Quizzes & Puzzles Could You Have Gotten into Cornell in the 19th Century? Try your hand at our (very much abbreviated) version of a University entrance examination! And check out our story on Cornell entrance exams of yesteryear! DIFFICULTY LEVEL: VERY HARD With the aim of letting modern readers experience what it was like to take Cornell entrance exams in the late 1800s, we’ve approximated 10 questions—albeit in much-simplified form—with this multiple-choice quiz. (If you don’t do well, don’t feel bad. You’re not alone.) 1) Ancient history: What seminal event occurred on Christmas Day in the year 800? The Plague of Justinian struck the Byzantine Empire Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor Vikings invaded Britain for the first time The Magna Carta was signed 2) U.S. history: Whom did Grover Cleveland defeat in the presidential election of 1892? Benjamin Harrison Theodore Roosevelt William Henry Harrison Rutherford B. Hayes 3) Agriculture: Which of the following is NOT part of a flower? Stamen Anther Pistil Sacrum 4) Geography: What is the world’s second-largest island? Greenland New Guinea Madagascar Honshu 5) Biology: Which bone is located in the leg? Humerus Malleus Patella Maxilla 6) Chemistry: Which of these gases is the lightest? Hydrogen Helium Nitrogen Methane 7) Math: 27 people can complete a project in 15 days. How many workers must be added for the job to be finished in three-fifths of the time? 9 12 18 23 8) Grammar: What verb tense describes the all-caps portion of this sentence? “By the time Touchdown skates at the hockey game, WE WILL HAVE BEEN BEATING B.U. for nearly an hour!” Past Future Present Perfect Simple Future Future Perfect Continuous 9) English literature: Which of these lines is spoken by Hamlet? “If you poison us, do we not die? If you wrong us, shall we not revenge?” “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players.” “O, that this too solid flesh would melt, thaw, and resolve itself into a dew!” “But screw your courage to the sticking place, and we’ll not fail.” 10) Latin: Translate the following: “This test is so hard! I fear I might fail!” “Quam difficile est hoc periculum! Timeo ne improber!” “Hoc testum est tam hardum! Ego fero me fallare!” “Tam difficilis est haec testa! Ego timeo ne deficiam!” “Hoc tentamen est tam durum! Timeo ne fallar!” Time’s up Published November 9, 2022 Leave a Comment Cancel replyOnce your comment is approved, your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment * Name * Class Year Email * Save my name, email, and class year in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ Other stories You may like Quizzes & Puzzles Cornellian Crossword: ‘Happy New Year!’ Quizzes & Puzzles March / April ’23 Trivia Roundup Alumni Remembering the Cornellian Who Broke Racial Barriers in Math