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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 must amino acids do to become protein?

2. What is the current estimate of the number of species that have lived on Earth since the beginning of life on our planet?

3. Gregor Mendel, who conducted research on transmittal of traits in pea plants, was a scientist and a:

4. The internal workings of cells are:

5. Who was the first person to describe a cell?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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

5. Describe the layer of atmosphere called the troposphere.

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

7. What is Carl Linnaeus known for?

8. What did Charles Darwin do on the HMS Beagle?

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

10. Describe the presence of bacteria in humans.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe how radiation was discovered. How was it researched? What happened to the researchers? What misunderstandings did people first have about radiation? How did these misunderstandings affect the public? What do we now know about radiation that people failed to recognize initially?

Essay Topic 2

Explain why scientists were reluctant to believe evidence of our planet's actual age. How did belief systems get in the way of scientific evidence?

Essay Topic 3

Explain what Bryson says about water distribution on our planet. How much is saltwater? How much is fresh water? Describe where the different types of water are distributed throughout the world.

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