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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How many more children did Dorothy and Howard Vaughan have after Dorothy moved to Newport News?
(a) Three.
(b) One.
(c) Two.
(d) Zero.

2. Why did the NAACP file a lawsuit against Booker T. Washington High School in Virginia?
(a) They were not offering black students the same opportunities as white students.
(b) They were paying black teachers less than white teachers.
(c) They were not allowing black students to attend classes there.
(d) They would not hire black teachers.

3. Who hid the "colored computers" sign from the cafeteria?
(a) Miriam Mann.
(b) Mary Jackson.
(c) Dorothy Vaughan.
(d) Katherine Goble Johnson.

4. What oath did Dorothy Vaughan have to take upon beginning her job at Langley?
(a) The Mathematician's oath.
(b) The Segregated Workplace oath.
(c) The U.S. Civil Service oath.
(d) The NACA Loyalty oath.

5. What did the U.S. government do to prevent black leaders like Josephine Baker and W.E.B. Du Bois from having an impact on relations with newly independent countries?
(a) Charged them with heavy fines.
(b) Put them in jail.
(c) Denounced them in the press.
(d) Revoked their passports.

6. At what age did Dorothy Vaughan graduate from high school?
(a) 16.
(b) 15.
(c) 18.
(d) 17.

7. What were the employees at Langley warned against doing outside of the workplace during World War II?
(a) Talking about their work.
(b) Letting anyone know where they worked.
(c) Socializing with people of different races.
(d) Telling people there were black women working at Langley.

8. Why did Dorothy Vaughan sometimes put dinner on the table for her children and then walk around the block before eating?
(a) To make sure they had enough to eat before she ate.
(b) To stay thin.
(c) Because she did not want to take out the frustrations of her day on them.
(d) To prevent herself from talking about her classified work.

9. In 1970, what percentage of engineers in America were black?
(a) 5%.
(b) 1%.
(c) 25%.
(d) 10%.

10. What was Asa Phillip Randolph's position when he threatened to lead a march on Washington if war jobs were not opened to blacks?
(a) Head of NAACP.
(b) Senator.
(c) Head of the largest black labor union.
(d) Congressman.

11. What did James Thompson call the idea that black Americans had to fight in the war for victory overseas and at home for victory over oppression?
(a) The Double War.
(b) The Black Man's Battle.
(c) The Constant Battle.
(d) The Double V.

12. Who was Matilda West, the black employee who was fired for disloyalty, related to?
(a) Dorothy Vaughan.
(b) Katherine Goble Johnson.
(c) Miriam Mann.
(d) Mary Jackson.

13. What did the "X" in the designation of an airplane signify?
(a) That it was a fighter plane.
(b) That it was experimental.
(c) That it was a bomber.
(d) That it was a cargo plane.

14. What did Langley do in hopes of turning the computers into junior engineers?
(a) Required them to take classes at the local college.
(b) Sponsored a course in engineering physics.
(c) Paired them up with engineers who acted as mentors.
(d) Paid for computers to go back to college.

15. What event caused the need for Langley to initially hire black women?
(a) World War I.
(b) The launch of Sputnik.
(c) The space race.
(d) World War II.

Short Answer Questions

1. Where did Mary Jackson work immediately after her first year of teaching.

2. How did Shetterly know the woman that her father told her was a human computer, thus sparking her interest in the topic?

3. What song did Mary Jackson tell her Girl Scouts that they would never sing again after she thought about the stereotypes the song promoted?

4. What was the name of the group of black pilots whose exploits were closely followed by the black community during World War II?

5. What did the researchers at Langley use to gain test results without the dangers of test flights?

(see the answer keys)

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