Navigation quiz

More questions about Navigation

These visible examples show the question style. LearnClash turns the full topic into ranked duels and spaced repetition.

1. 1 Easy

   Who invented the magnetic compass?

   Answer: The Chinese

   Why: Shen Kuo's account of the needle compass, written in 1088, already noted that the needle points slightly east of due south.

2. 2 Medium

   Which lens let lighthouses shine farther with less glass?

   Answer: Fresnel lens

   Why: The mirror reflectors that lighthouses used before Fresnel lenses sent out only about half of the lamp's light.

3. 3 Hard

   Which method does GPS use to find your position?

   Answer: Trilateration

   Why: Triangulation works from angles, but GPS measures no angles at all: it turns signal travel times into distances to each satellite.

4. 4 Easy

   Why is the North Star useful to navigators?

   Answer: It barely moves

   Why: Polaris is not even among the 40 brightest stars in the night sky; its fixed spot near the celestial pole is what counts.

5. 5 Medium

   What is China's BeiDou satellite system named after?

   Answer: Big Dipper

   Why: In Chinese, Beidou means Northern Dipper, the star pattern travelers long used to find the North Star.

6. 6 Hard

   How far does a GPS signal travel in a millionth of a second?

   Answer: About 300 m

   Why: That is why GPS satellites carry atomic clocks: a timing slip of one microsecond would misjudge a satellite's distance by about 300 m.