Hidden Figures Fill-in Worksheet
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Hidden Figures Fill-in Worksheet
Read: The Mathematicians Behind the Missions
At a history museum, Carlos and Hannah stop at an exhibit about three Black women who worked at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the agency that came before NASA. During World War II, NACA hired Black women as mathematicians at its Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory in Hampton, Virginia. They were often called “human computers” because they performed mathematical work for engineers. Katherine Johnson was a gifted mathematician whose calculations helped engineers understand aircraft and spacecraft flight. In 1962, astronaut John Glenn asked that Johnson check the computer’s calculations for his orbital flight. He trusted her work, and Glenn became the first American to orbit Earth. Dorothy Vaughan became a supervisor in the West Area Computing unit. She supported the women on her team and learned the FORTRAN programming language when electronic computers arrived. She then helped her coworkers learn it, too. Mary Jackson wanted to become an engineer. To qualify for training, she needed to take courses at a segregated school. With permission from a judge, she attended those classes and later became NASA’s first Black woman engineer. The women faced unfair rules and barriers because of their race and sex. Their skill, persistence, and teamwork helped them contribute to important work in aviation and spaceflight. Their stories also remind visitors that opportunity and recognition should be open to everyone.
Check the Exhibit Details
Use the passage to solve each task.
- They designed computers for visitors to use.
- They calculated numbers by hand before electronic computers were widely used.
- They repaired aircraft engines.
- They taught astronauts how to fly.
- Katherine Johnson
- Dorothy Vaughan
- Mary Jackson
- Learned FORTRAN and helped coworkers learn it
- Checked calculations for John Glenn’s orbital flight
- Became NASA’s first Black woman engineer
- She checked John Glenn’s flight calculations.
- She helped her coworkers learn FORTRAN.
- She asked a judge for permission to attend classes.
- She designed the Langley laboratory.
3 printable pages
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
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