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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What was Huygens best known as?
(a) The first great scientist.
(b) The first great astronomer.
(c) The first great philosopher.
(d) The first great horologist.

2. How many men of the original 500 perished on Centurion's voyage to the South Pacific?
(a) All but two.
(b) One quarter.
(c) 500.
(d) Half.

3. The placement of the prime meridian was a ____________ decision.
(a) Economic.
(b) Historical.
(c) Social.
(d) Political.

4. What did WIlliam Whiston contribute to the longitude debate?
(a) He proposed using animals and sound.
(b) He proposed using the moon and the stars.
(c) He proposed using sound and light.
(d) He proposed using a telescope and a compass.

5. What was built at Greenwich Park?
(a) The Royal Observatory.
(b) St. Paul's Cathedral.
(c) The Paris Observatory.
(d) The Celestial Palace.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who completed the first working pendulum clock?

2. Where was the destination the Centurion was sailing for?

3. What is the main point of Chapter 6: The Prize?

4. What could have avoided the tragedy near the Scilly Islands?

5. Who was Harrison's right-hand man in building clocks?

Short Essay Questions

1. In 1740, the Centurion set sail for the South Pacific without Harrison's clock. What might have been different about the voyage if they would have taken the clock? Why?

2. Explain how longitude is affected by time.

3. What was King Charles II's role in solving the longitude problem?

4. Who were the early players in the longitude prize described in Chapter 6: The Prize. What role did they play?

5. What was Galileo's longitude solution?

6. What was the problem with measuring the speed of light? How was it solved?

7. Explain the title of Chapter 5: Powder of Sympathy.

8. Describe John Harrison.

9. Compare Newton's thoughts about the solution of the longitude problem at the beginning of Chapter 6: The Prize to his thoughts at the end of the chapter.

10. What did Huygens patent in 1675.

(see the answer keys)

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