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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 12.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. It had long been noted that physical traits were inheritable and that they had something to do with what other human element?
(a) Chromosomes.
(b) Genes.
(c) Amino acids.
(d) DNA.

2. What is an algorithm?
(a) A mathematical theory.
(b) An algebraic formula.
(c) A set of instructions for arriving at a certain result.
(d) A complex calculation.

3. What about DNA allows it to split and replicate?
(a) Its size.
(b) Its shape.
(c) Its strength.
(d) Its innate energy.

4. Entropy is the physical equivalent of what state?
(a) Normality.
(b) Possibility.
(c) Sequencing.
(d) Probability.

5. What were the interests of Charles Babbage, a brilliant Englishman who lived in the 19th century?
(a) Mathematics, engineering, cryptography, railroads, and industrial machinery.
(b) Prose and poetry.
(c) Philosophy and psychology.
(d) The history of discovery and travel.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did mathematician Gregory Chaitin propose about Shannon's concept of entropy as uncertainty?

2. What new word did Claude Shannon, a mathematical researcher at Bell Labs, introduce in the in-house journal called "A Mathematical Theory of Communication"?

3. How did Gregory Chaitin define random numbers?

4. What uses one symbol to represent one "minimal sound"?

5. What is the relationship between humans and memes?

(see the answer key)

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