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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 men of the original 500 perished on Centurion's voyage to the South Pacific?

2. Before using clocks to navigate longitude, sailors used the __________.

3. When did Harrison learn of the Longitude Prize?

4. In the earliest lines of latitude, what marked the zero-degree line?

5. Harrison was an avid ___________.

Short Essay Questions

1. Why was it unusual that John Harrison became an accomplished clockmaker?

2. What were the economic consequences of not knowing longitude?

3. Who were the early players in the longitude prize described in Chapter 6: The Prize. What role did they play?

4. What is the main difference, as identified in Chapter 1, between latitude and longitude?

5. Why did changes in temperature affect early clocks?

6. 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.

7. Describe the legend of how Galileo came up with the idea of the pendulum clock.

8. What was King Charles II's role in solving the longitude problem?

9. What did Huygens patent in 1675.

10. What was Humphrey Ditton's suggestion for determining longitude?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The hero of "Longitude" is John Harrison. In an essay, outline his major accomplishments in relation to the longitude problem. Did his background help or hurt him? What controversies did he have to endure?

Essay Topic 2

In an essay, analyze Chapter 14: The Mass Production of Genius. What effect did the mass production of watches and clocks have on the world?

Essay Topic 3

We learn in Longitude the struggles that astronomers had gone through in developing a solution to the longitude problem and they would not allow all their work to be shown unnecessary. Sobel is able to come to allow the reader to come to this conclusion through the use of objective and subjective details. According to the Royal Academy of Astronomers, why was Harrison not "worthy" to solve the problem of longitude? How do you know this? Through objective or subjective details?

(see the answer keys)

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