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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 the name of the Portugese ship described in Chapter 2: The Sea Before Time that ran into a Spanish fleet?

2. When did Harrison learn of the Longitude Prize?

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

4. What toy does the narrator play with at the beginning of Chapter 1: Imaginary Lines?

5. Who won the Hooke/Huygens conflict?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. What was Galileo's longitude solution?

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

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

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

7. In 1740, the Centurion set sail for the South Pacific without Harrison's clock. What might have been different about the voyage if they would have taken the clock? Why?

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

9. What was the Longitude Act of 1714?

10. What did Huygens patent in 1675.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

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?

Essay Topic 2

In an essay, outline the accomplishments of the major players in the early quest to solve the longitude problem. Include the following: Thacket, Newton, Halley, Flamsteed, and the Board of Longitude.

Essay Topic 3

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?

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