Hidden Figures Movie Watching Notes Guide Name ________________________________________ 1. Characters: Give the first and last names of each person. The three women who work at NASA ___________________________________, ____________________________________, _____________________________________ Which of the three women is … the engineer? _________________________________ the computer scientist? __________________________________________ the mathematician? _________________________________________ The head of the whole Space Task Group: ___________________________________ The engineer who is “second in command” in the Space Task Group: _________________________________ 2. Setting: Where does this movie take place? __________________________________ When? ___________________________ Is the movie fiction, non-‐fiction, or somewhere between the two? _______________________________ Who was the U.S. president at the time? ___________________________________________________ Was Martin Luther King, Jr. still alive? ___________________________________________________ Were “colored” treated the same as “whites”? ____________ If no, give an example. Were women treated the same as men? ____________ If no, give an example. 3. Katherine gets an assignment to the Space Task Group. Why does she get the assignment? What kind of math can she do? 4. Mary wants to become an engineer but needs to take additional classes. Where does she take the classes? Who does she have to convince to let her enroll? 5. Dorothy sneaks a book out of the library. What kind of book is it? Why does she have to sneak it out? Why does she need the book? 6. Who was the first Russian to orbit the Earth? ___________________________________ How many times did he orbit the earth? _______ Who was the first American to orbit the Earth? _____________________________________ How many times did he orbit the Earth? _______ Who orbited first, a Russian or an American? _______________________
7. Who got the IBM (I____________________ B____________________ M____________________) to work? How many multiplications can the IBM compute per second? ________________________ 9. Who figured out the landing coordinates? __________________________________ Using what method? _____________________________ Was this new math or old math? ____________________________ 10. Who knocked down the “colored ladies room” sign? _________________________________________ Explain why. 11. What parting gift does Katherine get right before her wedding? _____________________________ What is the significance of the gift? 12. Right before John Glenn’s lift off, what happens? Who does John Glenn ask to check the coordinates? 13. Who becomes the supervisor at the end of the movie? ____________________________________ What does Mrs. Mitchell call her at that time and what is the significance of this? 14. How many years were Katherine and Jim married? ___________ What happened to Katherine’s first husband? ___________ 15. When Mary goes to night school, where is the “colored section” of the classroom? 16. How many children do each of the women have? Katherine: _______ Mary: _____________ Dorothy: ___________ 17. How many times is John Glenn scheduled to orbit the Earth? _______ How long is it supposed to take? _______ How many times does he actually orbit the Earth? ________ Why did they have to bring him down early? __________ 18. Where did John Glenn take off? _____________________ 19. Where did John Glenn land? ________________________ 20. What does Paul bring Katherine at the end of the movie? ___________________ What is the significance of this?
Hidden Figures (movie watching guided notes or possible quiz / test) 1. Characters: Give the first and last names of each person. The three women who work at NASA Katherine Goble / Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn, Mary Jackson Which of the three women is … the engineer? Mary the computer scientist? Dorothy the mathematician? Katherine The head of the whole Space Task Group: Al Harrison The engineer who is “second in command” in the Space Task Group: Paul Stafford 2. Setting: Where does this movie take place? Hampton Virginia / Langley AFB When? 1961-‐1962 Is the movie fiction, non-‐fiction, or somewhere between the two? Somewhere between the two Who was the U.S. president at the time? John F Kennedy JR Was Martin Luther King, Jr. still alive? yes Were “colored” treated the same as “whites”? no If no, give an example. Separate bathrooms, lunch rooms, water fountains, segregated busses, library, etc. Were women treated the same as men? No If no, give an example. Clothing they had to wear to at NASA, men thinking that math would be too hard for them (Jim Johnson to Katherine Goble), etc. 3. Katherine gets an assignment to the Space Task Group. Why does she get the assignment? She’s excellent with the numbers. What kind of math can she do? Analytic Geometry 4. Mary wants to become an engineer but needs to take additional classes. Where does she take the classes? The all-‐white high school (at night only) Who does she have to convince to let her enroll? The judge 5. Dorothy sneaks a book out of the library. What kind of book is it? a book about the computer programming language FORTRAN Why does she have to sneak it out? Because it wasn’t available in the “colored section” Why does she need the book? so that she can learn how to program the IBM 7090 data processing system and teach it to the women in her department 6. Who was the first Russian to orbit the Earth? Yuri Gagarin How many times did he orbit the earth? 1 Who was the first American to orbit the Earth? John Glenn How many times did he orbit the Earth? 3 Who orbited first, a Russian or an American? A Russian
7. Who got the IBM (International Business Machine) to work? How many multiplications can the IBM compute per second? 24000 9. Who figured out the how to bring Glenn’s orbit from an elliptical to a parabolic? Katherine Using what method? Euler’s Method Was this new math or old math? old 10. Who knocked down the “colored ladies room” sign? Mr. Harrison Explain why. Because Katherine was the best mathematician on in the STG and she had to spend 40 minutes traveling to another building to use the colored ladies room. 11. What parting gift does Katherine get right before her wedding? A pearl necklace What is the significance of the gift? This is the only jewelry women are allowed to wear in the STG division at NASA and Katherine didn’t have a pearl necklace since she wasn’t being paid enough to afford one. 12. Right before John Glenn’s lift off, what happens? The IBM’s coordinates don’t match. Who does John Glenn ask to check the coordinates? “the smart girl” Katherine 13. Who becomes the supervisor at the end of the movie? Dorothy What does Mrs. Mitchell call her at that time and what is the significance of this? Mrs. Mitchell calls Dorothy “Mrs. Vaughn” which suggests that she is now at least equal, if not superior to her. 14. How many years were Katherine and Jim married? 56 What happened to Katherine’s first husband? He died 15. When Mary goes to night school, where is the “colored section” of the classroom? There isn’t one so she sits in the front. 16. How many children do each of the women have? Katherine: 3 Mary: 2 Dorothy: 2 17. How many times is John Glenn scheduled to orbit the Earth? 7 How long is it supposed to take? 10.5 hours How many times does he actually orbit the Earth? 3 Why did they have to bring him down early? the heat shield was malfunctioning 18. Where did John Glenn take off? Florida 19. Where did John Glenn land? _the Bahamas 20. What does Paul bring Katherine at the end of the movie? a cup of coffee What is the significance of this? The gesture signifies that they are working as equals.
Hidden Figures Assessment Name ____________________________________________ 1. This movie takes place during 8. Who does Mary have to convince to A. the Civil Rights movement allow her to take extension classes? B. the Cold War A. her boss at NASA C. the early 1960s B. the judge D. all of the above C. the principal D. the superintendent 2. Which of the following women was not a NASA employee in the movie? 9. At the beginning of the movie, the cop A. Mary Jackson A. gives them a speeding ticket B. Alice Harrison B. arrests them for loitering C. Katherine Goble C. helps them change their tire D. Dorothy Vaughan D. escorts them to work 3. The “enemy” of the United States 10. Why does Dorothy have to sneak a during the movie was: book out of the library? Because A. Russia A. the library was closing B. China B. she didn’t have a library card C. ISIS C. the book wasn’t in the colored section D. Germany D. the book was a display copy only 4. How many years were Jim and 11. How many multiplications can the Katherine Johnson married? IBM 7090 DPS do per second? A. 30 A. 24 B. 50 B. 240 C. 56 C. 2400 D. 61 D. 24000 5. At the beginning of the movie, the main 12. What did the STG give Katherine as an character solves a _________ equation. engagement present? A. cubic A. a pearl necklace B. quartic B. a coffee cup C. logarithmic C. money for the honeymoon D. sinusoidal D. a party 6. Who is the lead engineer at NASA? 13. The name of the math used to A. Paul Stafford calculate the Go No-‐Go B. Jim Johnson A. The Goble Theorem C. Mary Jackson B. Conic Sections D. Alan Shepherd C. Quadratic Formula D. Euler’s Method 7. The president of the U.S.A. during the movie is A. Martin Luther King, Jr. B. John Glenn C. John Kennedy D. Bobby Kennedy
14. Who said, “Computers don’t author reports.” A. Paul Stafford B. Jim Johnson C. Mary Jackson D. Al Harrison 15. What does Paul bring Katherine at the end of the movie? A. a new chair B. a cup of coffee C. a newspaper D. a report with her name on it 16. If the colored computers do not learn how to program the new IBM, then A. they will be reassigned B. they will stay at the low status job C. they will be moved to Florida D. they will lose their jobs 17. John Glenn was scheduled to orbit the earth _____ times and was able to complete _____ orbits. A. 3 , 1 B. 3 , 3 C. 7 , 3 D. 7 , 1 18. Jim Johnson asks Katherine to A. marry her B. go out to dinner C. calculate launch and landing D. borrow her car 19. Who was first person to orbit earth? A. John Glenn B. Paul Stafford C. Alan Shepard D. Yuri Gagarin
20. Who knocked down the “Colored Ladies Room” sign? A. Paul Stafford B. Al Harrison C. Dorothy Vaughan D. John Glenn 21. At the end of the movie, Mrs. Mitchell calls Dorothy A. Mrs. Vaughn B. Ma’am C. Madame Supervisor D. Mrs. Supervisor 22. Right before the launch, what happens? A. the IBM’s calculations don’t match B. Katherine checks the numbers C. Katherine is allowed in the control room D. all of the above 23. During John Glenn’s flight, what starts to malfunction? A. the compressor B. the heat shield C. the parachute D. the steering column 24. The movie Hidden Figures is A. 100% true B. based on true events C. a documentary D. 100% fiction 25. What is your favorite part of the movie? Answer in at least two complete sentences.
Answers: 1. D 2. B 3. A 4. C 5. B 6. A 7. C 8. B 9. D 10. C 11. D 12. A 13. D 14. A 15. B 16. D 17. C 18. A 19. D 20. B 21. A 22. D 23. B 24. B 25. -‐-‐-‐ Questions written and compiled by Virge Cornelius in May 2017. Please use them with your students! Please email me ([emailprotected]) if you see any errors! You can follow my blog: virgecornelius.com
