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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Twice a day the explorers must perform an action. What is it?
(a) Maintain radio silence while transmissions are relayed to Earth.
(b) Exercise at three-quarters of a gee for ten minutes.
(c) Chew a high calorie snack.
(d) Take a nap.

2. SPACEGUARD is keeping track of how many asteroids at once?
(a) Fifty thousand.
(b) One hundred thousand.
(c) Half a million.
(d) Two hundred fifty thousand.

3. What is Straight Valley?
(a) A long groove or trench near Paris.
(b) A valley located next to the Rockies.
(c) A valley adjacent to the South Pole.
(d) A line dug into the sand near the Cylindrical Sea.

4. According to Chapter 9, Rama's orbit is heading directly to where?
(a) The Milky Way.
(b) The galaxy of Andromeda.
(c) The outer planets of the solar system.
(d) The solar system, and much to close to the sun.

5. Where is Dr. Bose born?
(a) The Moon.
(b) The Earth.
(c) Mars.
(d) In outer space.

6. Who does the Commander depend on to land the Endeavour?
(a) Boris Rodrigo.
(b) Bill Norton.
(c) James Pak.
(d) Joe Calvert.

7. What type of force does the Commander account for upon landing the Endeavour?
(a) Contact force.
(b) Frictional force.
(c) Centrifugal force.
(d) Gravitational force.

8. Who goes with the Commander on the first EVA?
(a) Karl Mercer.
(b) James Pak.
(c) Joe Calvert.
(d) Boris Rodrigo.

9. What ships can catch up with Rama before it leaves the solar system?
(a) The Calypso, Beagle, and Endeavour.
(b) Only the Endeavour.
(c) Only the Challenger.
(d) The Calypso, Beagle, and Challenger.

10. What is the initial reaction of the human race to Rama?
(a) Dismay.
(b) Excitement.
(c) Curiosity.
(d) Fear.

11. What is the origin of the name of object 31/149?
(a) Hindu mythology.
(b) Roman mythology.
(c) Greek mythology.
(d) Norse mythology.

12. Why is Dr. Bose "exiled" from the Earth?
(a) He cannot face reconditioning.
(b) He has a contagious virus.
(c) Earth is uninhabitable.
(d) He is too sentimental to leave his adopted home.

13. In Chapter 5, what streams from the newly-opened pillbox "like dazzling diamonds as the brilliant sunlight caught them"?
(a) Oxygen molecules.
(b) Anti-matter particles.
(c) Dust particles.
(d) Water vapor droplets.

14. Why is Baked Alaska mentioned in Chapter 14?
(a) Because Baked Alaska is the most complicated dessert the Simps can make.
(b) Because it is a favorite at U.P. banquets.
(c) Because Rama is hot on the outside and cold on the inside, like a Baked Alaska dessert,
(d) Because it is a reminder of Earth.

15. What surprises Commander Norton as he approached Rama for the rendezvous?
(a) That Jupiter VIII is slightly larger than Rama.
(b) The realization that Rama's mass is smaller than predicted.
(c) Rama's overwhelming size.
(d) That landing on the Moon or Mars is easier than landing on Rama.

Short Answer Questions

1. What loss is so great that it was beyond all computation?

2. What does the Commander think about the amount of responsibility he must shoulder on this mission?

3. How does the book describe the world's population at the end of the 21st century?

4. Rama is compared to what ordinary object?

5. In Chapter 13, what does Joe Calvert do to entertain himself and the rest of the explorers?

(see the answer keys)

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