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

2. How quickly can bacteria create a new generation?

3. What is a biped?

4. In times past, Earth was:

5. Compared to Homo sapiens, Neanderthals were:

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the Indonesian volcanic eruption of 1815.

2. What does the author say about oxygen and the highest elevations people can live at?

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

4. Describe what happened when the KT meteor crashed on Earth, killing off the dinosaurs.

5. What does Bryson caution regarding extinction?

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

7. What type of scientific work did the monk and scientist Gregor Mendel do?

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

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

10. What does the author say about bacteria and humans, particularly their interaction?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe who the following scientists were and how they started out in their careers, and explain what they are best known for:

1. Marie Curie.

2. Albert Einstein.

3. Carl Sagan.

Essay Topic 2

Describe earthquakes, including the mechanism behind them, where they can hit, and how they are measured.

Essay Topic 3

Explain how lead, despite being toxic to humans, found its way into gasoline. Why was safety ignored? Who fought to remove lead from gasoline? Describe this individual, his campaign, and the resistance he met. What was the outcome of his campaign?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 760 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample