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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 does the word "filovirus" mean in Latin?

2. What is wrong with Nancy's father?

3. What is in the samples that Dan Dalgard sends to USAMRIID?

4. Where was the headquarters of Gene Johnson's Kitum Cave expedition?

5. What major metropolitan area is Reston, VA closest to?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why are crab-eating macaques described as "competitors" of humans in their natural environment?

2. Why is Dan Dalgard uneasy at the end of Part 2 Chapter 4?

3. How does Preston distinguish parasites from predators?

4. Describe the typical shapes of viruses and how Marburg compares to them.

5. What are the results of the three tests that Jahrling runs on the monkey samples?

6. Describe what Tom Geisbert sees in his cell samples.

7. Why is it not in the best interest of a virus to kill its host?

8. Why are the workers burning the fields? What impact could this have on the migration of microbes and the biodiversity of an area?

9. Why doesn't Johnson's Kitum Cave expedition study large animals such as leopards or elephants?

10. What are Geisbert's electron microscope photographs definitive proof of?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

A quote from the book reads: "a virus can be useful to a species by thinning it out." Students will research the historic outbreaks of plague in the 14th century and the flu outbreak of 1918. How did this concept of "herd immunity" allow the outbreaks to finally end? Do students agree that a virus can be considered "useful"? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

Nancy Jaax is one of the central characters in the Hot Zone. As a female scientist, Nancy encounters several episodes of sexism.

a. Find examples of roadblocks that Nancy must face due to her gender.

b. One roadblock she faces is being told that that she will neglect her work or her family or both. Has this happened by the end of the book? Explain your reasoning.

c. Do you agree or disagree with her treatment? Support your position.

Essay Topic 3

Summarize the reasons and the process that Peter Jahrling and Tom Geisbert used to reach their decision NOT to tell about their possible exposure after the "whiffing incident". Do you agree with the decision they made?

- What were their considerations about the incubation period?

- What do Jahrling and Geisbert know about the Slammer that affected their decision?

- Why doesn't Jahrling think he is putting his family at risk?

- How did the right to name a new virus affect their decision?

- Based on what you know about the fatality rate of Marburg and other filoviruses, do you think that Jahrling and Geisbert made a good decision? Why or why not?

(see the answer keys)

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