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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 first time that live human cells were ever shipped via the U.S. Postal Service was when George Gey mailed HeLa cells to whom?
(a) William Scherer.
(b) Dr. Howard Jones.
(c) Michael Rogers.
(d) Dr. Richard Wesley TeLinde.

2. Cervical carcinomas are divided into two types. What are these types?
(a) Internal and external.
(b) Invasive and noninvasive.
(c) Radiant and specialized.
(d) Sedentary and biological.

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

4. On what date did the gynecologist from Johns Hopkins Hospital call and inform Henrietta Lacks that she had a malignant tumor?
(a) August 1, 1950.
(b) February 5, 1951.
(c) October 4, 1951.
(d) April 10, 1941.

5. Where did Chester Southam advertise for medical research volunteers in May of 1956?
(a) Rutgers University newsletter.
(b) The Ohio State Penitentiary newsletter.
(c) The New York Times classifieds.
(d) Sing Sing Prison newsletter.

Short Answer Questions

1. On what date did Henrietta marry David Lacks?

2. How old was Lawrence when he an Bobbette moved in together?

3. Which of Henrietta Lacks's children did not attend her funeral or know she'd died, according to the author in Part Two: Death, Chapter 12?

4. Who were the two British scientists that fused HeLa cells with mouse cells, creating the first human-animal hybrids?

5. What did Joe Lacks change his name to after he converted to Islam in prison?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why were HeLa cells useful in the study of virology and research into diseases? Was the malignant nature of the cells a factor?

2. How do you think Henrietta Lacks's life would have been different if her mother had not died when Henrietta was still a child? Why?

3. What advancements and discoveries were made due to research using HeLa cells from 1960-1966?

4. How were tissue samples obtained following Henrietta Lacks's death? Why were they obtained?

5. How does the author describe the actions of Ethel and Galen in the narrative? What relationship did Ethel and Galen have to the Lackses?

6. What illness was contracted within the Lacks family after Henrietta's death? How were they affected by this illness?

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

8. How does the author describe the setting of "Lacks Town" when she first visited in 1999?

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

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

(see the answer keys)

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