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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. In what year did the Grants' team first notice the finches' hybrid breeding?

2. What animal does Weiner describe as having "the body plan of a volcano"?

3. Where do the Grants work in the United States?

4. As Rosemary relates, what sometimes causes a bamboo pole to become unexpectedly heavy as one carries it?

5. How long did Darwin study barnacles?

Short Essay Questions

1. How do various species get from island to island in the Galapagos? Remember to include examples of both plants and animals.

2. How did Darwin react to the finches while he was in the Galapagos and later while he was in England?

3. Compare the beaks of Jamie Smith's sparrows with the beaks of the finches.

4. Compare and contrast the Grants' tools on Daphne Major and their tools at Princeton.

5. Discuss the likelihood that two species will hybridize and the probable outcomes of such a hybridization.

6. Describe the Grants' filing system at Princeton.

7. Explain El Niño and how it affects the Galapagos Islands.

8. Explain the significance of black and brown feathers in finch males, as discussed in Chapter 6.

9. Describe some of the unusual finch behaviors during the drought.

10. How do the Grants collect blood samples from the finches?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe Weiner's use of conceit (extended metaphor) and its significance in the book.

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast two episodes of anthropomorphism in the book.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss how the experiment with the Crossbill finches has affected the study of evolution.

(see the answer keys)

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