1)  D’Alembert’s parent's occupations were or was:

  1. A salon hostess and a baker
  2. A former nun and an artillery officer
  3. A salon hostess and an army captain
  4. A seamstress and a mathematician

 

  1. Sorry! You burned your fingers in the oven! Try again.

  2. Good Job! Now for the next question.

  3. Uh oh! You didn’t know how to help command an army. You lost the battle! Try again.  

  4.  Uh… 2 + 2 =…5. Try again.

 

2)  When D’Alembert was a baby his mother:

  1. Gave him a bottle of milk
  2. Sent him to Mars
  3. Played with him
  4. Abandoned him on the steps of a church

 

  1. Sorry! Unfortunately this didn’t happen. Try again.

  2. The Martians didn’t accept him. ( Just kidding) Try again.

  3. She didn’t play with him. Sorry, try again.

  4. Righto! Time for the next question. You’re doing great.

 

3)  D’Alembert was named:

  1. Jacque le Rond
  2. Jean le Rond
  3. Jean Baptiste
  4. Jean Claude

 

  1. That was a good try. Try again.

  2. Nice one! We found two different answers about what he was baptized. This was one. The other was Jean Baptiste. Next Question.

  3. Good Job! We found two different answers about what he was baptized. Jean Baptiste was one and the other was Jean le Rond.  Next question.

  4. Sorry. This is a French name but it is not D’Alembert’s. Try again.

 

4)  When D’Alembert was found, his father arranged for him to be cared for by a:

  1. A baker’s wife
  2. A glazier’s wife
  3. A shoemaker’s wife
  4. A priest’s wife

 

  1. Sorry. No free pastries here! Try again.

  2. Correct! Nice job! A glazier is a person who cuts and fits glass for windows and doors. Next question.

  3. Sorry. No new shoes for a good report card. Try again.

  4. Blessings are on Sunday only. Try again.

 

5)  The last name that D’Alembert enrolled in at his second school was:

  1. Dalembert
  2. Daremberg
  3. Destouches ( His father’s last name)
  4. Rousseau (His foster mother’s last name)

 

  1. An okay guess. Please try again.

  2. How did you guess? Super job!! Onto the next trivia.

  3. A wonderful and reasonable guess. Unfortunately it’s not right. Try again.

  4. A practical guess. Try again.

 

6)  When D’Alembert graduated from the college in 1735, he decided that he would make a career in:

  1. Law
  2. Mathematics
  3. Theology
  4. Physics

 

  1. Wow! You’re good. For some reason he decided this even though his real love was Mathematics. Next question.

  2. A good guess. Eventually he did become a mathematician but at first he did something else. Try again.

  3. His teachers at The College des Quatre Nations wanted him very much to do this but he did not. Try again.

  4. Sorry. Please try again.

 

7)  In 1743, at the age of 26 D’Alembert:

  1. Started writing the Encyclopedie ou dictiomaire raisonne des sciences, des arts et des metier
  2. Published an important Traite de dynamique containing the famous " D’Alembert’s Principle"
  3. Was admitted to the Paris Academy of Science
  4. Published his Opuscules mathematique which appeared in eight volumes

 

  1. D’Alembert wrote this later in life with Denis Diderot. Try again.

  2. Good Job. This is D’Alembert’s biggest invention.  Onto the next problem.

  3. You are right that it did happen, but it happened in 1739. Try again.

  4. He did publish these but they were later in his life. Try again.

 

8)  The part of the encyclopedias that D’Alembert worked on was or were:

  1. The mathematical articles
  2. The science articles
  3. The professions articles
  4. Almost all of it

 

  1. Good job! He did not write all of the mathematical articles but he wrote most of them. You are now ready for the next question.

  2. Sorry. Try again.

  3. From the information that I have found, he wrote none of these. Try again.

  4. Wowee! That is a lot of work. Neither Denis Diderot nor D’ Alembert wrote all of it. Try again.

 

9)  D’Alembert believed that Kings:

  1. Should be born into royalty
  2. Should be elected by the people of France
  3. Should be elected by a group of "intellectual" people
  4. Should come from France’s "intellectual" people and should be elected by "intellectual" people.

 

  1. D’Alembert was very much against this. Try again.

  2. Sorry. He did not think that they were smart enough to do this or know what was right for their country. Please try again.

  3. Close. I bet you know the answer now! Please try again.

  4. Wonderful! You’re doing very well.  Next question.

 

10)  Towards the end of his life, D’Alembert turned more to:

  1. Literature and philosophy
  2. Parts of mathematics different from what he had been doing
  3. Law
  4. Nothing

 

  1. You nailed it. He is known for his work in these areas as well as in mathematics.  You are now ready for the last and final question!

  2. He did a lot of work with math but later on he turned more towards something else because as he said, his mind "was no longer able to concentrate on mathematics." Try again.

  3. No he did not go back to law because it no longer interested him. Please try again.

  4. Towards the end of his life, he did less and less but another answer is correct. Please try again.

 

11)  D’Alembert died on October 29, 1783 in Paris, France because of:

  1. Depression
  2. An illness (of the body)
  3. Illness (of the mind)
  4. An accident of some kind

 

  1. Sorry. Although he was sometimes depressed (he never married and lived with his foster mother until he was 50) he did not die because of it. Try again.

  2. Yeah, you're right again! D’Alembert died because of the result of a bladder illness. He had had health problems for many years. GOOD JOB, YOU'RE DONE!

  3. D’Alembert had a very small problem with this in the last years of his life, but he did not die because of it. Try again.

  4. Accidents did happen back then just like they do now. He did not die because of an accident though. Try again.

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