Hidden Figures Quiz: Test Your Knowledge on the Film

Questions and Answers

Who is the author?

Margot Lee Shetterly

Who were the women who worked at NASA?

Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden

What were the women who worked at NASA called?

Computers

What day did Apollo 11 take flight?

July 20, 1969 Signup and view all the answers

What year did Dorothy join NACA?

1943 Signup and view all the answers

Where did the girls work?

Langley in Hampton, VA Signup and view all the answers

What did Dorothy Vaughan do before she became a computer at Langley?

High School Math Teacher Signup and view all the answers

What does NACA stand for?

National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics Signup and view all the answers

Where was Dorothy Vaughan born?

Kansas City, Missouri Signup and view all the answers

On what significant day did Dorothy Vaughan begin her job at Langley?

D-Day Signup and view all the answers

What kind of work did Dorothy Vaughan do while at Langley during WWII?

Worked on Mustang Airplanes, took extra classes on math and physics Signup and view all the answers

How much money did Dorothy Vaughan earn when she first started working at Langley?

2400 dollars a year Signup and view all the answers

In what year did Dorothy Vaughan get a permanent job at Langley?

1947 Signup and view all the answers

What year did Dorothy Vaughan become head of the computing pool?

1951 Signup and view all the answers

What kind of classes did Dorothy Vaughan take in order to stay up to date in her job?

Computer programming Signup and view all the answers

What was the African-American part of Langley called?

West Side Signup and view all the answers

Where did Mary Jackson grow up?

Hampton, VA Signup and view all the answers

What did Mary Jackson do at Langley?

Engineer Signup and view all the answers

Where did Mary Jackson teach before getting her job at Langley?

Maryland Signup and view all the answers

Who was Mary Jackson's first boss at Langley?

Dorothy Vaughan Signup and view all the answers

What color was Mary Jackson's wedding dress?

Black Signup and view all the answers

What happened to Mary Jackson after she faced racism working on the East Side of Langley?

She went to work for a research team for a supersonic pressure tunnel Signup and view all the answers

What did Mary Jackson do when her superiors were questioning her work?

She defended herself- turned out she was right Signup and view all the answers

What was significant about Mary Jackson taking math classes at Hampton High?

It was an all-white high school, and she realized that the conditions at that school were just as bad Signup and view all the answers

What was Mary Jackson's son's name?

Levi Signup and view all the answers

What did Mary Jackson help her son with?

Win a soapbox derby - the first black kid to do so Signup and view all the answers

What significant achievement did Katherine Goble Johnson take part in at Langley?

Put the first American in orbit around Earth - focused on bringing the men home safely Signup and view all the answers

What did Katherine Goble Johnson do before working at Langley?

Taught French and math in Marion, VA Signup and view all the answers

How did Katherine Goble Johnson learn about NACA?

From her brother-in-law at a wedding Signup and view all the answers

What graduate school was Katherine Goble Johnson accepted to?

WVU - 1 of 3 black people to be accepted here Signup and view all the answers

What did Katherine Goble Johnson study in graduate school?

Mathematics Signup and view all the answers

Why didn't Katherine Goble Johnson complete graduate school?

She got married and had a baby Signup and view all the answers

What year did Katherine Goble Johnson start working at Langley?

1953 Signup and view all the answers

Who was Katherine Goble Johnson's first boss at Langley?

Dorothy Vaughan Signup and view all the answers

Where did Katherine Goble Johnson transfer to after 2 weeks being a computer?

The Flight Research Division Team - worked to examine safety concerns and investigate plane crashes Signup and view all the answers

What happened to Katherine Goble Johnson in December?

Her husband died, but she tried to make her girls stay strong and get no special treatment Signup and view all the answers

What was Katherine Goble Johnson's goal in the Space Race?

Beat the Soviets (Russians) Signup and view all the answers

Why did Katherine Goble Johnson want to be present at editorial meetings?

To discuss space technology and research reports Signup and view all the answers

What was the name of the plan that Katherine Goble Johnson worked on to send a man up to space?

Project Mercury Signup and view all the answers

What did Christine Mann Darden do at Langley?

Expert on Supersonic Flight Signup and view all the answers

How is Christine Mann Darden's research still used today?

Predicting sonic booms Signup and view all the answers

Why was Christine Mann Darden nervous when schools became desegregated?

She didn't think she could compete with her white peers Signup and view all the answers

How did Christine Mann Darden become involved in the Civil Rights Movement?

Participated in peaceful sit-ins (inspired by the Greensboro Four) and helped African-Americans register to vote Signup and view all the answers

Who was Dorothy Vaughan's friend and coworker that would take down the 'colored' sign in the lunchroom at Langley?

Miriam Mann Signup and view all the answers

Who was arrested for refusing to move to the back of the bus when traveling between a Baltimore-based aircraft manufacturer and her hometown of Gloucester County, Virginia and then went to Supreme Court where it was ruled that segregation on buses was illegal?

Irene Morgan Signup and view all the answers

What was the Double V?

Victory in the war and victory for equal rights for blacks Signup and view all the answers

Who was the president of the Hampton Institute school and opened the classrooms to men and women at Langley to learn about engineering and science during the war?

Malcolm MacLean Signup and view all the answers

Who was Virginia's governor and senator, and was a White separatist who favored racial segregation and was against opening hiring policies to different races?

Harry F. Byrd Signup and view all the answers

Who was the first person to break the sound barrier in history in 1947?

Chuck Yeager Signup and view all the answers

Who was the first woman working as a West Side computer that left the job in order to get a research job and work directly for an engineer?

Dorothy Hoover Signup and view all the answers

Who were the two American citizens, accused of spying for the Soviet Union, and had a connection at Langley who was accused of stealing information and giving it to the Soviets?

Ethel and Julius Rosenberg Signup and view all the answers

Who was Mary Jackson's boss at the Wind Tunnel Research Station?

Kazimierz Czaenecki Signup and view all the answers

What did Kazimierz Czaenecki encourage Mary Jackson to do?

Join the Langley engineer training program Signup and view all the answers

Who sued UVA because she was a girl, and therefore could not join the undergraduate engineering program?

Kitty O'Brien Signup and view all the answers

Who was Mary Jackson's engineering friend, who had his work sabotaged because he was black?

Thomas Byrdsong Signup and view all the answers

Who was Dorothy Vaughan's former student who became a part of Brown vs. Board of Education?

Barbara Johns Signup and view all the answers

Why was Barbara Johns protesting?

She wanted conditions to improve in black schools Signup and view all the answers

Which US presidents encouraged advancement in air and space flight?

Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson, John F. Kennedy Signup and view all the answers

Who was a part of the Mercury 7?

Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, Gordon Cooper, Wally Schirra, Deke Slayton, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter Signup and view all the answers

Who was the first American in space?

John Glenn Signup and view all the answers

Who did Katherine Goble Johnson work for in Project Mercury?

Ted Skopinski Signup and view all the answers

Who was Mary Jackson's white coworker who presented a joint lecture with Mary called 'The Aspects of Engineering for Women' at an all-black junior high school?

Emma Jean Signup and view all the answers

Who were a part of the Greensboro Four?

David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr., Joseph McNeil Signup and view all the answers

What was the Greensboro Sit-In?

The Greensboro sit-in was started by four black college students, who sat down in a white-only restaurant that refused to serve them. They sat there until the restaurant closed and came back the next day with around 300 other students who they recruited to join their demonstration. Signup and view all the answers

Who was the first human in space?

Yuri Gagarin - Russia/USSR Signup and view all the answers

Who planned the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom and encouraged Roosevelt to open jobs to African Americans during WWII?

A Philip Randolph Signup and view all the answers

Who gave the 'I Have a Dream' speech?

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Signup and view all the answers

Who died in the Apollo 1 launch pad accident?

Roger Chaffee, Ed White, and Virgil 'Gus' Grissom Signup and view all the answers

When did the story take place?

From 1930s (Great Depression) - July 20, 1969 (Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong walk on the moon) Signup and view all the answers

What was the name of the black community where many Langley computers lived?

Newsome Park Signup and view all the answers

What special book features are in the back of the book?

Timeline, glossary, index, source notes, future readings Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 1?

Title: Setting the Scene; Heading(s): A Different Time Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 2?

Title: A Door Opens; Heading(s): Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 3?

Title: Mobilization; Heading(s): Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 4?

Title: A New Beginning; Heading(s): Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 5?

Title: The Double V; Heading(s): Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 6?

Title: The 'Colored' Computers; Heading(s): Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 7?

Title: War Birds; Heading(s): Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 8?

Title: The Duration; Heading(s): Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 9?

Title: Breaking Barriers; Heading(s): Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 10?

Title: No Limits; Heading(s): Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 11?

Title: The Area Rule; Heading(s): Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 12?

Title: An Exceptional Mind; Heading(s): Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 13?

Title: Turbulence; Heading(s): Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 14?

Title: Progress; Heading(s): Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 15?

Title: Young, Gifted, and Black; Heading(s): Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 16?

Title: What a Difference a Day Makes; Heading(s): Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 17?

Title: Writing the Textbook on Space; Heading(s): Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 18?

Title: With All Deliberate Speed; Heading(s): Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 19?

Title: Model Behavior; Heading(s): Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 20?

Title: Degrees of Freedom; Heading(s): Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 21?

Title: Out of the Past, the Future; Heading(s): Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 22?

Title: America is for Everybody; Heading(s): Signup and view all the answers

What is the chapter title and headings for chapter 23?

Title: One Small Step; Heading(s): Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Authors and Publishers

Author of "Hidden Figures": Margot Lee Shetterly
Publisher: Scholastic

Key Figures at NASA

The women who worked at NASA: Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, Christine Darden
These women were referred to as "computers" due to their role in calculations and data analysis

Historical Milestones

Apollo 11 takeoff date: July 20, 1969
Dorothy Vaughan joined NACA in 1943
Significant events include D-Day marking the start of Dorothy Vaughan's job at Langley

Dorothy Vaughan's Career

Former occupation: High School Math Teacher
Year Dorothy Vaughan became head of the computing pool: 1951
Initial salary at Langley: $2,400 per year
Worked on Mustang airplanes and took extra classes in math and physics during WWII

Mary Jackson's Achievements

Grew up in Hampton, VA; worked as an engineer at Langley
Faced racism at work, leading her to join a research team focused on supersonic flight
Defended her work when questioned by superiors, proving her accuracy

Katherine Johnson's Contributions

Key achievement: Helped put the first American in orbit around Earth
Formerly taught French and math before joining Langley in 1953
Attended West Virginia University, one of only three black students accepted; studied mathematics

Christine Darden's Expertise

Expertise in supersonic flight and predicting sonic booms
Involved in the Civil Rights Movement, participating in sit-ins and voter registration efforts

"Double V" campaign: Represents victory in war and the fight for equal rights for African Americans
Major figures in the Civil Rights Movement included A Philip Randolph and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Educational Initiatives and Community

Malcolm MacLean opened classrooms at Hampton Institute to educate men and women in engineering during the war
Newsome Park was the black community where many Langley computers lived

Significant Events and Organizations

The Greensboro sit-in inspired protests against segregation nationwide
Mercury 7 astronauts included Alan Shepard, Gus Grissom, and John Glenn, the first American in space

Professional Challenges and Recognition

Dorothy Vaughan's former student Barbara Johns protested for better conditions in black schools
Kitty O'Brien sued UVA for admission into the undergraduate engineering program because of gender discrimination

Timeline and Structure

Story spans from the 1930s (Great Depression) to July 20, 1969 (moon landing)
Includes chapter titles and headings, showcasing the historical and personal narratives of those involved in NASA's early history and the civil rights movement

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Description

Test your knowledge about 'Hidden Figures' and the incredible women who contributed to NASA's successes. This quiz covers key information such as the author, publication details, and important historical facts regarding the female mathematicians. Perfect for fans of the book and movie alike!