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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 sometimes attributed to intelligence or gender?

2. With whom does the University of New Mexico perform a study about communicative movements?

3. According to Chomsky, how many brain tasks are required for speaking language?

4. How do physicians get patients to take their medicines and follow instructions?

5. Why does Calvin think the female ape cradles her baby in its left arm?

Short Essay Questions

1. What type of therapy is used in many cultures and to what does it go back?

2. What are Wilson's conclusions about musical talent or heuristic?

3. Why can't ground mammals take advantage of this global change?

4. What does eating at LuLu teach Wilson?

5. What is the title of Feldenkrais' book and what does the book claim?

6. What is one thing that influences which hand is dominant and what are a couple other characteristics that are often associated with one dominant hand or the other?

7. Why does Wilson bring up his friend Jack Schaefer?

8. Describe Peter Reynolds work.

9. How has the hand been used throughout its long history?

10. What does the author think about concerning a high school language teacher?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the following:

1. A puzzling consideration for the author is the hand's ability to be adept at rock-climbing and piano-playing. What do you think is meant by this statement? Use examples from The Hand to support your answer.

2. The human hand is a tool that functions at a wide variety and range of speed and strength. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

3. The hand function clinician John Napier identifies the terms "power grip" and "precision grip" by defining "prehensile" and "non-prehensile" movement. Explain the terms in the above sentence. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 2

In order for hominids to expand their range into habitats beyond the jungle, they required continuing brain evolution. The expansion of territory by hominids took group cooperation for survival. A professor of biology from the University of Liverpool named Robin Dunbar proposes a theory of brain growth, language and intelligence to correlate neocortex, brain size, with a stable group or tribe.

1. Explain how greater intelligence enabled hominids to leave the jungle. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

2. Explain, in depth, why cooperation among hominids would be an important aspect of survival. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

3. Discuss ways in which cooperation and social living might increase the brain size or intelligence of hominids. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the following:

1. Charles Bell asserts that practice enables the hand and eye to develop as sense organs so the brain teaches itself by making the hand and eye work together. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

2. Charles Sherrington claims the tip of the thumb and index finger are treated by the brain like the sensitive part of the retina. He claims the eye is drawn to the object automatically and the hand with its sensitive fingers grasps it. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

3. A biologic clock develops to set an internal time reference relative to the time used in a sequence of motion--for example, the time it takes for a ball to fall. Practice improves the sense of timing but a teacher or coach can help to sequence the process and eliminate making the same mistakes. Use examples from the text to support your answer.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,047 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample