Watch a full movie here:
https://t.me/languageson/78- What was the name of the first satellite that Russia sent to space?
Sputnik
Explorer I
Vanguard
Katherine
Christine
- How did the IBM Computer affect female mathematicians?
They were noisy and distracted the women from working.
The women had to move to make room for the IBM.
The women were in danger of losing their jobs to the machines.
- What did they call the female mathematicians?
Calculators
Mathematicians
Computers
- During what decade did these events take place in the movie?
1960's
1950's
1530's
- Why did John Glenn want Katherine to return to the space Task Group?
To program the computers.
To calculate the go/no go formula.
To recheck the calculations for the landing coordinates.
- Which one of the main characters obtained an engineering degree?
Mary
Dorothy
Katherine
- What country was the United States in a "space race" with?
China
Cuba
Russia
- What was the name of the astronaut that Katherine helped into orbit?
John Glenn
Neil Armstrong
Glenn Johnson
- Who was the president at the time of John Glenn's orbital flight?
John F. Kennedy
Abraham Lincoln
Richard M. Nixon
- Katherine Johnson was 14 years old when she graduated from High School.
True
False
- Katherine Johnson calculated for the...?
Moon landing
First man in space
Orbiting of the earth
All of the above
- What organization did Katherine, Mary, and Dorothy work for?
National Science Foundation (NSF)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
The Planetary Society (TPS)
- What was the 'Space Race'?
Countries competing to get the most land
Countries competing to find the first aliens
Countries competing to put the first man in space
- The USA was the first country to put a man in space.
True
False
- When John Glenn said, "Get the girl to check the numbers", to whom was he referring?
Dorothy Vaughan
Mary Jackson
Katherine Johnson
- What was the name of the capsule in which John Glenn orbited the Earth?
Freedom 1
MR-1
Friendship 7
- What does NACA stand for?
National Association of Computer in America
National Aeronautics Committee in America
National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics
- Why did Katherine use the white bathrooms at her work place?
They were unmarked
They were labeled WHITES ONLY.
They were labeled COLOREDS.
- How did Dorothy try to ready the women she supervised for the future?
She had them take classes on how to use space math.
She had them take classes on astronomy.
She had them take classes on how to use new computers.
- What was the Sputnik challenge?
The challenge to make an advancement in space exploration before Russia
The challenge to see who could reach the moon first.
The challenge to see which country, could blow up the satellite first.
Discussion:
In addition to Jim Crow laws, there was also Jim Crow etiquette. Was only cancelled in 1965. These were social norms
such as:
• A black male could not offer his hand to shake hands with a white male.
• Blacks and whites were not to eat together. If they did, whites were to be served
first, and a partition was to be placed between them.
• A Black male could not light the cigarette of a white female.
• Blacks were not allowed to show public affection toward one another in public.
• Blacks were introduced to whites, never whites to blacks.
• Whites did not use courtesy titles when referring to Blacks such as Mr., Mrs., Miss.
Instead, Blacks were called by their first names. Blacks had to use courtesy titles
when referring to whites, and were not allowed to call them by their first names.
• If a Black person rode in a car driven by a white person, the Black person sat in the
back seat, or the back of a truck.
Discussion:
Who or what are the “hidden figures” in the movie?
• Where in the movie do you see Jim Crow laws? How did you feel when you
witnessed this overt discrimination?
• Do you think the movie paints an accurate picture of racism? Why or why not?
• What risky acts of courage do Katherine, Mary and Dorothy take? How are they
rewarded?
• Do you think NASA was a socially progressive organization in 1961? Why or why
not?
• How does the relationship towards blacks at NASA change from the
beginning to the end of the movie?
• Why did racism break down at NASA?
• Al Harrison, Katherine’s boss, saw Katherine’s genius. Yet he didn’t see
discrimination against her in the Space Task Group -- his own department -- until
she confronted him with it. Why not?
• Transformation is the story-line of the movie. What characters are transformed?
What characters are not transformed in some way?
• What is the role of coffee and the coffee pot? What does it symbolize?
• Who are the hidden figures in our community today? Why do we not see them?