Ernest Rutherford: How One Life Changed the World

Questions

1. Sequence Which of these happened first?

   Rutherford won a scholarship to study at Cambridge University in England Rutherford won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry Rutherford showed that every atom has a tiny, heavy center called a nucleus Rutherford was made a member of a British society of arts
2. Sequence Which of these happened last?

   Rutherford showed that every atom has a tiny, heavy center called a nucleus Rutherford won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry Rutherford won a scholarship to study at Cambridge University in England Rutherford became head of the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge
3. Details In what year did this happen? "Rutherford became head of the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge."

   1871 1919 1911 1908
4. Timeline math How many years passed between these two events? First: "Rutherford won a scholarship to study at Cambridge University in England." Later: "He became head of the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge."

   24 23 25 34
5. Timeline math About how old was Rutherford in 1919?

   53 43 60 48
6. Vocabulary In the passage, what does "nucleus" mean?

   the remains or traces of a living thing from long ago, preserved in rock a room or building for experiments and research the tiny, heavy center of an atom a substance that trains the body to fight a disease
7. Character traits Which word best describes Ernest Rutherford?

   forgetful curious lazy unkind
8. Evidence Which detail from the passage shows that Rutherford was curious?

   He tested every idea with experiments, even when the results surprised everyone. He designed experiments with special flasks to prove where germs came from. He kept working through months of failed experiments in a hot, cramped laboratory. As a child he collected plants and became known as the 'plant doctor' for helping sick plants grow.
9. Main idea What is this passage mostly about?

   the life and work of George Washington Carver the life and work of Marie Curie the life and work of Ernest Rutherford the life and work of Alexander Graham Bell
10. Text structure How does the author organize the middle of the passage?

    from most important to least important event as a list of steps to follow by comparing two people in time order, from earlier events to later ones
11. Author's purpose Why does the author end with the final paragraph?

    to list every prize the person won to show that his work still matters today to tell a funny story to describe where the person grew up

See all your scores