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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. In what city does Nikola Tesla study after running out of funds for college?

2. What system of Nikola Tesla's invention allows alternating current to be delivered?

3. What does Nikola Tesla do to the oscillator?

4. What happens to Nikola Tesla when he steps onto his experimental platform in his laboratory?

5. How tall is Nikola Tesla in the year 1893?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 5, "The War of the Currents Begins," why is Nikola Tesla depressed at age thirty?

2. Nikola produces the first x-ray picture in America. Why does he not commercialize this discovery?

3. In Chapter 14, "Blackout at Colorado Springs," what factors contribute to the failure of Nikola Tesla's Colorado Springs laboratory?

4. In Chapter 4, "At the Court of Mr. Edison," describe the personality differences between Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla.

5. From the book's Introduction, why does Nikola Tesla maintain an intensely private life?

6. In Chapter 13, "Hurler of Lightning," what are some of the effects of Nikola Tesla's experiments with the magnifying oscillator in Colorado Springs?

7. What potential modern applications does author Margaret Cheney describe for Nikola Tesla's invention of a peculiar and sensitive vacuum tube?

8. In Chapter 10, "An Error in Judgment," describe three reasons why Nikola is almost destitute financially.

9. In the "Acknowledgements" section, describe the reasons Leland Anderson is interested in Nikola Tesla.

10. Describe three elements of the friendship between Nikola Tesla and Mr. and Mrs. Robert Wood Johnson.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In Chapter 7, "Radio," Nikola Tesla encounters many obstacles that prevent him from focusing on his research with radio.

Part 1) Briefly describe his main distractions and identify which distractions present the greatest obstacles to his success.

Part 2) Why does the author state that it is impossible for Nikola to accept Sir William Crook's advice to focus on one single area of research?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss two or three things that you learned as a result of reading this book -- and from all of the class and homework learning experiences. Explain the importance of what you learned in each case, and why your new knowledge might make you a different or better person as you grow older.

Essay Topic 3

Nikola Tesla's cool fireball and one thousand volt electrocution demonstrations fascinates Mark Twain, Joseph Jefferson, and Chauncey McGovern. At the end of the demonstrations, Nikola Tesla explains why he can stand briefly on the platform with high voltage yet not get electrocuted. Choose one of the following options to write about.

1) Describe the professions of Nikola Tesla's three guests and why you think Nikola Tesla gives these particular demonstrations.

2) Why does Nikola Tesla explain the rationale for the high voltage platform demonstration?

3) What impression does Nikola Tesla leave with his guests when he does not make a distinction between a human and animal reaction?

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