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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 is Camp Alpha?

2. How does one astronomer refer to asteroids?

3. According to Chapter 6, how far is the distance between Earth and Mars?

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

5. After how many years does PROJECT SPACEGUARD justify its existence?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is cocooning or mothballing, as referred to in Chapter 14?

2. Describe the devastation that occurred on September 11, 2077.

3. What do the members of the Rama Committee think of Commander Norton?

4. What are some of the problems involving having simps on board?

5. What lesson does Commander Norton believe he has learned after seeing the Straight Valley?

6. According to Chapter 5, what does the exploration party think of the design of Rama? How does this affect their EVA mission?

7. After the initial news media fuss, why did all the world forget about Rama, except for the astronomers?

8. What precautions are taken to ensure the exploration party will be safe on Rama?

9. What was the most mysterious characteristic of the object known as 31/439?

10. What precautions are taken to ensure the safety of the exploration crew? Why is it unnecessary to supply breathing gear on Rama?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The entire world of Rama is ostensibly created by beings that the explorers never meet, but based on the world they explored, the crew of the Endeavour, the officials, and the rest of the humanity make guesses and assumptions about what Ramans are or would be like. Describe your idea of what Ramans are like--their physical appearance, culture, and way of thinking. Back up your ideas with facts from the book.

Essay Topic 2

Women appear to be a minority on the Endeavour. Only two women play substantive roles in the novel. Who are these two women and what are their accomplishments and/or shortcomings? Are they fully-formed characters or two-dimensional? Are they stereotypical or play against type? Compare and contrast them to two of the main characters who are male. Based on your analysis, what is the author saying about gender roles? Consider gender roles in the late twentieth century when the book was written as well as the author's apparent predictions for the future.

Essay Topic 3

When exploring a new land, familiar names of locations are comforting to the explorers. This book is filled with locations on extraterrestrial planets and on Rama that are named for locations we are familiar with on Earth. How does the use of these locations influence the reader? Compare and contrast three of these locations and explain how the usage of these locations contributes to the reader's understanding.

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