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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. What was the word or words that Barbara used in the book to describe a plant that was part dominant and part recessive?

2. What did Cornell geneticists study instead of fruit flies?

3. Who wrote the book, Embryology and Genetics?

4. What was the first name of Barbara's mother?

5. Who described Barbara as having a "green thumb" because everything she did turned into something big?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did T.H. Morgan tell a disappointed reader who confronted him about his book, Embryology and Genetics?

2. In 1931, why did Barbara start to feel like it was time to leave Cornell?

3. What happened the time that Barbara was out playing basketball or volleyball in the neighborhood and a woman called her over to her house?

4. What was the difference of studying genetics in maize versus Drosophilia?

5. Why did Barbara experience long-term consequences because of the absence of a professional niche?

6. Why did Barbara's position at Missouri not work out, according to Barbara herself?

7. In the mid-1930's and when she left Missouri what had she considered doing because of her jobless status?

8. When Barbara went to Germany because of her Guggenheim Fellowship, why did she describe it later as a "very, very traumatic" experience?

9. What are some things that were described in Chapter 5 that Barbara did that "irk the authorities" at Missouri?

10. What happened to Barbara a little more than a year after her brother, Tom, was born?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe Barbara McClintock. What were some of her strengths and weaknesses? How do you picture Barbara from descriptions in the book? What kind of inner qualities did Barbara possess that made her a good scientist? Explain your answers and use specific information from the book to support your answers.

Essay Topic 2

Throughout the book we learn and read about times in science when there were surprises because the implied ideas weren't met. What were some of these surprises that Barbara or others met? How did these surprises help Barbara's work? Did some of these surprises hinder Barbara's progression in her work?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the significance of Barbara McClintock to the world of science. Describe McClintock's importance to women in science. How did individuals benefit from knowing and working with McClintock?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 873 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample