European History : Cultural and Intellectual History

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for European History

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Example Questions

Example Question #3 : Religious Thought

Which of the following wrote the Ninety-Five Theses and was a seminal figure of the Protestant Reformation?

Possible Answers:

Henry VIII

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Thomas Aquinas

Martin Luther

Correct answer:

Martin Luther

Explanation:

Thomas Aquinas was a renowned Catholic philosopher and lived before the Reformation, so he would not be the best answer. Martin Luther King, Jr. lived far after the Protestant Reformation, so he would not be a good answer here. Henry VIII lived during the Protestant Reformation and became the head of the church of England, but he did not publish the work in question, so he would not be the best choice. Finally, Martin Luther was an important figure in the Reformation and he published the work in question, so he would be the correct answer.

Example Question #1 : Religious Thought

What was the reformation?

Possible Answers:

A series of rules that instructed sinners how to atone for their sins

A call for the purification of the church, religious freedom, and the authority of the bible

A wave of harsh taxation that angered the masses and caused revolts across Europe

A period when the social structure of Italy was reformed to give more rights to the common man

A short but violent revolt in reaction to a change in political power

Correct answer:

A call for the purification of the church, religious freedom, and the authority of the bible

Explanation:

The reformation was a 16th century cultural and religious upheaval that challenged the views of the Catholic Church and the Pope. At the time, the Catholic Church had enormous political and religious power. The reformers were angry about the corrupt practices of the church, such as selling indulgences (something that one pays for that reduces the amount of punishment one will have to undergo their sins) and believed that the bible, rather than the leaders of the Catholic church should be the ultimate authority. In 1517 Martin Luther nailed a list of “95 Theses” (complaints) on the door to Wittenberg Catholic Church, a document that would later become the basis of the Protestant reformation. Tensions continued to rise and bloody conflicts broke out all over Europe over different Christian sects and how to best worship god. These small wars culminated in the bloody 30 years’ war which killed somewhere between 25-40% of Germany’s population. The peace of Westphalia allowed freedom of religion for Christians, ended several land and independence disputes, and broke the political power of the Catholic Church. Many experts say that the Peace of Westphalia began the modern method of diplomacy.

Example Question #4 : Religious Thought

Which Reformation leader preached the doctrine of predestination? 

Possible Answers:

Thomas More

Martin Luther

John Knox

John Calvin

Huldrych Zwingli

Correct answer:

John Calvin

Explanation:

John Calvin was a prominent French theologian and pastor during the fourteenth century. He preached predestination and the absolute sovereignty of God in determining the fate of souls. His beliefs were a major influence on the branch of Protestantism commonly referred to as Calvinism.

Example Question #1 : Science And Technology

Nicholas Copernicus developed ________________.

Possible Answers:

None of these

the initial geocentric model of the universe

the laws of gravity and motion

the initial heliocentric model of the universe

Correct answer:

the initial heliocentric model of the universe

Explanation:

Copernicus wrote On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres in the sixteenth century, and this work was published after his death. This work described a heliocentric model of the universe, in which the sun was posited as the center of the universe, with the planets revolving around it. Copernicus's model implicitly disputed the accuracy of the prevailing scientific model, the Ptolemaic or geocentric model, in which the earth was the center of the universe. Also, note that Copernicus's model did not recognize that planetary motion was elliptical.

Example Question #2 : Science And Technology

Which of the following is known for their pioneering work in the study of radiation?

Possible Answers:

Aristotle

Marie Curie

Isaac Newton

Copernicus

Correct answer:

Marie Curie

Explanation:

Copernicus proposed the heliocentric model of the solar system in Europe and did not study radiation, so he would not be the best choice. Aristotle was more a philosopher than scientist and he lived far before the discovery of radiation, so he would not be a good answer. Isaac Newton discovered classical mechanics but did not work on radiation, so he would not be the best answer. Lastly, Marie Curie is recognized for performing some of the pioneering work in radiation - her lab is still too radioactive to enter unprotected - so she would be the best choice.

Example Question #3 : Science And Technology

Which of the following famously proposed the theory of evolution by means of natural selection?

Possible Answers:

Albert Einstein

Charles Darwin

Isaac Newton

Watson and Crick

Bertrand Russel

Correct answer:

Charles Darwin

Explanation:

Bertrand Russel was a mathematician and philosopher and was not concerned with evolution, so he would not be the best choice. Watson and Crick discovered the double-helix structure of DNA, so they would not be the correct answer. Isaac Newton discovered classical mechanics, so he would not be a good choice. Albert Einstein lived after the discovery of evolution, so he would not be the best answer. Lastly, Charles Darwin famously published his book On the Origin of Species about evolution by natural selection, so he would be the best answer.

Example Question #31 : Cultural And Intellectual History

Which of the following was the English group renowned for their opposition to emerging early industrial practices?

Possible Answers:

Protestants

The Fourth Estate

Patricians

Amish

Luddites

Correct answer:

Luddites

Explanation:

The Amish are an American religious group and not English at all, so they would not be the best choice. The Fourth Estate is a moniker given to the free press, who do not have a historical aversion to technology, so that would not be a good answer. The Patricians were the nobility of the Roman Republic, so they would not be a good choice. The Protestants is the umbrella term given to Christians who are not Catholic, and they are not uniformly English, so that would not be the best answer. The Luddites were a group of English textile workers that smashed industrial equipment to protest the loss of jobs to automation, so they would be the best answer here.

Example Question #5 : Science And Technology

Which of the following discovered the double-helix structure of DNA?

Possible Answers:

Isaac Newton

Marie Curie

Charles Darwin

Watson and Crick

Correct answer:

Watson and Crick

Explanation:

Isaac Newton discovered classical mechanics and did not work in the life sciences, so he would not be a good answer. Charles Darwin discovered evolution by natural selection, not the structure of DNA, so he would not be the best answer. Marie Curie did pioneering work in radiation, not the life sciences, so she would not be the best choice here. Finally, Crick and Watson are widely credited with the discovery of DNA's structure, so they would be the best choice.

Example Question #32 : Cultural And Intellectual History

Which of the following scientists is most closely associated with the development of the heliocentric model of Earth's solar system?

Possible Answers:

Isaac Newton

Louis Pasteur

Nicolaus Copernicus

Marie Curie

Leonardo da Vinci

Correct answer:

Nicolaus Copernicus

Explanation:

Copernicus concluded through observation of the stars' movements in the sky that the sun is the center of the solar system. This contradicted the contemporary dogma of the Catholic Church, which taught that the sun and other stars revolved around the Earth.

Leonardo da Vinci was the famous Renaissance artist and inventor who painted the Mona Lisa.

Isaac Newton defined the Laws of Motion that explain gravity and other phenomena.

Marie Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1903 for her discoveries involving radioactivity.

Louis Pasteur recognized the existence of bacteria and devised a process for destroying them in liquids (pasteurization).

Example Question #33 : Cultural And Intellectual History

Which of the following is famous for publishing the book Principia Mathematica and for discovering classical mechanics?

Possible Answers:

Isaac Newton

Lord Kelvin

Leonardo DaVinci

Copernicus

Karl Popper

Correct answer:

Isaac Newton

Explanation:

Karl Popper was a 20th-century philosopher of science and he lived far after the discovery of classical mechanics, so he would not be the best choice. Copernicus proposed the heliocentric model of the solar system and he did not publish the book in question, so he would not be a good choice. Lord Kelvin famously created the temperature system that accounts for absolute zero, but he did not publish the book in question, so he would not be the best choice. DaVinci was a great inventor but he lived long before the discovery of classical mechanics, so he is not the correct answer. Lastly, Isaac Newton published the book in question and discovered classical mechanics, so he would be the best answer here.

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