Ada Lovelace

Ada Lovelace Bundle

Week 1:Early Life

Character Lexicon
  • determined: having made a firm decision and being resolved not to change it
  • imaginative: having or showing creativity or inventiveness
  • inquisitive: curious or inquiring
  • resourceful: having an ability to find quick and clever ways to overcome difficulties
  • bilingual: the ability to speak two languages fluently
Comprehension Questions
  1. Ada’s parents were the legendary poet, Lord George Gordon Byron and Lady Anne Isabella. (Pg 8)
  2. No matter how hard she tried, Anabella could not squash Ada’s curiosity. (Pg 12)
  3. Anabella was especially talented at math, a subject that was mainly studied by men. (Pg 19)
  4. Anabella and Byron were married in January 1815. (Pg 22)
  5. Ada was taught music, French, and math. (Pg 27)
  6. If Ada sat still during her lessons she was rewarded with tickets and if she collected twelve tickets these could be traded for a book. (Pg 28)
  7. When Anabella was away from Kirkby Hall, Ada’s tutors allowed her to explore and imagine. (Pg 30)

Week 2:Introduction to Society and Science

Character Lexicon
  • hopeful: feeling or inspiring optimism about a future event
  • persevering: continuing in a course of action despite difficulty or delay in achieving success
  • inventive: having the ability to create or design new things or to think originally
  • responsible: having an obligation to do something, or having control or care for someone, as part of one’s job or role
  • dedicated: devoted to a task or purpose; having single-minded loyalty or integrity
Comprehension Questions
  1. After Ada and her mother returned to England, Ada was determined to make wings so that she could fly. (Pg 34)
  2. While Ada was ill she studied German, taught herself Latin and made a planetarium out of a box. (Pg 41)
  3. When Ada was seventeen years old she was presented to King William IV and Queen Adelaide at court. (Pg 46)
  4. The two machines that captured Ada’s attention at Charles Babbage’s house were a clockwork silver dancer and the Difference Engine. (Pg 55)
  5. Ada compared the loom to calculating machines. (Pg 63)
  6. In July of 1835, Ada married William King, an English baron. (Pg 69)
  7. Ada’s husband encouraged her to use her free time to study. (Pg 72)

Week 3:Later Life and Legacy

Character Lexicon
  • visionary: thinking about or planning the future with imagination or wisdom
  • eloquent: fluent or persuasive in speaking or writing
  • meticulous: showing great attention to detail; very precise and careful
  • ambitious: having or showing a strong desire and determination to succeed
  • faithful: remaining loyal and steadfast; true to the facts or the original
Comprehension Questions
  1. Ada decided to translate Luigi Menabrea’s text about Babbage’s Analytical Engine into English. (Pg 83)
  2. Charles suggested that Ada include her own notes along with Luigi’s text. (Pg 84)
  3. While working on her translation, Ada had to fulfill her responsibilities as a mother, wife, and a member of high society. (Pg 87)
  4. When Ada developed cancer it limited the amount of time she could spend working. (Pg 95)
  5. At the Great Exhibition, Ada’s husband won an award for brick making. (Pg 97)
  6. Poetical science combine’s intelligence, determination, curiosity and imagination. (Pg 102)
  7. The United States Department of Defense (DOD) named a computer language after Ada’s initials, ADA. (Pg 106)