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Freakonomics: First Three Chapters

Total questions: 45

Worksheet time: 23mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

INTRO: In the media, what term is given to the new, more dangerous violent criminal in the 1990s?

a)

Enhanced threat.

b)

Superpredator.

c)

Droog

d)

Hyperstatistic

2.

INTRO: In New York City, what did analysts credit with the precipitous drop in violent crime?

a)

Innovative policing

b)

Number cooking

c)

Community development

d)

After-school programs

3.

Why does Levitt believe there are few violent criminals in the end of the twentieth century?

a)

They were incarcerated at a younger age

b)

They have been better educated

c)

They were never born

d)

They had less access to weapons

4.

INTRO: How much longer does a realtor keep his/her house on the market and how much higher is the sale price?

a)

10 days; $10,000

b)

150 days; $150,000

c)

7 days; $10,000

d)

10 days; $1,000

5.

INTRO: define "truism."

a)

A statement that is obviously true and says nothing new or enticing.

b)

A new surprising true statement.

c)

A statement that is obviously true and adds facts.

d)

The religion of truth.

6.

INTRO: What conclusion did Levitt draw about the relationship between money spent and political victories?

a)

The candidate with the most money to spend will win the election.

b)

Not enough money is spent on political campaigns.

c)

Front-runners and incumbents always spend more money.

d)

The amount of money spent by candidates hardly matters at all.

7.

INTRO: Which of the following is NOT a fundamental idea of this book?

a)

Incentives are the cornerstone of modern life.

b)

Conventional wisdom is often wrong.

c)

Dramatic effects often have predictable causes.

d)

Experts use their informational advantage to serve their own agenda.

8.

INTRO: Adam Smith's true subject was the friction between:

a)

individual desire and societal norms

b)

economic forces and political implications

c)

morality and religion

d)

Sumo wrestlers and teachers

9.

CH 1: What resulted when a day-care center fined tardy parents?

a)

The number of late pickups decreased.

b)

The number of late pickups increased.

10.

CH 1: Which of the following is NOT one of the types of incentives mentioned?

a)

economic

b)

social

c)

moral

d)

institutional

11.

CH 1: Which of the following was the brazen way a teacher cheated in Oakland (and was consequently fired)?

a)

She wrote the answers on the chalkboard.

b)

She wrote the answers on a cheat sheet.

c)

She changed the answers on her students' exams.

12.

CH 1: What was the first thing the algorithm looked for as it studied Chicago test data?

a)

blocks of identical answers

b)

trends in specific classrooms

c)

ten bright students giving correct answers

13.

CH 1: Which of the following is another indication of cheating?

a)

Massive growth one year followed by a massive decline

b)

Variety in overall class performance.

c)

Growth from year to year

14.

CH 1: What are the characteristics of a cheating teacher?

a)

Male

b)

Female

c)

Younger and less qualified

d)

Older and with more experience

15.

CH 1: Which of the following is an unforgivable form of cheating in sports?

a)

Cheating to win

b)

"If you're not cheating, you're not trying."

c)

Cheating to lose.

16.

CH 1: Levitt seems to prove that cheating occurs in Sumo. However, he states a surprising reality in Japan. Which of the following is NOT true?

a)

No formal disciplinary action has ever been taken against a Japanese sumo wrestler for match rigging.

b)

Officials from the Japanese Sumo Association dismiss charges as fabrications.

c)

People tend to get defensive when the integrity of their national sport is impugned.

d)

Found cheaters in Sumo are publicly executed.

17.

CH 1: Research shows that people will pay different amounts for the same item depending on who is providing it. Which of the following does NOT support this claim?

a)

A thirsty sunbather would pay more for a beer delivered from a resort than the same beer from a shabby grocery store.

b)

A college student will spend up to five hours scouring the internet for the cheapest flight home for the holidays.

c)

A young couple would rather spend more money on a filet mignon at a fancy restaurant than cook the meal at home.

18.

CH 1: Bagel data suggested that personal mood affected honesty. Which of the following was NOT true?

a)

Unseasonably pleasant weather inspires people to pay more money.

b)

Christmas produced a drop in payment rates.

c)

After 9/11 payment dropped.

19.

CH 1: Office morale was a big factor. Which of the following is NOT true?

a)

An office is more honest when the employees like their boss.

b)

An office is more honest when the employees like their work.

c)

An office is more honest when the employees work independently.

d)

Employees further up the corporate ladder cheat more.

20.

CH 1: Can any man resist the temptation of evil if he knew his acts could not be witnessed?

a)

According to Feldman, Socrates, and Smith, the answer is yes, at least 87 percent of the time.

b)

No.

21.

CH 2: Kuklos is Greek for...

a)

Circle

b)

Square

c)

Hypotenuse

d)

Oval

22.

CH 2: In the beginning, Klan activities were NOT said to be...

a)

Harmless midnight pranks

b)

Riding horses through the countryside while draped in white sheets and pillowcase hoods.

c)

Torture

23.

CH 2: After the Klan lay dormant, what production or event inspired its return?

a)

WW1

b)

WW2

c)

D. W. Griffith's film Birth of a Nation

24.

CH 2: In the 1920s, the Klan was no longer confied to the South and it concerned itself with many more. Which group is NOT one the Klan hated?

a)

Jews

b)

Catholics

c)

Disruptors of the status quo

d)

Irish

25.

CH 2: Why did the Klan lay low during WWII? Choose TWO answers.

a)

A number of internal scandals occurred.

b)

The unity of the country trumped the Klan's message of separatism.

c)

Klan members were all fighting in the war.

d)

All Klan members were in jail.

26.

CH 2: Which city was known as the Imperial City and was headquarters to the KKK?

a)

Atlanta

b)

Louisville

c)

Memphis

d)

Milwaukee

27.

CH 2: What was the name of the 30 year old man with "the bloodlines of a Klansman but a temperament that ran opposite" who infiltrated the Klan?

a)

Stetson Kennedy

b)

John F Kennedy

c)

Cowboy Hat Kennedy

d)

Samuel L. Jackson

28.

CH 2: According to the chart, how many lynchings occurred from 1950-1959?

a)

119

b)

31

c)

6

d)

3

29.

CH 2: Which question is NOT rhetorical for Stetson's strategy to defeat the Klan?

a)

Wouldn't it be nice to get the Klan's passwords and the rest of its secrets into the hands of kids all across the country?

b)

What better way to defang a secret society than to infantilize its most secret information?

c)

What better strategy than to make public its secrets?

d)

Why not intimidate Klan members into submission?

30.

CH 2: Why do cars immediately lose value after purchase?

a)

The only person who might logically resell a brand-new car is someone who found the car to be a lemon.

b)

Even one owner can cause damage to an engine or transmission.

c)

The new car smell will have gone away.

31.

CH 2: What's the best strategy to sell a car that IS a lemon?

a)

Wait one year and let the lemon blend in with other perfectly good year-old cars.

b)

Remove and replace the engine.

c)

Take the loss.

32.

CH 2: Asymmetry can be described as each of the following EXCEPT

a)

One party in a transaction to have better information.

b)

An expert typically knows more than a consumer.

c)

The internet shrinking the gap between experts and the public.

33.

CH 2: Which of the following real estate terms correlates to a higher sales price?

a)

Fantastic

b)

Spacious

c)

!

d)

Great Neighborhood

e)

Granite

34.

CH 2: Which of the following was NOT an exaggeration mentioned in the chapter that typically showed up in online dating profiles?

a)

Claimed to earn more than $200,000 a year

b)

Reported to be an inch taller

c)

Women said to weigh twenty pounds less

d)

More women claimed to be blonde.

e)

Reported higher education

35.

CH 2: According to the chapter what is the most certain way to fail on an online dating site?

a)

Not posting a picture

b)

Lying about your weight

c)

Lying about your height

d)

Starting every conversation with "Hey!"

36.

CH 3: Which of the following is NOT associated with conventional wisdom?

a)

Associating truth with convenience

b)

What most closely accords with self-interest and personal well-being

c)

What promises best to avoid awkward effort or unwelcome dislocation in life

d)

Conventional wisdom is always true.

37.

CH 3: Which of the following is NOT an example of advertising creating conventional wisdom?

a)

Listerine is necessary for relationships

b)

Shaved legs are beautiful

c)

Fruits and vegetables are healthy

38.

CH 3: Why did thousands of crime reports disappear or downgrade in Atlanta?

a)

The city needed to shed its violent image before the upcoming Olympics.

b)

Gang violence was down.

c)

The Board of Directors intimidated the chief of police.

39.

CH 3: What band had Sudhir Venkatesh been following as he studied how young people form their identities?

a)

Grateful Dead

b)

Taylor Swift

c)

Young Jeezy

d)

Metallica

40.

CH 3: When Venkatesh surprised young teenage drug dealers, why were the teenagers scared?

a)

They thought he was a spy from a rival gang.

b)

Venkatesh had long hair.

c)

Venkatesh was Indian.

d)

They thought he had a gun.

41.

CH 3: How much money do the members of the Board of Directors make?

a)

$500,000 a year

b)

$100,000 a year

c)

$3.30 an hour

d)

$7 an hour

42.

CH 3: What are the odds of members of a gang dying?

a)

1 in 4

b)

1 in 200

c)

1 in 1,000

43.

CH 3: According to the book, what did crack cocaine have in common with nylon stockings?

a)

Both took an expensive product that was in short supply and made it more affordable and more accessible.

b)

Both can be used in murders.

c)

Both can kill you.

d)

Both are expensive.

44.

CH 3: Which is NOT an example of progress for black Americans in the four decades after WWII mentioned in the chapter?

a)

Civil Rights legislation passed

b)

The black-white income gap was shrinking

c)

The gap between black and white children's test scores was shrinking

d)

Black infant deaths were decreasing

e)

Drug use lowered.

45.

Which author is the economist?

a)

Steven D. Levitt

b)

Stephen J. Dubner