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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. What is Hal carrying when he enters?
(a) A briefcase and a parka.
(b) A bouquet of flowers and a card.
(c) A backpack and a folded jacket.
(d) A laptop computer.

2. Who is Sophie Germain?
(a) A woman whose husband stole her ideas and published her work under his name.
(b) A woman who teaches at the University of Chicago and was very close to Robert.
(c) A woman who published great mathematical works under a pseudonym during the French Revolution.
(d) A woman Catherine previously thought was her mother.

3. 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 is not sure if she likes him, and plans to give her a lie detector test to find out.
(d) He dislikes her and is thinking of a way to leave.

4. What mathematical principle is associated with Sophie Germain?
(a) Germain Quarters.
(b) Germain Algebra.
(c) Germain Primes.
(d) Germain Angles.

5. How many notebooks did Robert leave behind?
(a) 99.
(b) 301.
(c) 103.
(d) 200.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. Why is Hal unhappy with his own work?

3. What does Robert get Catherine for her birthday?

4. Why is Claire in town?

5. Why did Robert keep requesting that Catherine check out library books for him?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who did Claire want to care for Robert during his illness, and who actually cared for him?

2. Why is Hal insistent on going through all of Robert's notebooks?

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

4. Describe the general mood at the house after Robert's funeral.

5. What does Catherine give to Hal that morning? Where has Catherine been keeping the object ?

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

7. Why does Catherine demand to see Hal's backpack? Does she find anything?

8. Why has Hal come to the house?

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

10. When did Hal and Catherine first meet?

(see the answer keys)

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