View a FREE sample

This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 2, Mathematics and the Exact Sciences.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In the hands of ________, history led not to an understanding of God's will but rather to an understanding of human nature.
(a) Kant.
(b) D'Alembert.
(c) David Hume.
(d) Boyle.

2. Leibniz, in his differential calculus, broke up the curve into many little straight lines, creating a ________, in Chapter 2 of "Science and the Enlightenment."
(a) Diagonal curve.
(b) Pentagon curve.
(c) Centripetal curve.
(d) Polygon curve.

3. Vis viva was thought by its creator ________ to be the dynamic quantity that was conserved in the universe, according to the narrator in Chapter 2.
(a) Euler.
(b) 'sGravesande.
(c) Leibniz.
(d) Descartes.

4. In the preface to his "Histoire" of the Paris Academy of Science, who argued in 1699 that the new "geometric spirit" could also improve works on politics, morals, literary criticism, and even public speaking?
(a) Leibniz.
(b) Newton.
(c) Varignon.
(d) Fontenelle.

5. In Chapter 2, what was the name of the shape of a chain suspended between two fixed points?
(a) Isoperimeters.
(b) Tractrix.
(c) Involute.
(d) Catenary.

Short Answer Questions

1. The narrator reveals that vis viva was a measure of ________ to conserve his creation while "action" was a measure of his efficiency.

2. The "Philosophical Letters" was a product of Voltaire's visit to ________ according to Chapter 2.

3. According to Chapter 1, who made Newton into a supreme rationalist whose laws of motion were a priori deductions of pure thought?

4. Who was the extraordinary philosopher whose life and career exemplified many aspects of the Enlightenment, although he was not especially prominent as a natural philosopher nor was he the main protagonist in the vis viva controversy?

5. According to the narrator in Chapter 1, who was one of the originators of the mechanical philosophy who believed there were no forces or powers in matter?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 289 words (approx. 1 page at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample