CommonLit article: The Women of Hidden Figures

What was the main competition between the United States and the Soviet Union beginning in 1955?

• World War II

• The Industrial Revolution

• The Cold War

• The Space Race

Who was the first American to orbit the Earth, for whom Katherine Johnson did calculations?

• Neil Armstrong

• John Glenn

• Buzz Aldrin

• Alan Shepard

Which law, signed during Dorothy Vaughan's time at NACA, was supposed to prevent racial discrimination in hiring?

• The Civil Rights Act

• The Equal Pay Act

• The Emancipation Proclamation

• The Voting Rights Act

What role did Mary Jackson eventually take on at NASA, focusing on the hiring and promotion of women and minorities?

• Federal Women’s Program Manager

• Chief Engineer

• Director of Space Missions

• Astronaut

What unique challenge did Katherine Johnson face when pursuing her high school education?

• She had to attend a different school each year

• There was no high school for African American students in her county

• She had to learn from home without teachers

• She was not allowed to study math

What was the primary job of women like Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughan at NACA?

• Piloting space missions

• Designing rockets

• Performing calculations as 'computers'

• Teaching mathematics

How did Dorothy Vaughan contribute to the advancement of computing at NACA?

• She designed the first computer

• She ignored the new computing machines

• She mastered the programming language of the new machines

• She refused to work with computers

What did Mary Jackson have to do to become a full-fledged engineer?

• Build her own wind tunnel

• Complete graduate-level courses at a segregated school

• Invent a new spacecraft

• Write a book on engineering

What significant recognition did Katherine Johnson receive in 2015?

• Nobel Prize

• Medal of Honor

• Presidential Medal of Freedom

• Pulitzer Prize

Why were the contributions of the women in 'Hidden Figures' initially unknown to many people?

• They worked on secret missions

• Their work was not considered important

• They were overshadowed by their male colleagues

• They preferred to remain anonymous