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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. At 5 miles per second, how much energy of an equal weight of TNT is carried by every ounce of a space shuttle, including its human cargo?

2. In 2007, where was a secret nuclear facility discovered when Israel attacked the country?

3. At the time the book was written, how much did the GRACE satellites discover that the ice volume in Antarctica is decreasing per year?

4. Where is much of the uranium obtained?

5. How fast does a person falling accelerate from 0 to 66 miles per hour?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 15, what does the author believe is the most efficient way to travel to space?

2. What radiation levels were measured after the Three Mile Island incident, and why were the levels not caused by the accident?

3. What was learned about the climate of the past from glaciers covering Greenland?

4. At the time the book was written, what prototype of a nuclear waste facility was developed by the U.S. government?

5. What theory did Milutin Milankovic use to explain the cyclic pattern of the ice ages?

6. What happened to the space shuttle Challenger?

7. What needs to be understood about global warming?

8. What are the challenges for people moving in weak gravity?

9. In Chapter 13, what are the pros and cons of using depleted uranium in the shells of hydrogen bombs?

10. What happened to the space shuttle Columbia, and why does the author think what happened should not be a suprise?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Anecdotes are short stories used by an author to provide personal knowledge or experience of a topic being discussed. What are some anecdotes the author uses in the book? How does the use of anecdotes help readers understand concepts?

Essay Topic 2

In 1979, a nuclear reactor ran out of control and a third of its uranium fuel melted. What happened during the incident at Three Mile Island? How much radiation was released by the accident? How was the perception of the accident worse than its reality?

Essay Topic 3

A neutron bomb is a type of enhanced radiation weapon. What is the difference between a neutron bomb and a hydrogen bomb? What is the difference between the type of damage created by a neutron bomb and a hydrogen bomb? What does the neutron bomb reveal about a weapons paradox?

(see the answer keys)

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