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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does Joe Calvert assume about the builders of Rama?
(a) The builders of Rama are able to see in the dark.
(b) The builders of Rama are small in stature.
(c) The builders of Rama are more intelligent than humans.
(d) The builders of Rama are humanoid.

2. During the initial exploration of Rama, what is the temperature like?
(a) The temperature fluctuates wildly.
(b) The temperature is just below freezing.
(c) The temperature is close to Earth's median temperature.
(d) The temperature is the same as on the Moon.

3. Rama is compared to what ordinary object?
(a) A boiler.
(b) A hot air balloon.
(c) A globe.
(d) An airship.

4. What is the expected effect of an matter-antimatter reaction?
(a) The biggest bang since the solar system was formed.
(b) The permanent creation of a second sun.
(c) The total annihilation of the solar system.
(d) A reaction as gentle as a snowflake.

5. Which way do "clocks and corkscrews" turn on Rama?
(a) Forwards.
(b) In and out.
(c) The same direction as on Earth.
(d) The opposite direction as on Earth.

6. What is Straight Valley?
(a) A valley located next to the Rockies.
(b) A long groove or trench near Paris.
(c) A valley adjacent to the South Pole.
(d) A line dug into the sand near the Cylindrical Sea.

7. Who are the first three explorers on Rama?
(a) Norton, Calvert, and Price.
(b) Mercer, Calvert, and Myron.
(c) Mercer, Myron, and Price.
(d) Norton, Mercer, and Myron.

8. What does the Commander think about the amount of responsibility he must shoulder on this mission?
(a) He wishes he had less decision-making authority.
(b) He is glad that some of the decisions are made by those on Earth, but also envies navigators of the past.
(c) He enjoys having the lion's share of decision-making authority.
(d) He is uncertain that it is smart to put all decision-making authority in the hands of one commander.

9. How long is the normal "day" for a normal asteroid versus one for Rama?
(a) About the same as for Mars and Venus.
(b) Nearly twelve hours versus about an hour.
(c) Several hours versus four minutes.
(d) About the same as for the Earth and the Moon.

10. Who does the Commander depend on to land the Endeavour?
(a) Boris Rodrigo.
(b) Joe Calvert.
(c) James Pak.
(d) Bill Norton.

11. What type of force does the Commander account for upon landing the Endeavour?
(a) Centrifugal force.
(b) Frictional force.
(c) Gravitational force.
(d) Contact force.

12. What is used for a far nobler purpose at the end of Chapter 1?
(a) The weaponry skills acquired in the late twentieth century.
(b) The natural resources found in Europe.
(c) The wealth of the countries that make up the European Union.
(d) The software designed to simulate "celestial target practice."

13. In Chapter 5, what streams from the newly-opened pillbox "like dazzling diamonds as the brilliant sunlight caught them"?
(a) Water vapor droplets.
(b) Oxygen molecules.
(c) Dust particles.
(d) Anti-matter particles.

14. How old is Dr. Bose?
(a) Eighty-nine years old.
(b) Sixty-three years old.
(c) One hundred fifteen years old.
(d) Seventy-nine years old.

15. What is Sita?
(a) A long range missile designed to destroy Rama.
(b) A pod of special cameras intended to photograph Rama from all sides.
(c) A big orbiting telescope.
(d) A space-probe that is originally intended to launch from Mars to go beyond Neptune.

Short Answer Questions

1. The reference to the five giants is referring to what group of five?

2. What location is home to more than a million people who had their hearing permanently damaged in 2077?

3. What does Dr. Bose long for?

4. What possibility causes Dr. Petera to suggest that Rama be evacuated early?

5. What is the main tenet of the Fifth Church of Christ?

(see the answer keys)

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