View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What were the subjects allowed to glance at one at a time in the experiment from the 1940s described by Gleick in Chapter 2, "Revolution"?
(a) Ink blots.
(b) Playing cards.
(c) Nature photographs.
(d) Postage stamps.

2. What is the mathematical study of changes in the qualitative or topological structure of a given family, such as the integral curves of a family of vector fields, and the solutions of a family of differential equations?
(a) Fluid dynamics.
(b) Thermodynamics.
(c) Theoretical physics.
(d) Bifurcation theory.

3. In mathematics, what is a system which does not satisfy the superposition principle, or whose output is not directly proportional to its input?
(a) Linear system.
(b) Hyperlinear system.
(c) Nonlinear system.
(d) Thermolinear system.

4. What is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force?
(a) Thermodynamics.
(b) Physiology.
(c) Physics.
(d) Fluid dynamics.

5. What is a description of a system using mathematical concepts and language?
(a) Algorithm model.
(b) Mathematical model.
(c) Computer model.
(d) Fraction model.

6. One of the implications of what theorem is that if a continuous discrete dynamical system on the real line has a periodic point of period 3, then it must have periodic points of every other period?
(a) Stronghorn's theorem.
(b) Stevenson's theorem.
(c) Skawinski's theorem.
(d) Sharkovskii's theorem.

7. In mathematics and statistics, a _____ is a quantity that serves to relate functions and variables using a common variable when such a relationship would be difficult to explicate with an equation.
(a) Parameter.
(b) Divisor.
(c) Paradigm.
(d) Fraction.

8. What refers to the sensitive dependence on initial conditions; where a small change at one place in a nonlinear system can result in large differences to a later state?
(a) Butterfly effect.
(b) Pufferfish effect.
(c) Hummingbird effect.
(d) Kangaroo effect.

9. James Yorke is credited with creating what term in reference to science?
(a) Frantic.
(b) Chaos.
(c) Rambling.
(d) Pandamonium.

10. When was Robert May born?
(a) 1938.
(b) 1944.
(c) 1947.
(d) 1935.

11. When was the Massachusetts Institute of Technology founded?
(a) 1895.
(b) 1861.
(c) 1823.
(d) 1877.

12. According to Gleick in Chapter 3, "Life's Ups and Downs," what will cause the idealized population to end up at the lower level?
(a) A fraction parameter.
(b) A higher parameter.
(c) A multiplier parameter.
(d) A lower parameter.

13. When was Edward Lorenz born?
(a) 1914.
(b) 1921.
(c) 1917.
(d) 1924.

14. Although James Yorke was a brilliant mathematician, he often referred to himself as what?
(a) A rebel.
(b) A martyr.
(c) A monk.
(d) A philosopher.

15. What is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere?
(a) Fractal compression.
(b) Meteorology.
(c) Physiology.
(d) Thermodynamics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Robert May, like many before him, was confused by the changes when what was increased?

2. Where was Benoit Mandelbrot born?

3. Where was Thomas S. Kuhn born?

4. What refers to a change in the basic assumptions within the ruling theory of science?

5. When was Thomas S. Kuhn born?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 455 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample