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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. What discovery did the researchers make after sending HeLa cells into space in the 1960s?
(a) The cancer cells died in space.
(b) The cancer cells began dividing more quickly with each trip into space.
(c) The cancer cells transformed into noncancerous cells in space.
(d) The cancer cells exploded in space.

2. On what date did Joe Lacks murder Eldridge Lee Ivy?
(a) January 29, 1972.
(b) October 4, 1951.
(c) September 15, 1970.
(d) October 4, 1969.

3. When did George Papanicolaou publish a paper describing what is now known as the "Pap smear"?
(a) 1962.
(b) 1956.
(c) 1929.
(d) 1941.

4. Who coerced Deborah to continue at an all-girls' school after she became pregnant with her first child?
(a) Margaret.
(b) Ethel.
(c) Sadie.
(d) Bobbette.

5. Alexis Carrel died while he was awaiting trial for what crime?
(a) Fraud and negligence.
(b) Collaborating with the Nazis.
(c) Impersonating a medical professional.
(d) Arson.

Short Answer Questions

1. What was the population of Clover, Virginia, in 1998?

2. How old was Henrietta when she gave birth to her first child?

3. How old did Roland Pattillo say that Henrietta Lacks's husband was now, when Rebecca Skloot first contacted him to discuss Henrietta?

4. How many people does Rebecca Skloot estimate that Chester Southam injected with living cancer cells during his career?

5. On what date did Henrietta Lacks first go to Johns Hopkins to have the knot in her womb examined?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Henrietta Lacks's funeral described in Part Two: Death? Who attended Henrietta's funeral? Where was she buried?

2. How does Mary Kubicek describe the instance when she first realized that Henrietta was "human" in Part Two: Death - Chapter 12?

3. How does the author describe Courtney Speed in the narrative? What business(es) did Ms. Speed run at the time the author first met her?

4. What unethical actions were committed by virologist Chester Southam in his research with HeLa cells?

5. What diagnosis did the doctors from Johns Hopkins reach regarding Henrietta's condition after her first visit? What treatment was available at this time for her condition?

6. What did Henrietta's doctors at Johns Hopkins find during her repeated visits in June of 1951?

7. Who is Roland Pattillo, and why did Rebecca Skloot contact him regarding the Lacks family? How did Pattillo respond to Rebecca's inquiries?

8. How did Henrietta meet David Lacks? How did their early relationship develop?

9. Describe the genre and narrative style of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. From whose perspective is the narrative related?

10. How did Henrietta respond to the treatment she received at Johns Hopkins for cancer? Why do you think that Henrietta Lacks did not question any of the treatment she received?

(see the answer keys)

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