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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 Nevil Maskelyne known as?

2. What was the main point of Harrison's first presentation before the Board of Longitude?

3. How much did the Board of Longitude award both Earnshaw and Arnold?

4. What did Harrison complete in 1759?

5. What benefit did competition result in for clock making?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. Describe the progression of Harrison's clocks in Chapter 8: The Grasshopper Goes to Sea.

3. What effect did Harrison's success have on the Longitude Act and the Board of Longitude?

4. Explain the relationship between Harrison and Jefferys.

5. What did the Board of Longitude hire Larcum Kendall to do?

6. Who were Harrison's enemies? Why?

7. Explain the developments in finding an astronomical solution outlined in Chapter 9: Hands on Heaven's Clock.

8. Why was Maskelyne threatened by Harrison?

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

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

By entitling her book, Longitude: The True Story of the Lone Genius that Solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of his Time, Sobel seems to have a clear bias in her understanding of the history she portrays in her book. Using specific examples from the book, write an essay demonstrating ways in which Sobel's portrayal of history is biased towards Harrison.

Essay Topic 2

Place the longitude problem in its historical context Include the following: social, political, cultural, religious, and economic factors.

Essay Topic 3

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?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 900 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample