Katherine Johnson & the Human Computers

Which of the following best describes the attitude towards girls at the time Katherine Johnson was born?

• Girls weren’t valued for their intellectual abilities

• Girls were considered equal to boys

• Girls were highly valued for their contributions to math and science

• Girls were given more opportunities than boys

Under segregation laws, African-American people were

• Required to enlist as soldiers to fight in the war

• Separated from white people and treated poorly

• Encouraged to work with white people

• Asked to give their jobs to women

What milestone did Katherine Johnson reach at age 15?

• She calculated her first rocket trajectory

• She began working at NASA

• She began college

• She began high school

The human computers at NASA were

• Young children with strong math skills

• Electronic machines made of metal and wires

• Women who did calculations with numbers

• Rockets that orbited Earth

By 1958, America was involved in a race with the Soviet Union to

• Desegregate workplaces

• Explore outer space

• Develop new medical procedures for injured soldiers

• Build the smallest electronic computer

Tags

NGSS.HS-ETS1-2

The trajectory of a rocket is the

• Amount of fuel it needs

• Path it takes

• Astronaut who flies it

• Computer inside

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-4

NGSS.HS-PS2-4

In which of the following space missions did Katherine Johnson play a role?

• Alan Shepard’s first flight into space

• John Glenn’s orbit of the Earth

• Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 mission to the moon

• All of the above

What did John Glenn ask Katherine Johnson to do before he orbited the Earth?

• Calculate his trajectory instead of having an electronic computer do it

• Fly with him in the spacecraft around the Earth

• Double check the original calculations that had been done by an electronic computer

• Teach him how to calculate trajectories

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-4