Grace Hopper: Early Computing, Compilers and COBOL Quiz

Ten carefully sourced questions on Grace Hopper, the Mark computers, A-0, FLOW-MATIC, COBOL and naval service.

Choose one answer per question. There’s no timer. You can skip a question; unanswered questions count as incorrect.

QUESTION 01Which Harvard computing machine did Grace Hopper begin working with in 1944?

Mark IENIACApple IIIBM PC

QUESTION 02What academic subject was the focus of Grace Hopper’s 1934 doctorate?

PhysicsMathematicsChemistryBiology

QUESTION 03What was found inside a relay of the Harvard Mark II in 1947?

A loose coinA paper labelA mothA broken pencil

QUESTION 04In which year was Hopper’s early A-0 system completed?

1944194719601952

QUESTION 05Which computer family is associated with Hopper’s A-0 work?

UNIVACCommodore 64MacintoshCray-1

QUESTION 06What was FLOW-MATIC designed principally to help express?

Rocket trajectories onlyBusiness data processingVideo game graphicsSatellite imagery

QUESTION 07Which expansion correctly explains COBOL?

Central Binary Operating LogicComputer-Based Original LanguageCommon Business-Oriented LanguageCompiled Optical Binary Language

QUESTION 08Why is it misleading to say Hopper invented the word “bug” in 1947?

The moth was found in 1986There was no Mark IIThe term only applied to plantsEngineers used “bug” for technical faults long before 1947

QUESTION 09What rank did Grace Hopper hold when she retired from the Navy in 1986?

Rear admiralGeneralVice presidentLieutenant colonel

QUESTION 10Which distinction best describes Hopper’s relationship to COBOL?

She built the Harvard Mark II aloneShe influenced the language through compiler work and advocacyShe invented all COBOL features by herselfShe used COBOL in 1906

← Explore Aviation & Inventions

Grace Hopper: Early Computing, Compilers and COBOL Quiz

Keep your curiosity going.

SR-71 Blackbird: Speed, Crew and Engineering Quiz

Amelia Earhart’s 1932 Solo Flight: 10-Question History Quiz

Bessie Coleman Trivia: 10 Questions on Aviation History

There’s more to the story.