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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. Tobias Mayer was a ____________.

2. What did Edmund Halley successfully predict?

3. What was the Board of Longitude's response after the initial testing of H-4?

4. Which of the following people were not members of the Board of Longitude?

5. How long did it take Harrison to build H1?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the title of Chapter 12: A Tale of Two Portraits.

2. What happened when King George III took an interest in Harrison's clocks?

3. Explain the title of Chapter 14: The Mass Production of Genius.

4. Why was the Board of Longitude biased against Harrison?

5. What struggles did astronomers go through in attempting to solve the problem of longitude?

6. What happened when Harrison presented H-1 to the Board of Longitude?

7. In Chapter 11: Trial by Fire and Water, who is the villain introduced? Why was he at odds with Harrison?

8. What hurdles did Harrison have to jump over even though the H-4 was accurate enough to win the Longitude Prize?

9. What role did the astronomers elitism play in the quest for solving the longitude problem?

10. What was Harrison's primary motivation for winning the longitude prize?

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

Write an essay describing each of Harrison's clocks. What were the advancements of each one? How long did they take to build? Which ones were shrouded in controversy? Which one was closest to winning the prize?

Essay Topic 3

In an essay, analyze what genre Longitude is. What evidence from the text supports your opinion? Is it only one genre or a combination?

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