View a FREE sample

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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What organisms does the author say are the most enduring inhabitants of our planet?
(a) Fungi.
(b) Bacteria.
(c) Humans.
(d) Spiders.

2. When entomologist Terry Erwin collected insect samples from 19 rain forest trees, how many different varieties of beetles did he find?
(a) 600.
(b) 1,200.
(c) 150.
(d) 42.

3. If all of the ice in Antarctica were to melt, by how much would ocean levels rise?
(a) 50 feet.
(b) 920 feet.
(c) 200 feet.
(d) 12 feet.

4. The first hand axe was shaped with a stone how many years ago?
(a) 320 thousand.
(b) 10 thousand.
(c) 1.5 million.
(d) 9.8 million.

5. Regarding species that have gone extinct, scientists generally:
(a) Know exactly how species died.
(b) Blame the extinction on climate changes.
(c) Attribute mass extinctions to volcanoes.
(d) Do not know what killed off species.

6. What percentage of all existing water is fresh water?
(a) 23.
(b) 17.
(c) 10.
(d) 3.

7. The last chapter of the book is a cautionary analysis of man's irresponsibility with regards to the:
(a) Pursuit of wealth.
(b) Polluting of the atmosphere.
(c) Waging of war against fellow humans.
(d) Extinction of animals.

8. In Chapter 30, the author notes that, in the past, some larger species became extinct because:
(a) Of their underdeveloped brains.
(b) The earth's gravitational strength changed.
(c) Humans hunted them to extinction.
(d) They stopped mating.

9. When oceanographer Jacques Piccard and a U.S. Navy sailor descended more than 35,000 feet to the deepest part of the world's oceans, what happened?
(a) They startled a flat fish upon touching down.
(b) They saw the remains of a sunken ship.
(c) The power went out in their ocean capsule.
(d) They were stranded there for days and nearly died.

10. Approximately how many okapi live in the rain forests of Zaire?
(a) 400,000.
(b) 12,000.
(c) 30,000.
(d) 1,340,000.

11. Before Charles Darwin wrote his famous book about natural selection, he spent eight years writing about what?
(a) Mountains.
(b) Grass types.
(c) Spiders.
(d) Barnacles.

12. Which body of water holds more than half of the planet's water?
(a) Indian Ocean.
(b) Arctic Ocean.
(c) Pacific Ocean.
(d) Atlantic Ocean.

13. In a cell, what is the cytoplasm?
(a) DNA inside each cell.
(b) Outer fatty casing.
(c) Contents of the cell outside the nucleus.
(d) The nucleus.

14. The author seems to condemn the fact that, over the years, studying wildlife meant what?
(a) Nothing to the average person.
(b) Destroying the environment.
(c) Capturing and killing it.
(d) Mere recreation for the wealthy.

15. Bryson states that the first species to care for its weak and frail members was:
(a) Australopithecines.
(b) Homo erectus.
(c) Gigantopithecus.
(d) Homo habilis.

Short Answer Questions

1. Most human traits, including eye color, are determined by:

2. Which of the following is not one of the five major extinction episodes on Earth?

3. What did Carl Linnaeus bring order to through his method of classification?

4. Approximately how many bacteria live on a square centimeter of human skin?

5. What is the highest elevation that humans are able to live and survive on Earth continuously without special accommodations?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 469 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample