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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Red and Golden are two forms of North American cultivars of this particular type of apple ______.
(a) Amazing.
(b) Delicious.
(c) Juicy.
(d) Tasty.

2. Instead of wind and water moving genetic material around, the emerging plants were now enlisting the help of ______.
(a) Bacteria.
(b) Animals.
(c) Mold.
(d) Viruses.

3. Pollan asserts that Jews and Christians discouraged devotion to flowers because it was a threat to _______.
(a) Polytheism.
(b) Monotheism.
(c) Tropism.
(d) Deism.

4. The process of trying to impersonate other plants or animals in order to attract or repel is called ______.
(a) Flattery.
(b) Tropism.
(c) Mimicry.
(d) Chemical signaling.

5. Johnny Appleseed was known for introducing the apple to the following states except _____.
(a) Indiana.
(b) Ohio.
(c) Michigan.
(d) Illinois.

Short Answer Questions

1. The book states that the potato plant was stolen from the royal gardens of ______.

2. According to the book, the word _____ is a corruption of the Turkish word for Turban.

3. ________ was an American Pioneer and introduced the apple in the Midwestern United States.

4. The flower that is presented as being the symbol of the human desire for beauty is the ______.

5. Chapman stated that he was promised "a true wife in heaven" and thus he never ______.

Short Essay Questions

1. Pollan points out there may or may not be a correlation between the beautiful and the good. What does he think there is probably a correlation between?

2. What are some of the effects of the chemicals within plants which begin the argument that plants might be designed to change humans?

3. What does Pollan find to be mythical about the story of Johnny Appleseed, although it is a true story?

4. Why does Chapman not want to have anything to do with the grafting of apple trees in order to breed certain strains?

5. What does Pollan say about colors that are seen by children, as opposed to colors seen by adults?

6. Why did Jews and Christians have troubles admitting to the beauty of flowers within their celebrations?

7. What are the four important classes of domesticated plants which influenced the way in which Pollan chose the plants for the book?

8. How does Pollan describe the particular patch of garden versus the plants one finds in nature?

9. What does Pollan have to say about his tendency to speculate and about the connection between flowers and speculation?

10. What is the classic example of coevolution that Pollan presents at the start of the book?

(see the answer keys)

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