hometown to her new job at Langley?

3. How much was Dorothy Vaughan offered in pay to work at Langley in comparison to her teaching job?

4. What was the name of the personnel officer at Langley Research Center when Dorothy Vaughan began working there?

5. What did the personnel officer know would be necessary if he were to hire black women to work at Langley?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did designating women as "subprofessionals" help the laboratory?

2. How did Shetterly's childhood affect the way she thought of blacks working in science, math, and engineering?

3. What observation did black leaders make concerning the events occurring in Europe during World War II?

4. Why were Howard and Dorothy Vaughan an uneven match for one another?

5. Why did Joshua Coleman rent a house for his wife and children that was 125 miles away from their home?

6. What was the goal of NACA during World War II?

7. Why did William Claytor create special classes just for Katherine Goble Johnson?

8. Why was it so difficult for Dorothy Vaughan to leave Farmville for her new job at Langley?

9. Why were employees of NACA warned not to speak of their work outside the office during World War II?

10. What did Mary Winston Jackson try to teach the girls in the Girl Scouts troop that she lead?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay explaining the concept of the “Double V.” What did African American leaders mean by this term? In what ways were African American soldiers particularly affected by the Double V? How did the Double V affect African Americans working at Langley?

Essay Topic 2

Shetterly indicates that Langley was something of a social experiment in terms of integration. Write an essay describing the gradual integration of black employees into the general workforce of Langley. How did the work of the black women computers help to integrate Langley? What part did the attitudes of progressive white employees play in the integration of Langley? What changes in the outside world impacted integration at Langley?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay discussing Shetterly’s motives for writing Hidden Figures. What does she mean when she says that past events can help shed light on the modern world? What insight does Hidden Figures provide about the modern world?

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