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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Where does the quote at the beginning of Chapter 3: Adrift in a Clockwork Universe have the author dreaming he is locked in?
(a) In a ship.
(b) In his father's watch.
(c) On the moon.
(d) In a hidden basement.

2. What could the powder of sympathy reportedly do?
(a) Heal at a distance.
(b) Make one immortal.
(c) Point north when mixed with water.
(d) Cure scurvy.

3. Who used the moons of Jupiter to solve the longitude problem?
(a) Galileo.
(b) Commodore Anson.
(c) Newton.
(d) Ptolomy.

4. What disease afflicted many sailors at sea for long periods of time?
(a) Typhoid fever.
(b) Hepatitis.
(c) Scurvy.
(d) Malaria.

5. Where did Harrison go to present his case to the Board of Longitude?
(a) Paris.
(b) Edinburgh.
(c) London.
(d) Oxford.

6. What was one disadvantage to using the magnetic variation method to determine longitude?
(a) Compasses weren't continuously accurate.
(b) It could only be used on clear nights.
(c) It led to misalignment with the stars.
(d) Compasses were to large to take on ships.

7. What was one benefit of the Whiston-Ditton proposal?
(a) It led to the monetary award for a solution to the longitude problem.
(b) It led to glory for England for being the first to solve the problem of longitude.
(c) Whiston and Ditton each became rich off of their proposal.
(d) It was a reliable method of determining longitude.

8. Harrison was an avid ___________.
(a) Reader.
(b) Cricket player.
(c) Photographer.
(d) Astronomer.

9. The moon travels a distance roughly equal to its own width every _________.
(a) Minute.
(b) Day.
(c) 30 minutes.
(d) Second.

10. When did clock makers begin to design clocks to measure longitude?
(a) 15th century.
(b) 17th century.
(c) 16th century.
(d) 14th century.

11. What advantage did the magnetic variation method have over astronomical approaches at determining longitude?
(a) It didn't rely on wouding animals.
(b) It did not depend on knowing the time at two places at once.
(c) It utilized new technology in clockmaking.
(d) Longitude could now be charted on a map.

12. At the end of Chapter 6: The Prize, how had Newton changed his thinking about the longitude problem?
(a) He wrote about the benefits to an astronomical solution.
(b) He began to think a clock might solve the longitude problem.
(c) He began to believe that there was no hope for solving the longitude problem.
(d) He was so frustrated he gave up the quest to solve longitude.

13. Complete this analogy from Chapter 4:Time in a Bottle: Time is to clock as mind is to ____________.
(a) Heaven.
(b) Head.
(c) Brain.
(d) Stars.

14. When measuring longitude, each hour of time difference between the ship and starting point marks a progress of how many degrees of longitude?
(a) 25.
(b) 30.
(c) 5.
(d) 15.

15. What year was Harrison born?
(a) 1715.
(b) 1727.
(c) 1693.
(d) 1650.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was Giovanni Domenico Cassini famous for?

2. In the Whiston-Ditton proposal, what did they hope to be exempt from?

3. How many sailors died near the Scilly Islands?

4. What is the main point of Chapter 6: The Prize?

5. After the Association ran aground and the captain's body was found, what of value was found on him?

(see the answer keys)

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