View a FREE sample

This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through The Coming Thing.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What advice did Darwin receive from his friends, with regard to Wallace's work?
(a) To work with Wallace and publish a joint theory.
(b) To buy Wallace's notes from him, and pledge him to silence.
(c) Publish an outline quickly.
(d) Credit Wallace and share the glory with him.

2. What did Wilson show Quammen when the two men visited?
(a) Letters people had written to Wilson and MacArthur about their theories.
(b) Drafts of the papers that defined biogeography.
(c) Specimens that had helped Wilson and MacArthur develop their theory.
(d) A slide show of how Wilson and MacArthur developed their theory.

3. What were theories of species evolution based on in Wallace's time?
(a) Religion.
(b) Superstition.
(c) Science.
(d) Guesses.

4. What is the difference between an isolate and a sample?
(a) Samples are only statistically related to larger environments.
(b) An isolate does not have a relation with a larger area.
(c) A sample is only representative of itself.
(d) Trends in an isolate can be applied to larger areas.

5. What evidence did Wallace site to suggest problems with the special creation theory?
(a) That human beings could be found in every climate.
(b) That species had adapted to every different environment on earth.
(c) That some ecological niches went unfilled.
(d) That when species were displaced, they sometimes thrived in the new territory.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Quammen interject into his historical narrative about ecosystem studies?

2. What traits did sailors notice in animals on remote islands?

3. What surprising dispersal ability does Quammen say elephants have?

4. How does Quammen say islands are sometimes formed?

5. How would you describe Quammen's narrative of the dodo's decline and extinction?

(see the answer key)

This section contains 347 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample