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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. Which of the following events interrupted Crick's interest in DNA?

2. Why did Watson have to leave the estate he was staying at over Christmas?

3. Why was Watson kicked out of his rooming house?

4. Which of the following terms describes how Watson felt about working at the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge?

5. Which of the following was a new idea about the life of a scientist to Watson at the end of chapter five?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did Watson want to study after hearing Pauling's lecture?

2. If Crick had been fired by Sir Lawrence, why might he have found it difficult to find a new job?

3. What did Crick accuse Sir Lawrence of?

4. Why did Watson decline the invitation to speak at a meeting in the United States?

5. How did Watson and Crick get Rosy's measurements at their Cambridge lab?

6. What was Watson's breakthrough an implication for?

7. Why did Watson and Crick want a new start?

8. What would Watson and Crick have done if Maurice had told them it bothered him that they were working on the structure of DNA?

9. What did Rosy seem to believe that research on DNA would require?

10. How was Odile going to help Watson with his problem with eating the food at the local restaurants?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay describing how a competitive streak drives scientists. Use examples from the text to show an example of this idea.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay about how Watson portrays himself throughout the novel as slightly behind the other scientists. Use specific examples from the novel to support your writing.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay on the idea that a scientist's life is not truly separable from the scientist's work. Use examples from the text to support your writing.

(see the answer keys)

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