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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 Harrison's most prized accomplishment?

2. Where does the quote at the beginning of Chapter 3: Adrift in a Clockwork Universe have the author dreaming he is locked in?

3. What was the tool introduced by John Davis in 1595 to better look at the sun called?

4. Who won the Hooke/Huygens conflict?

5. How long did Harrison work before receiving his monetary reward?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. In Chapter 2: The Sea Before Time, what happened to Sir Clowdisley's voyage?

4. Why did changes in temperature affect early clocks?

5. Explain the title of Chapter 5: Powder of Sympathy.

6. Why is the story of Sir Clowdisley included in Chapter 2: The Sea Before Time?

7. What did Huygens patent in 1675.

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

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

10. What two advances did Thacker's chronometer make? Why did it still not work?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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 2

Examine Sobel's writing style. How does she balance fact and opinion to further the plot of the book? Does her style lend itself more to fiction or nonfiction?

Essay Topic 3

The Royal Astronomers were determined that the answer to the longitude problem resided in the heavens. Why wouldn't the astronomer's consider an alternative solution to the longitude problem, such as Harrison's clock solution?

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