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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. How are Oppenheimer's social skills?

2. What do some players from the highest young people's hockey team sometimes go on to do?

3. What does Langan work on using his intelligence?

4. What does Terman believe will be true of individuals with high IQ scores?

5. What does Wolf learn when he examines the diets of the people of Roseto?

Short Essay Questions

1. How are students in the hockey leagues grouped and what is the way the children move into other leagues?

2. What does Wolf finally decide is the reason for the low number of heart disease-related deaths?

3. What is the 10,000-Hour Rule?

4. What is the origination of the title of this chapter, "The Matthew Effect"?

5. What are the unusual circumstances in the timing of Bill Joy's career in computer programming?

6. Where is Roseto and who founded it?

7. What does Gladwell assert about intelligence and what analogy does he use?

8. What did the experiment track and what are the results?

9. Where is Langan at the time Gladwell writes his book?

10. What does Gladwell write about the rock group called The Beatles?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Wolf concludes that there is something about the town itself that keeps its residents free from heart disease. He discovers that the town has a very high sense of community. People are very social and several generations of families live together. There are many clubs and other organizations and people are involved with their community. These seem to be contributing conditions to the relative good health of the residents of Roseto. It is not who they are as individuals, but where they are from that keeps them healthy.

1. Why do you think being a member of a close-knit community might make a person healthier? Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

2. Do you think a group of individuals from the same area who are more unhealthy than the average American could be unhealthy because of where they live? Why or why not? Make up an example of why this might be true. Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

3. Discuss what makes a community close-knit and how a small town that does not have a close-knit community might be able to promote one. Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

The suggestion Gladwell takes from these numbers is that while efforts are being made to reduce class size and improve school facilities, the facts point to a simpler solution for children who are falling behind in school. They need more of it.

This is part of the philosophy behind the KIPP Academy. Students are at school until 5 o'clock in the evening. They attend class on Saturdays, and go for an extra three weeks in the summer. They spend on average fifty percent more time in class than students in the regular schools.

1. Discuss, in depth, why educators believe smaller class size would help students. Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

2. Explain why you would or would not be willing to attend KIPP. Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

3. Do you think education is the most important part of a child's life or do you think it is secondary to other areas? Why or why not? Use examples from Outliers to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Titles often play a vital role in making a person decide to read a particular book. Discuss the following:

1. Fully explain why you think Outliers is titled as such. Do you think it is the best title for the book? Why or why not? Can you think of a better title? Why would you choose it?

2. How important is a title in influencing you to consider reading a book? Explain your answer.

3. Do you think a title needs to have direct relevance to a book's content? Explain your answer.

4. Have you ever read a book that when you finished, you do not understand the relevance of the title? Does it discourage you from "trusting" that particular author again?

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