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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 Evelyn Keller state is the best word to describe Barbara McClintock's stance on life?

2. What profession did Barbara's father have?

3. What were the first chromosomes visible as?

4. What did Cornell geneticists study instead of fruit flies?

5. The subject of cytogenetics is about the relationship between the chromosomes and what?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happened the time that Barbara was out playing basketball or volleyball in the neighborhood and a woman called her over to her house?

2. Why did Barbara adamantly reject female conventions and why was she not trying to just be "more boy than girl"?

3. In 1931, why did Barbara start to feel like it was time to leave Cornell?

4. What was the subject of the paper that Harriet Creighton and Barbara McClintock wrote in 1931?

5. What did James A. Peters say about the paper that Harriet Creighton and Barbara McClintock wrote?

6. What happened when Barbara signed up for a large overload of classes at Cornell and why did she do it?

7. What are the three stages of prophase in meiosis?

8. Why did Barbara experience long-term consequences because of the absence of a professional niche?

9. In the mid-1930's and when she left Missouri what had she considered doing because of her jobless status?

10. What was the difference of studying genetics in maize versus Drosophilia?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe how Barbara McClintock broke free "of the hidden constraints of tacit assumptions" and allowed "the results of [her] experiments to speak for themselves."

Essay Topic 2

How is it evident in the book that scientists and we, as a society, underestimate the flexibility of living organisms? Are humans becoming better at accepting and understanding what living organisms can do? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 3

Describe the significance of Barbara McClintock to the world of science. Describe McClintock's importance to women in science. How did individuals benefit from knowing and working with McClintock?

(see the answer keys)

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