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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Richard Allen Mesington call the first heavy equipment he sees moving earth?
(a) A "Harley" (p. 75)
(b) Savage and destructive (p. 74)
(c) A "bughoe" (p. 75)
(d) A "[B]iiig dog" (p. 75)

2. What can comparing the length of the ramrod to the length of the barrel demonstrate with a muzzle-loading rifle?
(a) Whether it is loaded
(b) Whether it is British or American manufacture
(c) How accurate the rifle is
(d) Whether it is a "sweet" rifle

3. According to the novel, how fast is the rifle ball traveling when it hits Richard Allen Mesinger?
(a) About 30 long paces
(b) 1,000 feet per second
(c) Mach 2
(d) About 20 miles per hour

4. According to the novel, why were all guns kept loaded prior to 1850?
(a) Because gun owners lacked common sense
(b) Because powder would spoil if not loaded immediately
(c) It was the law
(d) Because they took so long to load

5. What clears the "mummified grease" (p. 92) from the touchhole of the "sweet" rifle?
(a) A candle flame melts it
(b) Tim Harrow removes it while cleaning the rifle
(c) Harv Kline's cigarette melts it
(d) John Byam pricks it with a needle

6. For what did sailing ships in the Revolutionary War use black power?
(a) To charge their cannon
(b) As a fuel in the engine
(c) They didn't use blackpowder onboard sailing ships
(d) To cook meals

7. What does Richard Allen Mesington do as a small child that frightens his parents?
(a) Likes to play with fire
(b) Plays with a gun
(c) Explores the forest around the family home
(d) Chases a bear in the forest around the family home

8. How long does the "sweet" rifle stay loaded before it is finally discharged?
(a) 2 weeks
(b) 371 years
(c) 217 years
(d) 12 days

9. When Richard Allen Mesington is fourteen years old, who is his girlfriend?
(a) Isabelle
(b) Sissy
(c) Sarah
(d) Peggy

10. How quickly does Richard Allen Mesinger die after being shot?
(a) After a few hours
(b) A few minutes after arriving at the hospital
(c) About five minutes
(d) He dies instantly

11. After whom was Richard Allen Mesington named?
(a) A famous artist
(b) His maternal grandfather
(c) A famous British officer of the American Revolutionary War
(d) A well-known gunsmith

12. How long does Sissy live?
(a) Four years
(b) At least fifteen years
(c) She's killed by a car when she's just a puppy
(d) About six years after Richard Allen Mesington is born

13. According to the novel, how common were firearms accidents prior to 1850?
(a) They were virtually non-existent
(b) They were almost unheard of
(c) They were very rare
(d) They were common

14. When he is an infant, how does Richard Allen Mesington get Sissy to stop walking?
(a) He asks her to stop
(b) He says he'll tell his mom if she doesn't do what he says
(c) He pulls her fur
(d) He sits down and cries

15. How old is Richard Allen Mesington when his family buys their first television?
(a) Only a few weeks
(b) Fourteen
(c) Twenty
(d) Ten

Short Answer Questions

1. The novel states that black powder has what chemical property?

2. What happened to Harv Kline after Richard Allen Mesinger's death?

3. How does Richard Allen Mesington refer to the first bear he sees as an infant?

4. How old is Richard Allen Mesington when he has his first crush on Peggy?

5. According to the novel, why does the black powder in the "sweet" rifle remain explosive after hundreds of years?

(see the answer keys)

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