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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 was the central reason that the HeLa factory was developed?

2. What does "ATCC" stand for in reference to the federal cell bank established by Lewis Coriell and others?

3. How old did Roland Pattillo say that Henrietta Lacks's husband was now, when Rebecca Skloot first contacted him to discuss Henrietta?

4. What sentence was Joe Lacks given for the second-degree murder of Eldridge Lee Ivy?

5. What was the first publication to name the woman behind the HeLa cells in 1953?

Short Essay Questions

1. What led to the trial against Southam and Mendel? What sentence did the men receive?

2. How did Deborah Lacks respond to Rebecca Skloot when she first called her? What information did Rebecca learn from this call?

3. How is Henrietta Lacks's funeral described in Part Two: Death? Who attended Henrietta's funeral? Where was she buried?

4. What advancements and discoveries were made due to research using HeLa cells from 1960-1966?

5. What advancements did Alexis Carrel achieve in medical progress during his career?

6. How does the author describe Courtney Speed in the narrative? What business(es) did Ms. Speed run at the time the author first met her?

7. Where did the name "Helen Lane" arise? How did the Lacks family feel about "Helen Lane"?

8. What were Mary Kubicek's impressions of HeLa cells when she first began observing them? What were George Gey's impressions of the cells?

9. How did Henrietta meet David Lacks? How did their early relationship develop?

10. How did Lawrence Lacks deal with the death of his mother? What led Lawrence into the military?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and discuss some of the beliefs that African Americans have had historically about doctors, research, and hospitals. What was the basis of these beliefs? What evidence is there that there was truth to some of these beliefs?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the use of HeLa cells in hybridization research. When did scientist first create animal-human hybrid cells? What was the purpose of this study?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the impact of Henrietta's death on Zakariyya in the narrative. How did Zakariyya feel about George Gey? Why? What helped to change Zakariyya's impressions of the scientific community? How?

(see the answer keys)

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