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Quiz about Contact The Movie
Quiz about Contact The Movie

'Contact,' The Movie Trivia Quiz


A quiz about 'Contact,' the film based on Carl Sagan's novel. Get your PRD online and let's drop through The Machine!

A multiple-choice quiz by enfranklopedia. Estimated time: 8 mins.
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Time
8 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
52,306
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
25
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
14 / 25
Plays
1797
Awards
Top 20% Quiz
Last 3 plays: firemike1016 (21/25), spaismunky (12/25), Guest 131 (0/25).
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Question 1 of 25
1. In the first scene, young Ellie Arroway contacts someone far from her Wisconsin home with her ham radio. What city and state is this person in? Hint


Question 2 of 25
2. While drawing a picture in bed, Ellie uses the box of a board game as an easel of sorts. What is the game? Hint


Question 3 of 25
3. What nickname did Ellie's father give her?

Answer: (One Word)
Question 4 of 25
4. Ellie and Palmer Joss have a nice, long conversation before their first romantic encounter. What happens during that conversation that seems to seal her decision to invite him home with her? Hint


Question 5 of 25
5. Ellie first meets Palmer in a small shopping establishment in Puerto Rico. What item did she go there to buy? Hint


Question 6 of 25
6. During their first chat, what snack does Palmer offer to share with Ellie? Hint


Question 7 of 25
7. Her first sight of what night sky fixture inspired Ellie to become an astronomer? Hint


Question 8 of 25
8. When addressing the question of whether or not there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, Ellie's nemesis David Drumlin states that there are how many possible answers? Hint


Question 9 of 25
9. Before Ellie meets with Hadden Industries personnel, how long has she been seeking funding for the Very Large Array project? Hint


Question 10 of 25
10. Ellie receives criticism in the scientific community for her tendency to sit and listen intently to a particular source of noise. What is it? Hint


Question 11 of 25
11. At the precise moment Ellie first hears the alien signal, her ex-beau Palmer Joss is being interviewed on TV. What show is he on? Hint


Question 12 of 25
12. Finish the title of Palmer Joss' book. 'Losing Faith: The Search For ________'. Hint


Question 13 of 25
13. Ellie and her team consider and eliminate several unremarkable sources that could possibly be causing the tremendous signal they're detecting. Which of the following sources of unusual communications activity do they NOT consider? Hint


Question 14 of 25
14. Once the team has verified that the signal is indeed coming from space, Ellie is asked, rather ungrammatically, 'Who do we call now?' What is her reply?

Answer: (One Word)
Question 15 of 25
15. How long did the signal travel before it reached Earth? Hint


Question 16 of 25
16. President William Jefferson Clinton appears as himself in 'Contact.'


Question 17 of 25
17. When the team discovers video and audio data buried within the overall signal, there is a moment of confusion, as the audio material is in German. Who provides everyone with an immediate translation? Hint


Question 18 of 25
18. Before Hadden provides Ellie with the translation primer, several speculations are made as to what message the thousands of pages of alien text might contain. Which of the following possibilities is NOT suggested? Hint


Question 19 of 25
19. Both Palmer Joss and a member of the IMC (International Machine Consortium) selection committee suggest that a certain percentage of the world believes in a god or deity of some sort. What figure do they give? Hint


Question 20 of 25
20. What is the name given to the 'test dummy' used in trial runs of the transport mechanism constructed by the IMC?

Answer: (One Word)
Question 21 of 25
21. What brand of cologne does NSA Advisor Michael Kitz wear?

Answer: (One Word)
Question 22 of 25
22. When Ellie finally arrives at her destination, the alien landscape she perceives is oddly familiar. On what did the aliens base her surroundings? Hint


Question 23 of 25
23. At one point during Ellie's journey, she feels suddenly inadequate for the task she's undertaken. What kind of person does she say the IMC should have sent instead of her? Hint


Question 24 of 25
24. According to the alien Ellie converses with, why did the Vegans construct the galactic transit system? Hint


Question 25 of 25
25. When Ellie returns to Earth, she is told that her journey never happened -- only a second has passed since she was dropped into the transport machine. How long does she say that her experience actually took? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 21 2024 : firemike1016: 21/25
Mar 19 2024 : spaismunky: 12/25
Mar 19 2024 : Guest 131: 0/25
Mar 13 2024 : Guest 174: 1/25
Mar 04 2024 : Guest 73: 21/25
Feb 22 2024 : angostura: 23/25
Feb 20 2024 : Guest 165: 18/25

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. In the first scene, young Ellie Arroway contacts someone far from her Wisconsin home with her ham radio. What city and state is this person in?

Answer: Pensacola, FL

Her father declares it a new distance record.
2. While drawing a picture in bed, Ellie uses the box of a board game as an easel of sorts. What is the game?

Answer: Landslide

I had this game as a kid -- it's all about winning a political election, and the box is sized nicely for a lap easel.
3. What nickname did Ellie's father give her?

Answer: Sparks

Probably a reference to her energetic personality, her interest in electronics, or both.
4. Ellie and Palmer Joss have a nice, long conversation before their first romantic encounter. What happens during that conversation that seems to seal her decision to invite him home with her?

Answer: He uses a phrase that her father used to say to her

After Ellie muses that the size of the universe demands that there must be intelligent life out there somewhere, Palmer replies: 'Well, if not, it'd be an awfully big waste of space.' Freud would probably have something to say here, but I'll let the issue lie.
5. Ellie first meets Palmer in a small shopping establishment in Puerto Rico. What item did she go there to buy?

Answer: a pack of thumbtacks

She uses thumbtacks to mark the spots on her star map where she has heard anomalous signals. She buys a beer along with the thumbtacks, and when she sits down to drink it, Palmer approaches her and turns on the charm.
6. During their first chat, what snack does Palmer offer to share with Ellie?

Answer: Cracker Jack

In the Cracker Jack box, Palmer finds a small toy compass that gets handed back and forth between the two characters several times in the film.
7. Her first sight of what night sky fixture inspired Ellie to become an astronomer?

Answer: the planet Venus

Ellie tells Palmer that after her father explained that what she thought was an especially bright star was actually a planet, she was 'hooked.' There's a scene in which young Ellie watches a meteor shower -- it's the night of her father's death, in fact -- but that's long after she's become interested in astronomy.
8. When addressing the question of whether or not there is intelligent life elsewhere in the universe, Ellie's nemesis David Drumlin states that there are how many possible answers?

Answer: two

Drumlin: 'One, that there IS life out there, but it's so far away that you'll never reach it in your lifetime...and two, that there's nothing out there but noble gases and carbon compounds.'
9. Before Ellie meets with Hadden Industries personnel, how long has she been seeking funding for the Very Large Array project?

Answer: 13 months

When initially rejected, Ellie gives a passionate speech that convinces S.R. Hadden to give her the money she needs.
10. Ellie receives criticism in the scientific community for her tendency to sit and listen intently to a particular source of noise. What is it?

Answer: washing machines

Ellie: 'I'm looking for patterns in the chaos!'
11. At the precise moment Ellie first hears the alien signal, her ex-beau Palmer Joss is being interviewed on TV. What show is he on?

Answer: Larry King Live

Larry King was one of the many real-life TV journalists who appeared as themselves in the movie.
12. Finish the title of Palmer Joss' book. 'Losing Faith: The Search For ________'.

Answer: Meaning In The Age Of Reason

Larry King mentions that the book is number one on the 'New York Times' bestseller list.
13. Ellie and her team consider and eliminate several unremarkable sources that could possibly be causing the tremendous signal they're detecting. Which of the following sources of unusual communications activity do they NOT consider?

Answer: The space station 'Mir'

Fish checks AWACS (Airborne Warning And Control System) and the 'Endeavour,' but no mention is made of the 'Mir' in this scene.
14. Once the team has verified that the signal is indeed coming from space, Ellie is asked, rather ungrammatically, 'Who do we call now?' What is her reply?

Answer: everybody

Odds are good that her first call was to NASA.
15. How long did the signal travel before it reached Earth?

Answer: 26 years

The star Vega is about 26 light-years away from Earth, and the signal traveled at the speed of light.
16. President William Jefferson Clinton appears as himself in 'Contact.'

Answer: true

Just as director Bob Zemeckis used computer imaging to 'weave' historical figures into frame with modern actors in 'Forrest Gump,' actual footage of Bill Clinton was 'woven' into this film. Clinton's real-world comments to the press regarding the possible discovery of life on Mars (remember that?) fit perfectly into the context of the film.

The Clinton administration was reportedly peeved that Zemeckis used this footage without official permission.
17. When the team discovers video and audio data buried within the overall signal, there is a moment of confusion, as the audio material is in German. Who provides everyone with an immediate translation?

Answer: Kent Clark

Kent Clark, the blind astronomer who is Ellie's most valued colleague, is based on Dr. Kent Cullers, an actual scientist with SETI.
18. Before Hadden provides Ellie with the translation primer, several speculations are made as to what message the thousands of pages of alien text might contain. Which of the following possibilities is NOT suggested?

Answer: All of these possibilities are suggested

Ellie suggests the encyclopedia; Drumlin makes the Moses suggestion (which we can assume is tongue-in-cheek); and National Security Advisor Michael Kitz, ever the alarmist, suggests the 'colonization' scenario.
19. Both Palmer Joss and a member of the IMC (International Machine Consortium) selection committee suggest that a certain percentage of the world believes in a god or deity of some sort. What figure do they give?

Answer: 95 per cent

Personally, I consider that figure to be a little low.
20. What is the name given to the 'test dummy' used in trial runs of the transport mechanism constructed by the IMC?

Answer: Elmer

One of the computers or detection systems at the Very Large Array is also called 'Elmer' -- Ellie literally kisses the computer monitor and says, 'Thank you, Elmer!' when the signal is first detected. It's entirely possible that the test dummy is named after this computer or system that was instrumental in detecting the signal.
21. What brand of cologne does NSA Advisor Michael Kitz wear?

Answer: Polo

Kent Clark somewhat compensates for his blindness with superb hearing and an uncanny sense of smell. He recognizes Kitz solely by detecting his cologne, and muses, 'I never would have pegged him as a Polo man.'
22. When Ellie finally arrives at her destination, the alien landscape she perceives is oddly familiar. On what did the aliens base her surroundings?

Answer: A drawing she made as a child

Early in the film, we see a drawing that young Ellie has made of Pensacola, Florida, a place she had presumably never been, but had contacted that night with her ham radio. The curve of the shoreline and the angles of the hanging palm trees from that picture are perfectly replicated in the alien landscape.
23. At one point during Ellie's journey, she feels suddenly inadequate for the task she's undertaken. What kind of person does she say the IMC should have sent instead of her?

Answer: a poet

When Ellie sees a stupendous 'celestial event,' she finds herself utterly unable to describe what she is seeing. 'No words,' she says. 'They should have sent a poet.'
24. According to the alien Ellie converses with, why did the Vegans construct the galactic transit system?

Answer: They didn't

The alien, who appears to Ellie in the form of her late father, states that the Vegans did not build the transit system themselves; they simply found it, and have been utilizing it judiciously.
25. When Ellie returns to Earth, she is told that her journey never happened -- only a second has passed since she was dropped into the transport machine. How long does she say that her experience actually took?

Answer: 18 hours

It's revealed at the end that, despite her story having been discredited by Kitz and a congressional panel, Ellie's PRD (personal recording device) did indeed record 18 hours of static.
Source: Author enfranklopedia

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor spanishliz before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.
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