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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. To limit overall radiation exposure, what was the length of the duty tours for the teams of Sredmash US-605 in Chernobyl?

2. How long was the May Day parade supposed to have been in KIev?

3. In 1986, how many voting members were there in the Politburo?

4. On Tuesday, April 29, how many victims of the accident were hospitalized in Moscow?

5. How many pages of the report Legasov created on the disaster at Chernobyl were excised on the direct orders of Prime Minister Ryzhkov?

Short Essay Questions

1. What did U.S. intelligence know about the events at the Chernobyl plant in Chapter 12?

2. What invisible cloud of radiation came from the core and spread on the winds?

3. On July 25, how were busloads of Pripyat evacuees allowed to reclaim items from their apartments?

4. Why were theorectical physicists concerned about the threat of molten corium, and what solution did they propose?

5. What was the process of a bone marrow donation and transplant for the Toptunovas?

6. Why did the Ukrainian Minsitry of Health wish to cancel the May Day parade in Kiev, and why was it not canceled?

7. How were hundreds of tons of material dropped into the burning reactor every day in Chapter 11?

8. What was the death toll in September, and why did that become the offical death toll of the accident?

9. What did Maria Protsenko finally learn about the possibility of returning to Pripyat?

10. By 2 p.m. on Sunday, what did Swedish authorities conclude?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Chronic radiation sickness is acquired gradually and acute radiation sickness is acquired quickly. What are the difficulties of treating each condition? Is one more difficult to treat than the other?

Essay Topic 2

Anatoly Dyatlov was the deputy chief engineer of the Chernobyl power plant. What did Dyatlov’s work experience teach him about reality and bureaucracy in the Soviet Union? Why did bureaucracy usually trump reality?

Essay Topic 3

While the fire raged at the nuclear plant, the citizens of Pripyat enjoyed a typical Saturday. How does the way that Higgenbotham compares the frantic situation at the nuclear plant to citizens enjoying a typical Saturday demonstrate the seriousness of the tragedy?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,130 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample