Foundation

Reading Check and Short Answer Questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

PART 1

Reading Check

1. What is the name of the capital of the Galactic Empire?

2. Why is Hari Seldon nicknamed “Raven”?

3. Why is Dornick arrested?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why is Trantor so vulnerable at the time when the novel begins?

2. What does Seldon’s research suggest about the state of the Empire? Why does the government object to this research?

3. What is psychohistory?

Paired Resources

“What Isaac Asimov Taught Us About Predicting the Future”

• The New York Times offers this article on the applicability of the fictional science of psychohistory in the 21st century world. (Subscription may be needed to view.)
• This article connects to the themes of Mitigating the Uncertainty Principle of Sociology and The Essential Elements of Civilization.
• Do you think that Asimov’s psychohistory can ever become a reality? Why or why not?

History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

• This is Edward Gibbon’s famous account of the fall of the Roman Empire, a book that heavily influenced Asimov’s Foundation trilogy.