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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. The domestic apple is thought to have derived from a species that originally came from the country ______.
(a) Kazakhstan.
(b) Uzbekistan.
(c) Afghanistan.
(d) Pakistan.

2. The book states that all of the following are capable of prodigies or of shifting themselves in form except _______.
(a) Rose.
(b) Orchid.
(c) Lotus.
(d) Tulip.

3. The fact that apple seeds do not produce a similar apple as the tree they came from is scientifically called ______.
(a) Lumozygosity.
(b) Homozygosity.
(c) Heterozygosity.
(d) Protozygosity.

4. The book suggests that _____ determined the evolution of the flower by valuing 'broken' strains that were sick.
(a) Bacteria.
(b) Bees.
(c) Humans.
(d) Mold.

5. The "broken tulip" was eventually found to be caused by ______ which was discovered with the invention of the electron microscope.
(a) A mold.
(b) A virus.
(c) A bacterium.
(d) A frost.

Short Answer Questions

1. The Greeks believed that true beauty was the offspring of form and ecstasy personified in ______ and Apollo.

2. The plants that form flowers and encased seeds began to emerge on the earth during the _______ period.

3. Petals curving inward to hide its sexual organs, the tulip is ______ among flowers, and somewhat aloof.

4. The process through which humans and plants have shaped each other over the years is known as _______.

5. Instead of wind and water moving genetic material around, the emerging plants were now enlisting the help of ______.

Short Essay Questions

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

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

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

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 are the colors and the shapes of flowers designed to do, according to some scientists?

6. 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?

7. What happens as a result of having perfect symmetry in a flower, according to Pollan's writing in the book?

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

9. What happens as a result of the different environments in which a flower might be able to grow?

10. What is the main reason why the apple is presented in a book about the idea of desire? How does the apple relate to desire?

(see the answer keys)

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