View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Levitt credit with the rise of distinctly black names in the twentieth century?

2. What do the authors acknowledge that objective thinking will not do?

3. Which of the following is not an unusual name given to a child in FREAKONOMICS?

4. Judith Rich Harris claims in her book, THE NURTURE ASSUMPTION, that parental influence is generally overwhelmed by what?

5. Why did pro-gun advocate John R. Lott create a female pseudonym?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Ceausescu create an opposite ripple effect in Romania than what occurs in America at the same time?

2. How do the authors explain the above contradiction in fears?

3. What study is cited involving names and job hiring?

4. What policy recommendations do the authors make regarding their theories?

5. To what extent does every chapter in FREAKONOMICS involve a closed system?

6. How is the quality of life of an aborted child different from one that is born?

7. What is the history behind the emergence of distinctly black names in America?

8. By what rational do Levitt and Dubner reason that even a cynical person would not consider abortion a reasonable deterrent to crime?

9. What caveat of hope do Dubner and Levitt give regarding parenting at the end of the book?

10. How do the authors explain the correlation between number of books and achievement?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Much of the early section of FREAKONOMICS is dedicated to the idea of honesty in society. Write an essay about three of the analyzed systems and what they say about honesty. What incentives does each person in the system have either to act truthfully or cheat? How does this create a system in which cheating is common? How do arbiters attempt to affect the dynamic to stop cheating? Is it successful?

Part 1) The Sumo wrestling leagues of Japan.

Part 2) The Chicago Public School System.

Part 3) Paul Feldman's bagel business.

Essay Topic 2

Throughout FREAKONOMICS, Levitt and Dubner regularly offer apologias to the reader, explaining that they understand that the conclusions they reach may be upsetting or offensive to some. Write an essay examining these apologias. With what findings are they associated? Why do you think the authors deem it necessary to offer an aesthetic caveat to these decisions? To what extent is the final moment of the book a final apologia to the reader?

Essay Topic 3

The authors of FREAKONOMICS begin the book with five precepts that guided their writing, as opposed to a single subject. Write an essay about any one of these precepts. Why do Levitt and Dubner consider this rule central to their process? Choose three chapters from the book. How does the research done in these chapters reflect your chosen precept?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 983 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample