Social Science - Quiz 02 - Pg. 7-9

How did Charles Babbage anticipate the Analytical Engine being different from the Difference Engine?

• How did Charles Babbage anticipate the Analytical Engine being different from the Difference Engine?

• The Analytical Engine would perform more mathematical operations.

• The Analytical Engine would be constructed of more durable materials.

• The Analytical Engine would be more compact.

• The Analytical Engine would be used on land.

Answer explanation

Charles Babbage envisioned the Analytical Engine as a more advanced version of the Difference Engine. While the Difference Engine subtracted, the Analytical Engine would be able to perform other operations as well. [7,2,1]

Charles Babbage’s work relied on funding from

• commercial seafaring firms

• the Royal Society

• a Swiss bank

• a wealthy aristocrat

• the British government

Answer explanation

Charles Babbage looked to the British government for funding his inventive work into computational machines. However, the drying up of funds prevented the ultimate completion of the Difference and Analytical Engines. [8,1,0]

Whose daughter was Ada Lovelace?

• Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s

• Percy Shelley’s

• Alfred Tennyson’s

• John Keats’s

• George Byron’s

Answer explanation

Ada Lovelace was the daughter of the famous Romantic poet Lord George Byron. Lovelace contributed to the early development of computational technology. [8,1,1]

Ada Lovelace devised an algorithm that could be used to find

• the golden ratio

• the Fibonacci sequence

• the least common factor

• Bernoulli numbers

• perfect squares

Answer explanation

Ada Lovelace described a potential algorithm that could be used by the Analytical Engine to find the Bernoulli numbers. [8,1,1]

Ada Lovelace is sometimes referred to as the first

• analytical engineer

• hardware developer

• computational savant

• applied mathematician

• computer programmer

Answer explanation

Ada Lovelace is referred to by some as the world’s first computer programmer. This title is largely due to her proposed computing algorithms which she hoped to apply to the Analytical Engine. [8,2,0]

Charles Babbage designed the Difference Engine to perform the operation of

• square root

• addition

• multiplication

• subtraction

• division

Answer explanation

Charles Babbage designed the Difference Engine to perform the operation of subtraction. He intended for the Analytical Engine to perform other mathematical operations. [7,2,1]

Why did Charles Babbage lose continued funding for his inventions?

• He refused to share the technology behind his inventions with his financial backers.

• He personally insulted a wealthy and socially influential patron.

• He asked for money for the Analytical Engine before the completion of the Difference Engine.

• He faced criminal charges and became a social pariah.

• He spent the money he received to create the Difference Engine on commercial speculation.

Answer explanation

Charles Babbage asked the British prime minister for additional funding to create his Analytical Engine. However, he had not yet completed the Difference Engine, which was already funded by the government. This overreach led to a decline in financial support for Babbage’s inventions. [7,2,2]

Which of the following industries spurred the development of the telegram?

• railroad

• mining

• printing

• banking

• agriculture

Answer explanation

The railroad industry unintentionally spurred the development of the telegram. The technology behind the telegram initially served to warn trains and prevent collisions on tracks. [8,2,2]

Early telegraphy machines were MOST often located in

• schools

• churches

• police stations

• post offices

• banks

Answer explanation

Telegrams were often sent from post offices in the early years of the technology’s development. Telegrams could be sent across long distances almost instantaneously. [8,2,3]

Ada Lovelace translated a report on the Analytical Engine that was originally written in

• French

• Spanish

• German

• English

• Dutch

Answer explanation

Ada Lovelace contributed to the publicity of the Analytical Engine by translating a report on the invention that was originally written in France. Lovelace also made substantial additions of her own to that report. [8,1,1]