Quiz:Did Franklin Really Collect Electric Fire from the Sky

35. According to “Did Franklin Really Collect Electric Fire from the Sky?” there are two reasons to doubt Franklin’s experiment took place. Which sentence states these two reasons?

• Such an experiment would have been unsafe and impractical. In addition, it was poorly recorded for the scientific community.

• Franklin admitted in his letter that he had actually conducted the experiment before the storm. The setup for the experiment was impossible, as well.

• Priestley’s eyewitness account did not include any details. Also, a television show proved the lightning would not have reached the key.

• Franklin’s prediction about electricity and lightning proved false. Moreover, the dramatic lightning bolt was definitely just an “electrical charge.”

36. Based on the information in “Did Franklin Really Collect Electric Fire from the Sky?” how did Priestley’s account influence some modern scientists?

• It drove them to question, in general, the way that experiments are set up.

• It compelled them to seek the truth by recreating the experiment on television.

• It led them to look for an alternate meaning for a term used to describe the experiment.

• It convinced them that there was, in fact, no witness at all to the experiment.

37. How do the four sections with headings support the main ideas in “Did Franklin Really Collect Electric Fire from the Sky?”

• Each section offers a problem with the lightning story and an alternative solution for what might have happened.

• Two of the sections focus on different causes for the writer’s doubt, while the other two show how the experiment might have happened.

• Each section compares and contrasts different accounts of the experiment, including those of people in the past and present.

• Three sections describe why the experiment probably did not occur, while the other offers a possible alternative.

38. Which claim is supported by the evidence in “Did Franklin Really Collect Electric Fire from the Sky?”

• The small amounts of static electricity in clouds before a storm actually endangered Franklin just as much as real lightning would have.

• The idea of a death-defying experiment is thrilling, but the reality is that Franklin likely would not have risked his life for science.

• Because he focused neither on the difficulties nor dangers of flying a kite indoors, Priestley’s account is weakened.

• Franklin was probably more interested in making an exciting scientific story than in harnessing the true power of electricity.

39. According to the author of “Franklin’s Strike of Brilliance,” what aspect of Franklin’s letter supports the claim that he was describing an actual, completed experiment?

• Franklin describes how the kite would be built.

• Franklin describes how he would have done the experiment.

• Franklin says the experiment “has succeeded.”

• Franklin addresses the letter to Peter Collinson.

40. Based on the context of this sentence from “Franklin’s Strike of Brilliance,” which two words could be used in place of substantial?

“In fact, he devoted a substantial section of his 1775 book, which was titled The History and Present State of Electricity with Original Experiments, to the work of Benjamin Franklin.” (paragraph 6)

• considerable

• husky

• physical

• sizable

• satisfying

41. Select the paragraph in “Franklin’s Strike of Brilliance” that supports the claim that

Franklin’s experiment was not completely unusual at the time.

• Paragraph 4

• Paragraph 6

• Paragraph 7

• Paragraph 9

42. Which evidence stated in “Did Franklin Really Collect Electric Fire from the Sky?” shows an essential piece of information about Franklin’s letter that the author of “Franklin’s Strike of Brilliance” left out?

• Franklin described the kite experiment in a 1752 “letter to a friend.”

• The letter described “flying the kite from inside a building, keeping the silk ribbon dry, and not allowing the twine to touch any portion of the door or window.”

• Evidence suggests that “ ‘lightning’ is being used interchangeably with ‘electrical charges’ [in the letter].”

• In Franklin’s letter, he “was merely describing how he would theoretically use a kite to prove that electricity and lightning were one and the same.”

43. What is a major way in which the two passages differ in their treatment of Priestley’s account of the experiment?

• One passage uses Priestley’s profession to support its argument, while the other criticizes his reporting of the experiment.

• One passage discusses Priestley’s unfamiliarity with Franklin’s scientific ventures, while the other claims he knew Franklin’s work well.

• One passage uses direct quotations from Priestley’s account to prove its point, while the other ignores his actual words entirely.

• One passage denies that Priestley took any part in the experiment, while the other gives a detailed account of his direct involvement.

44. What point does the author of “Did Franklin Really Collect Electric Fire from the Sky?” raise about Joseph Priestley’s account that is not discussed in “Franklin’s Strike of Brilliance”?

• Priestley does not say that he got his information directly from Franklin.

• Priestley uses the term “lightning” and not “electrical charges.”

• Priestley published the account in The History and Present State of Electricity with Original Experiments.

• Priestley explains how Franklin conducted the experiment.