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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 item may have been eaten to ward off fatigue?

2. How large are the sharks caught by the crew?

3. With whom does the crew member try to communicate?

4. What sign gives the crew hope?

5. What time of day is the first island discovered?

Short Essay Questions

1. What hinders the Kon-Tiki from traveling to a second island?

2. Where is the final destination? Who invites/receives the crew?

3. How does the crew avoid hitting the Takume and Raroia reefs? What is the result?

4. What evidence is there of the stone work on Easter Island? How did it change?

5. Pilot fish are some of the fish that accompany the raft during the trip. How does Heyerdahl describe the pilot fish?

6. What item was destroyed on Easter Island that may have detailed the region's history? Who destroyed the item?

7. Heyerdahl thinks about how the ancients might have gathered or transported water. What were his conclusions?

8. There is at least one thing that Heyerdahl feels he has in common with the ancients. What is it?

9. What is Heyerdahl's explanation of the reality of the hut versus the waves?

10. How is the crew rescued? Where are they taken and by who?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Polynesians celebrate an oral history, told by Tei Tetua. Examine the tales told by Tei Tuta and how they affected Heyerdahl. Given the manner in which the stories were told, do you think they were accurate? Did the stories prove or disprove any of Heyerdahl's own theories? Were any of Tei Tetua's stories proven or disproved by the trip made by the Kon-Tiki?

Essay Topic 2

There are several instances in which the Kon-Tiki encounters large and dangerous coral reefs. Explain how the crew might have avoided all the reefs, the deciding factors, and the results of the crew's actions. What might have changed the way the crew acted and reacted?

Essay Topic 3

On the ocean there is not much to do other than work, talk to one another, eat, and stare at the sea. How do the men keep occupied while out on the sea? Are there games or interaction with the sea creatures? If any conflict should arise during the course of the trip, how would it be handled? Who would make the decisions?

(see the answer keys)

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