European History : Cultural and Intellectual History

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for European History

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Example Questions

Example Question #41 : Cultural And Intellectual History

Which of the following proposed the heliocentric model of the solar system?

Possible Answers:

DaVinci

Newton

Copernicus

Confucius

Plato

Correct answer:

Copernicus

Explanation:

Confucius was a Chinese philosopher concerned mainly with social structure and not science, so he would not be the best answer here. DaVinci was a great inventor and painter but he did not do much work with astronomy, so he is not a good answer. Newton worked on physics and not astronomy, so he would not be the best choice for this question. Plato was a philosopher and did not work in the sciences as we understand them, so he too would not be a good answer. Lastly, Copernicus famously proposed and was persecuted for the heliocentric model, so he would be the best answer here.

Example Question #9 : Science And Technology

Which of the following is known for their contributions to thermodynamics and for correctly calculating the value of absolute zero?

Possible Answers:

Lord Kelvin

Alan Turing

Isaac Newton

Anders Celsius

Correct answer:

Lord Kelvin

Explanation:

Lord Kelvin helped formulate the first and second laws of thermodynamics and correctly calculated the value of absolute zero, so he would be the best answer. Isaac Newton did his most famous work in classical mechanics and did not work with thermodynamics, so he would not be the best choice. Anders Celsius proposed the temperature scale that bears his name but he did not perform the contributions in question, so he would not be the best answer. Finally, Alan Turing is considered the father of computer science, but he did not work in thermodynamics, so he would not be the correct answer here.

Example Question #41 : Cultural And Intellectual History

Which of the following was a codebreaker during World War II, a renowned mathematician, and is widely considered to be one of the founders of modern computer science?

Possible Answers:

Stephen Hawking

Isaac Newton

Alonzo Church

Bertrand Russel

Alan Turing

Correct answer:

Alan Turing

Explanation:

Isaac Newton lived far before WWII, so he would not be a good answer for this question. Bertrand Russel was a prominent mathematician, but he did not work in computer science, so he would not be the correct answer here. Stephen Hawking was a brilliant physicist and mathematician, but he did not work in computer science, so he would not be the best choice. Alonzo Church also did important work in early computer science, however he was not a codebreaker, so he would not be the best answer. Finally, Alan Turing was a codebreaker, world-class mathematician, and he is considered one of the founders of modern computer science, so he would be the best answer.

Example Question #42 : European History

The process of destroying bacteria in liquids by heating them was discovered by which of the following people?

Possible Answers:

Isaac Newton

Louis Pasteur

Edward Jenner

Jonas Salk

Charles Darwin

Correct answer:

Louis Pasteur

Explanation:

Louis Pasteur discovered the process - which we named pasteurization after him - so that would be the best answer. Jonas Salk created the Polio vaccine, so he would not be a good answer here. Edward Jenner discovered the smallpox vaccine, so he would not be the best choice. Isaac Newton worked in physics and not the life sciences, so he would not be a good answer. Lastly, Charles Darwin discovered the process of evolution by natural selection, so he would also not be a good answer to the question.

Example Question #42 : Cultural And Intellectual History

Which of the following developed some of the fundamental results in Quantum Theory, and is infamous for a thought experiment involving a cat?

Possible Answers:

Erwin Schrodinger

Isaac Newton

Albert Einstein

Stephen Hawking

Richard Feynman

Correct answer:

Erwin Schrodinger

Explanation:

Richard Feynman was a famous physicist but he did not do his most important work in quantum theory nor did he create the thought experiment, so he would not be the best choice. Isaac Newton lived far before the formulation of quantum mechanics, so he would not be a good answer. Albert Einstein was a famous critic of quantum mechanics and he did not work in the field, so he would not be the best answer here. Stephen Hawking was a physicist but he did his most famous work in cosmology and he did not develop the thought experiment in question, so he would not be a correct answer here. Lastly, Erwin Schrodinger did some of the fundamental work in quantum mechanics, and his thought experiment about the cat bears his name, so he would be the best answer here.

Example Question #44 : European History

Which of the following was a famous skeptic of quantum mechanics and did their most famous work on general and special relativity?

Possible Answers:

Isaac Newton

Erwin Schrodinger

Albert Einstein

Stephen Hawking

Correct answer:

Albert Einstein

Explanation:

Erwin Schrodinger was a famous proponent of quantum mechanics, so he would not be the best answer here. Stephen Hawking was not a skeptic about quantum mechanics and he did not develop relativity, so he would not be the best answer. Isaac Newton lived far before the advent of quantum theory, so he too would not be a good choice for this question. Lastly, Albert Einstein developed general and special relativity and he was an outspoken critic of quantum mechanics, so he would be the best answer here.

Example Question #45 : European History

Which of the following was the inventor and painter famous for their illustration of the Vitruvian Man?

Possible Answers:

Leonardo DaVinci

Alan Turing

Isaac Newton

Aristotle

Plato

Correct answer:

Leonardo DaVinci

Explanation:

Alan Turing was a mathematician and the founder of computer science but he was not a painter, so he would not be the best choice. Similarly, Isaac Newton was a scientist but he did not create the illustration in question, so he would not be the correct answer. Plato and Aristotle were philosophers and not inventors, and they did not create the Vitruvian Man, so they would not be the best choices here. Lastly, DaVinci was an inventor and he did create the illustration in question, so he could be the correct answer.

Example Question #46 : European History

The smallpox vaccine - the first successful vaccine to be developed - was introduced by which of the following in 1796?

Possible Answers:

Rene Descartes

Jonas Salk

Albert Einstein

Watson and Crick

Edward Jenner

Correct answer:

Edward Jenner

Explanation:

Jonas Salk developed the polio vaccine in the 20th century, so he would not be the best choice here. Watson and Crick discovered the structure of DNA and did not work in vaccines, so they would not be a good choice. Albert Einstein was a physicist and did not work in the life sciences, so he would not be the best answer here. Rene Descartes was a philosopher and lived in the 16th century, so he would not be a good candidate. Finally, Edward Jenner did in fact introduce the smallpox vaccine in 1796, so he would be the best answer.

Example Question #47 : European History

____________ current was invented by ______________, who moved to America to work with _______________.

Possible Answers:

None of these

Direct . . . Nikola Tesla . . . Thomas Edison

Direct, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla

Alternate . . . Nikola Tesla . . . Thomas Edison

Alternate . . . Thomas Edison . . . Nikola Tesla

Correct answer:

Alternate . . . Nikola Tesla . . . Thomas Edison

Explanation:

Alternate current was patented by Nikola Tesla, who was a former employee of Thomas Edison, the inventor of Direct current.

Example Question #48 : European History

Of the given options, which best describes the central philosophical tenet of Relativism?

Possible Answers:

Truth is subjective and dependent on context

There is no god

The goal of all moral actions should be to cause the least pain or most pleasure to the greatest number of people

People are fundamentally immoral

Correct answer:

Truth is subjective and dependent on context

Explanation:

Relativism, as a philosophy, has been in existence for many centuries, but only became widely understood and referenced by that name in the nineteenth century. According to relativism, truth is not absolute; rather, it is subjective and informed by the perception of the individual and the circumstances in which the information is perceived.

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