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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 did King Louis XIV of France complain about with more accurate measures of longitude?
2. How many sailors died near the Scilly Islands?
3. After the Association ran aground and the captain's body was found, what of value was found on him?
4. What did Huygen's published argument state?
5. How is the fog described at the beginning of Chapter 2: The Sea Before Time?
Short Essay Questions
1. Describe John Harrison's family.
2. What was Galileo's longitude solution?
3. What was the problem with measuring the speed of light? How was it solved?
4. What was the result of Hooke and Huygens not producing a successful clock that worked at sea?
5. In Chapter 2: The Sea Before Time, what happened to Sir Clowdisley's voyage?
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. What is the main difference, as identified in Chapter 1, between latitude and longitude?
8. In 1530, Flemish astronomer Gemma Frisiusm wrote that the clocks of his day "provided no problem to those who traveled." In reality, what were the problems with clocks of his day for travel?
9. Why is the story of Sir Clowdisley included in Chapter 2: The Sea Before Time?
10. What was the Longitude Act of 1714?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
A theme central to the book is that of ambition. Harrison's ambition comes through with his determination to solve the longitude problem through timepieces, despite various obstacles. In an essay, discuss Harrison's motivation for winning the longitude prize. Was Harrison intrinsically motivated because he was a hard worker and wanted to succeed or extrinsically motivated by wealth and fame?
Essay Topic 2
Early attempts to solve the problem of longitude divided into two main camps, those who were looking for a "heavenly" solution, and those who considered an "earthly" solution. Do these titles imply a hierarchy to you? Do you think that members of the Royal Astronomical Observatory also used this titles to imply superiority over non-members? Why or why not?
Essay Topic 3
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?
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This section contains 831 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) |
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