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Numbers for the Sky worksheet preview

Worksheet

Numbers for the Sky

Read about Dorothy Vaughan and Katherine Johnson and explain how their mathematics helped space missions and other workers.

Grade 2Social StudiesInteractive · Printable

Aligned toHIS.2.2

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What’s included

  • Single worksheet
  • Auto-graded online
  • 1 C3 Framework standard
  • Printable answer key
  • 14 questions
  • Classroom-ready

Details

Format
Interactive · Printable
Grade
Grade 2
Subject
Social Studies
Question types
Fill in the blank, Multiple choice, Circle the answer, Short answer

About this worksheet

What students practice

  • Students describe how Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughan contributed to space science.
  • Students use details from an informational passage to explain how Americans of the past made a difference.
  • Students compare the contributions of two American mathematicians.

How to use

Read the passage aloud or let students read it independently. Discuss how each mathematician used skill, careful work, and teamwork before students complete the questions.

Curriculum

C3 Framework standard covered

HIS.2.2

Describe contributions of Americans of the past who made a difference, such as inventors, scientists and civil rights leaders.

Preview

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Name Date

Numbers for the Sky

Learn how two mathematicians helped NASA move forward.

Read about two mathematicians

Read the passage. Then answer the questions.

Numbers for the Sky

Before NASA was formed, a group called NACA studied flight at the Langley laboratory in Virginia. Dorothy Vaughan led a group of Black women mathematicians there. The women were sometimes called human computers because they solved difficult equations by hand. When electronic computers arrived, Vaughan taught herself computer programming and taught other workers how to use the new machines.

Katherine Johnson joined the Langley team in 1953. She used mathematics to calculate the paths of aircraft and spacecraft. Her calculations helped with Alan Shepard's 1961 spaceflight and John Glenn's 1962 orbit around Earth. Before Glenn's flight, an electronic computer calculated numbers for his path. Glenn asked Johnson to check the numbers by hand. Her calculations matched, so he trusted the flight plan.

Vaughan and Johnson worked when Black women often faced unfair barriers in schools and jobs. They kept building their skills and taking on important work. Vaughan helped workers prepare for electronic computing, and Johnson helped mission planners check spaceflight paths. Their contributions helped NASA plan missions and showed the value of Black women in mathematics and science.

1.
What is the main idea of the passage?
  • A. Pilots did most of the mathematics for early space flights.
  • B. Electronic machines planned the space missions without people.
  • C. Two mathematicians used skill and teamwork to support space missions.
  • D. NASA's workers studied only the weather around Earth.
2.
Word bank: NACA · NASA · Langley

Before the organization became NASA, it was called  .

3.
What does John Glenn's request show about Katherine Johnson?
  • A. He thought she needed to learn how to fly.
  • B. He trusted her mathematics and wanted her careful check.
  • C. He believed computers could not be used for spaceflight.
  • D. He wanted her to build a new spacecraft.
4.
Circle the two details that show Katherine Johnson's mathematics was trusted.

Dorothy Vaughan led a group of mathematicians.Johnson checked the computer's numbers by hand.Vaughan taught herself computer programming.Glenn trusted the flight plan after Johnson's numbers matched.

5.
Which contribution did Dorothy Vaughan make?
  • A. She flew the first American orbit around Earth.
  • B. She built the electronic computers used at Langley.
  • C. She designed every spacecraft used by NASA.
  • D. She led mathematicians and helped workers learn programming.
6.
How were Vaughan and Johnson alike?
  • A. Both used mathematics to help with space work.
  • B. Both served as pilots on the same flight.
  • C. Both invented the first electronic computer.
  • D. Both worked only after computers replaced people.
7.
Which effect of Dorothy Vaughan's work is best supported by the passage?
  • A. Her teaching helped workers prepare for electronic computers.
  • B. Her work ended the need for mathematics at NASA.
  • C. Her work made her the only person who understood space science.
  • D. Her teaching kept Langley from using new machines.

Use the ideas

Think about how the contributions in the passage made a difference.

8.
Rosa checks a computer's answer for a robot's path by solving the problem herself. Which person's contribution is Rosa most like?
  • A. Dorothy Vaughan, because she led a math group
  • B. Katherine Johnson, because she checked computer numbers
  • C. Both people, because they were pilots
  • D. Neither person, because they did not use mathematics
9.
Circle the two changes that would make a museum display about these mathematicians more accurate.

Name Katherine Johnson and describe how she checked flight calculations.Name Dorothy Vaughan and explain that she taught programming.Say that machines made every space decision without people.Remove the workers' names because only the missions mattered.

10.
What does the phrase human computers tell about the women in the passage?
  • A. The women worked only with pilots, not with numbers.
  • B. The women were machines that could solve problems alone.
  • C. The phrase means the women had never studied mathematics.
  • D. The women were people who solved math problems, not machines.
11.
Word bank: Glenn · Vaughan · NASA

Katherine Johnson helped check the flight path for John  's orbit.

12.
Why is it important to learn about Vaughan and Johnson?
  • A. Their stories show people did important work despite unfair barriers.
  • B. Their stories show that only people with computers can do science.
  • C. Their stories prove that space missions do not need teamwork.
  • D. Their stories mattered only inside their own offices.

Explain the contributions

Write complete thoughts and use details from the passage.

13.
Describe one contribution made by Katherine Johnson or Dorothy Vaughan. Use two details from the passage.
14.
Compare the contributions of Katherine Johnson and Dorothy Vaughan. How did each person make a difference? Use one detail for each person.

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