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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 was the name of the pilot who broke the sound barrier?

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

3. At the time when black women began working at Langley, what was considered the highest level of employment a black woman could achieve?

4. What part of Langley did the black computers work in?

5. What were the employees at Langley warned against doing outside of the workplace during World War II?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Why was Margery Hannah considered a pariah by some of her white coworkers?

3. Why was Dorothy Vaughan taking a risk when she decided to sign a lease on a house in Newport News?

4. What was the attitude of the male engineers when a human computer made an error?

5. Why was it necessary for Melvin Butler to begin hiring black women as computers?

6. Why did Miriam Mann object to the "colored computers" sign in the cafeteria?

7. How did Dorothy Vaughan become Head of West Computing?

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

9. What did some supervisors at Langley do to encourage talented female computers to remain on the job?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Shetterly dedicates an entire chapter to Mary Jackson’s son entering a soap box derby. Write an essay explaining the purpose of this chapter. How does the chapter relate to the themes of the book? What information about the individuals focused on does Shetterly communicate through this chapter? What information does the chapter communicate about racial relations during the time period?

Essay Topic 2

Katherine Goble Johnson is an important figure in the book. How does Katherine’s story help the author to explore the themes of gender stereotypes, segregation, and discrimination? How did Katherine’s outlook help her to overcome discrimination? What personality traits did Katherine possess that helped her to succeed in a male-dominated workplace?

Essay Topic 3

The black women that Shetterly focuses on in Hidden Figures had a great deal in common. Write an essay discussing what the women had in common and how those traits helped them to excel in their careers. What were their educational backgrounds? What were their personalities like? How did the ways in which they looked at the world help them to succeed?

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