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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Why is Hal hesitant after Catherine asks him about sex at the Conference?
(a) He is not sure that she is flirting with him, and does not want to make a bad impression.
(b) He dislikes her and does not want to talk about sex.
(c) He dislikes her and is thinking of a way to leave.
(d) He is not sure if she likes him, and plans to give her a lie detector test to find out.

2. How does Catherine know about Sophie Germain?
(a) She was one of Catherine's teachers.
(b) She learned about her in a college course.
(c) Robert gave her a book about the woman.
(d) They know each other personally and have been friends for years.

3. Why is Claire confused about Catherine's relationship to Hal?
(a) Because prior to this incident, she knows Catherine and Hal were the best of friends.
(b) Because Hal and Catherine were engaged to be married.
(c) Because she does not know if they were partying together, if he was an intruder, or if he only exists in Catherine's mind.
(d) Because Hal and Robert are friends, but not Hal and Catherine.

4. Who paid the mortgage on the house during Robert's illness?
(a) Claire.
(b) Robert.
(c) Catherine.
(d) Hal.

5. What time of day does Catherine's conversation with Robert occur?
(a) Between 7:00AM and 8:00AM.
(b) Between 2:00PM and 3:00PM.
(c) Between 9:00PM and 10:00PM.
(d) Between 12:00AM and 1:00AM.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Hal, what happens when a mathematician turns fifty?

2. Who interrupts Catherine and Robert's conversation?

3. What mathematical principle is associated with Sophie Germain?

4. What has become Claire's fiance's new hobby?

5. According to the letter Catherine has memorized, is Gauss pleased to discover the letters he has received are from a woman?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe Hal's mood the morning after he and Catherine sleep together.

2. Why does Hal think his papers get turned down for publication?

3. What is Hal's song Imaginary Number?

4. Robert was a graphomaniac. What does that mean?

5. Describe how Catherine treats the police when they arrive.

6. What does Robert reveal about Catherine's state of mind in the first scene?

7. Does Hal think he will still have the next great mathematical revelation?

8. Who paid off the mortgage on the house? How?

9. How does Hal describe the mathematicians at his conferences?

10. How is Claire's personality different from Catherine's?

(see the answer keys)

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