Interim: Franklin Passage

Which inference can you draw from “Did Franklin Really Collect Electric Fire from the Sky?”

• A.

  The smaller 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.

• C.

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

• D.

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

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.1

CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RI.7.8

CCSS.RI.8.8

CCSS.RL.7.1

Which of the following sentences from the passage best supports your answer to the previous question?

• A.

  “The analysis showed that the massive amount of electricity in a bolt of lightning could have traveled down a wet piece of twine and charged a metal key at the end.”

• B.

  “Additionally, It’s likely the scientist himself would have known the dangers of touching something that had been struck by lightening based on his previous work with electricity.”

• C.

  “The storm clouds would have contained the same static electricity found In lightening, although In much smaller amounts.”

• D.

  “A more likely explanation based on the Information available, though, is that Franklin did fly a kite a short time before a thunderstorm.”

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.1

CCSS.RI.7.1

CCSS.RI.7.8

CCSS.RI.8.8

CCSS.RL.7.1

Based on the information in the passage, how did Priestley’s account effect some modern scientists?

• A.

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

• B.

  It inspired them to seek the truth by watching the experiment on a television show.

• C.

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

• D.

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

Tags

CCSS.RL.5.6

CCSS.RL.6.6

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

How do the four sections with headings support the main ideas in the passage?

• A.

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

• B.

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

• C.

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

• D.

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

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

The author states that it is quite unlikely that Franklin’s kite experiment happened as we think. Which two sentences from the passage provide evidence for the author’s belief?

• A.

  “The story of Benjamin Franklin and his kite experiment is one that captivates people of all ages.”

• “However, the chances that Franklin could have touched the metal and lived to tell others about it are slim to none.”

• C.

  “Some believe that the experiment never actually took place at all.”

• “There are several details about the setup that would make actually performing the experiment impractical.”

• E.

  “These charged clouds could have produced the results described by Priestley in his well-known account.”

Which of the following sentences from the passage is a fact?

• A.

  The investigation still probably wasn’t the wisest idea on Franklin’s part, but it is entirely possible that the scientist could have completed this version of the experiment and escaped unharmed.

• B.

  This experiment is much more exciting than the idea of a scientist writing a paper at a desk or working in the laboratory.

• C.

  The story of Benjamin Franklin and his kite experiment is one that captivates people of all ages.

• D.

  An entire chapter of Priestley’s book, The History and Present State of Electricity with Original Experiments, is devoted to Franklin’s work on the similarities between electricity and lightning.

Tags

CCSS.RL.11-12.6

Which two words are synonyms for the word assertion in paragraph 5?

But is it possible that “lightning” is being used interchangeably with “electrical charges” here, an assertion that is supported by the thoughts of some modern scientists?

• A.

  declaration

• B.

  saying

• C.

  claim

• D.

  joke

• E.

  possibility

Tags

CCSS.RI.6.4

CCSS.RI.7.4

CCSS.RI.8.4

CCSS.RL.7.4

CCSS.RL.8.4