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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. The author writes that low pressure lingered over ___________, and the air was heavy with moisture, causing trillions of water molecules to heat up.

2. In what year was Isaac Cline born?

3. Going back to the third century BC, who noted that "air" had substance, according to the author in Part I: The Law of Storms?

4. The ship "The Louisiana" sailed from what location to Galveston during the hurricane of 1900?

5. What was the name of the chief financial manager of the Signal Corps who was arrested for embezzling nearly a quarter of a million dollars?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Isaac Cline recall his childhood in Part I: The Law of Storms? Where did he grow up?

2. How does the author describe the weather events in Galveston on September 4, 1900? What did Isaac Cline note about the weather?

3. What invention was key to the development of the Weather Bureau according to the author in Part I: The Law of Storms? How was Isaac Cline affected by the invention?

4. How were the Midwest and Gulf of Mexico affected by the heat wave described in Part I: The Law of Storms?

5. Where did the storm that hit Galveston begin forming? What were atmospheric pressure conditions like in the US at this time?

6. How does the author describe the summer of 1900 in terms of weather in Introduction: The Beach? How is the setting of Galveston described during this time period?

7. What recent scandal was Isaac Cline unaware of within the Signal Corps when he entered training in Part I: The Law of Storms?

8. Whom did Isaac Cline contact on the morning of September 8, 1900? Why?

9. What concerned Isaac about the weather on the night of September 7, 1900?

10. How did the actions of the Weather Bureau affect sea captains such as T.P. Halsey?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Describe and analyze the predictions of Isaac Cline and Professor Andrew Jackson DeVoe of the 1900 hurricane. What is the significance of these predictions in terms of the book's narrative? Do they serve as symbols? How does intuition relate to Isaac and Joseph Cline?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss the heat wave of 1900. When did the heat wave begin? What regions of the United States were affected? How many died in the heat wave? How did the heat wave in the US contribute to conditions that led to the hurricane?

Essay Topic 3

Identify, analyze and discuss the point of view of the narrative. In what tense and person is the story told? Whose perspective does the reader see the events through, primarily? Is the point of view omniscient or limited?

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