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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 do work crews call the two-million ton floating mountain that breaks off during the 1973 eruptions?

2. Why do residents of Heimaey hose down oncoming lava?

3. What nickname do the residents of Heimaey give to Sveinn Eiriksson?

4. Sigurdur Jonsson is an Iceland resident who works on what?

5. Thorbjorn Sigurgeirsson is a native of which country?

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe how Thorbjorn Sigurgeirsson and Sveinn Eiriksson work together to fight against the lava that threatens Heimaey's town and harbor.

2. What hazards do workers face as they try to stop the lava flows?

3. The author moves away from his discussion of Iceland's 1973 lava eruptions to talk about Hawaii's volcanoes. Describe what he writes about the U.S. Army Air Corps' attempts to stop lava from burying Hawaii's towns and cities.

4. How do the views of Hawaiian natives towards volcanoes differ from the views of the U.S. Army Air Corps?

5. Briefly describe Mauna Loa.

6. How do the working crews stop the large chunk of mountain from crashing into Heimaey's town and port?

7. Describe what happens to the north side of the growing volcano on Heimaey.

8. How do residents of Heimaey benefit from the cooling but still hot lava after the 1973 eruptions?

9. What is the population of Iceland's Heimaey before and after the 1973 eruptions?

10. Describe work crews' first attempts at cooling off the lava flows of Heimaey in 1973.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In detail, explain how carefully studying the geological history of a region before engineering a project could lead to more effective, efficient, and lasting solutions. What other factors do people need to consider to come up with better solutions? What factors get in the way of developing a viable solution? How can engineers, politicians, conservationists, and residents work together to develop the right solutions?

Essay Topic 2

Compare and contrast how residents of Hawaii and residents of Iceland handle the challenges that come from living on volcanic lands.

Essay Topic 3

1. How might building more debris basins alleviate mountain debris flow problems in Southern California? How might building more basins aggravate the problem?

2. How might adding more river control structures near the Atchafalaya River in Louisiana alleviate the region's flooding problems? How might adding more structures aggravate the problem?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 912 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample