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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Bryson states that the first species to care for its weak and frail members was:
(a) Australopithecines.
(b) Homo habilis.
(c) Homo erectus.
(d) Gigantopithecus.

2. What percentage of the human body consists of water?
(a) 14.
(b) 65.
(c) 97.
(d) 32.

3. How deep is Earth's atmosphere?
(a) 800 miles.
(b) 30 miles.
(c) 5 miles.
(d) 120 miles.

4. By volume, how much of the Earth's habitable space is covered by water?
(a) 80.5 percent.
(b) 99.5 percent.
(c) 71.75 percent.
(d) 87.75 percent.

5. The human body is composed of how many cells?
(a) 10,000 trillion.
(b) 2,000 billion.
(c) 800 thousand.
(d) 500 million.

Short Answer Questions

1. When the KT meteor that killed the dinosaurs hit Earth, what percentage of life on the planet perished?

2. The author seems to condemn the fact that, over the years, studying wildlife meant what?

3. Bacteria take nitrogen from the air and form it into what?

4. In Chapter 23, the author discusses the battles that go on in the plant world regarding:

5. Scientists believe that our planet is currently in a period of what?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the water distribution across the world's major oceans?

2. What does the author lament about the study of wildlife throughout much of human history?

3. What does a Swedish DNA study reveal about the origins of modern man?

4. What is a hominid? Describe some of the hominids that existed in the past.

5. How long do human cells live?

6. Describe the fossilized traces of microbes found in Greenland.

7. What is cytoplasm?

8. How much of Earth's land is suitable for humans to live on?

9. Describe the presence of bacteria in humans.

10. Why does Bryson say that fossils represent only a tiny fraction of life on Earth?

(see the answer keys)

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