1. In 1875, why was Max Planck advised against studying physics and urged to study math instead?
(a) Planek knew high-level math but only very basic physics.
(b) The government often arrested those who delved in certain branches of physics.
(c) A career in math offered greater financial opportunities for him.
(d) It was believed that all the important physics discoveries had already been made.

2. In the 1960s, what did Bob Christiansen realize about Yellowstone National Park after observing NASA-supplied images?
(a) The park holds thousands of volcanoes.
(b) Most of the park was created by a massive earthquake.
(c) The park was carved by moving glaciers.
(d) Practically the whole park is a volcano.

3. When entomologist Terry Erwin collected insect samples from 19 rain forest trees, how many different varieties of beetles did he find?
(a) 42.
(b) 150.
(c) 600.
(d) 1,200.

4. The first eruption of Yellowstone took place how many years ago?
(a) 630 thousand.
(b) 74 thousand.
(c) 19.7 billion.
(d) 16.5 million.

5. What followed the last supervolcanic eruption on Earth in the region that is now northern Sumatra?
(a) Twenty years of intense earthquakes.
(b) A two-year series of tidal waves.
(c) A six-year volcanic winter.
(d) A reversal of the magnetic poles.

Short Answer Questions

1. Vesto Slipher's work at the Lowell Observatory in Arizona led him to discover that distant stars are moving away from us, with the farthest stars moving the fastest, suggesting that the universe is:

2. What did Carl Linnaeus develop that is still in wide use today?

3. Which famous scientist was once an unknown patent clerk in Switzerland?

4. According to Bryson, what percentage of all animal and plant life is yet to be discovered?

5. Approximately how many okapi live in the rain forests of Zaire?

(see the answer key)

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