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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why was it remarkable for Harrison to build his first pendulum clock?
(a) His design was stolen midway through building the clock.
(b) He was an adamant believer in the astronomical solution to longitude.
(c) He came from a very poor family with no means to build a clock.
(d) He wasn't a watchmakers apprentice.

2. How many men of the original 500 perished on Centurion's voyage to the South Pacific?
(a) Half.
(b) One quarter.
(c) All but two.
(d) 500.

3. How was John Harrison educated?
(a) He had no formal education.
(b) He learned alongside Newton.
(c) He went to Oxford.
(d) He attended elementary school in his town.

4. Where did Newton believe the answer to the longitude problem lie?
(a) A clock based solution.
(b) A sound and light solution.
(c) An astronomical solution.
(d) The wounded dog theory.

5. What was the tool introduced by John Davis in 1595 to better look at the sun called?
(a) The cross-staff.
(b) The cane.
(c) The sidestaff.
(d) The backstaff.

Short Answer Questions

1. How is the fog described at the beginning of Chapter 2: The Sea Before Time?

2. What was Flamsteed's reaction to his maps being seized?

3. What did WIlliam Whiston contribute to the longitude debate?

4. How many times was Harrison married?

5. What was Flamsteed's title?

Short Essay Questions

1. What were the problems with William Whiston's proposal for determining longitude?

2. What was the Longitude Act of 1714?

3. What was the problem with measuring the speed of light? How was it solved?

4. Describe John Harrison's family.

5. What did Huygens patent in 1675.

6. Why did changes in temperature affect early clocks?

7. Explain how longitude is affected by time.

8. What was the result of the Whiston-Ditton proposal?

9. In Harrison's early clockmaking years, what was his goal?

10. Compare Newton's thoughts about the solution of the longitude problem at the beginning of Chapter 6: The Prize to his thoughts at the end of the chapter.

(see the answer keys)

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