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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. Mileva decides to add to the household income by supplementing her husband's university job with income from what?

2. What solution does Uncle Jake propose for Albert's difficulties in school?

3. Toward the end of Chapter Two, Hermann finds Albert awake when he goes to check on the boy. Why does Albert say he's still awake?

4. How many students attend Einstein's first few lectures at the university in Chapter Six?

5. What does Mileva say she misses about Switzerland during Chapter Six?

Short Essay Questions

1. In what ways is Elsa just what Einstein needs? Explain.

2. The reader learns that Einstein's work eventually leads other scientists to create the atom bomb. Why?

3. As Einstein starts receiving professorships, why is Mileva still frustrated with their financial situation?

4. Describe Mileva Maritsch's frustrations with her marriage to Einstein. Is it Einstein with whom she is displeased, or something else?

5. Describe Mr. Einstein's appearance at the opening of the book.

6. Explain Einstein's view, as stated in Chapter Seven, on how scientists should behave in the global community.

7. Describe young Albert Einstein's feelings about school.

8. Why does Hermann Einstein say that an education is so important? He mentions that "a Jew needs one to get along nowadays." To what situation is Hermann referring?

9. What does Einstein's theory of relativity have to do with Michelson and Morley's experiment?

10. Do the townspeople respect Einstein at the beginning of the book?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Albert Einstein is a problem student. Is he too lazy to learn, or does his school system fail him? Use supporting material from the text and discuss in detail the challenge of teaching Einstein. What other great scholars or artists are difficult students?

Essay Topic 2

Pick an Einstein quote that sums up his character and discuss in detail why that particular quote says all that needs to be said about him. The selected quote should speak to at least three different aspects of his character.

Essay Topic 3

What kind of woman is Mileva Maritsch? Does the author present her fairly? Compare and contrast the author's portrait of Mileva with your own research. In what ways are the accounts of her similar, and in what ways do they differ?

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