Hidden Figures Quiz

The organization of paragraphs 1–8 contributes to the author’s main idea by — 

• highlighting special achievements

• explaining what computing is

• providing background information

• focusing on different employees  

Read the following sentence about the selection.

The women at Langley Laboratory were pioneers in the scientific field, and she made a significant impact on it.

Which revised sentence uses correct pronoun-antecedent agreement?  

•       The women at Langley Laboratory were pioneers in the scientific field, and she made a significant impact on her.

• The women at Langley Laboratory were pioneers in the scientific field, and they made a significant impact on her.

• The women at Langley Laboratory were pioneers in the scientific field, and they made a significant impact on it.

• No revision is necessary.

Read the dictionary entry for the word disturbance.

disturbance \di-stur´bәns\ n 1. an interruption of flow 2. an altering of order or position 3. an upset of natural balance 4. a destruction of tranquility or calm

Which definition most closely matches the way the word disturbance is used in paragraph 6? 

• Definition 1

• Definition 2

• Definition 3

• Definition 4

Read the sentence from paragraph 11.

Today we think of computers as machines, but in the 1940s, a computer was just someone whose job it was to do computations. . . .

What is the effect of the author’s use of we in the sentence?

• It encourages the reader to view the past with nostalgia.

• It reminds the reader of the power of modern computers.

• It creates an informal tone that includes the reader in the narrative.

•               It creates a formal tone that explains how computers were used by women.

Which detail from the selection best reveals how important the mission President Roosevelt gave the NACA was?

• African Americans were hired for positions typically only held by white people.

• Women were classified as “subprofessionals.”

• Women had been working at Langley since 1937.

• African Americans were assigned to work in a separate area from white people.

Read paragraph 15. Which word best describes the working conditions at Langley Laboratories?

• Segregated

• Hostile

• Crowded

• Casual

Which is the best description of the author’s organizational structure?

• She first describes the job of a computer and then other jobs available at Langley.

• She uses chronological order to discuss key events between 1935 and 1945.

• She begins the narrative in the present day and traces key events back to 1945.

• She skips around in time to explain key events and provide historical background.  

The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics wanted to develop the most powerful and efficient airplanes in the world.

Put these events in order of steps taken to achieve this goal.

• The American aircraft industry makes three times more airplanes than Germany.

• Langley Laboratory advertises for female mathematicians during the war.

• President Roosevelt wants more airplanes produced.

• Computers are needed to turn raw data into something useful.

Which word best describes the tone of paragraph 18?

• Acceptance

• Admiration

• Bitterness

• Hesitation

Which sentence from paragraph 18 best supports the answer to the previous question about the tone of paragraph 18?

• For the black women, the experience of working at a laboratory offered the chance to do interesting work  that would help support the war effort.

• Walking into an unfamiliar environment wasn’t easy for the women of the new West Area Computing Office,  but each of them was eager for the opportunity to help their country and prove that they, too, could be excellent mathematicians.