WorksheetsBrain Science - Sub Unit 1
Total questions: 28
Worksheet time: 14mins
Phineas was unconscious for a long period of time after the accident.
True
False
Phineas has survived the accident, but there is still danger. Select the portion of the text that reveals a possible risk that Phineas faces.
Here Phineas has a stroke of luck. His is an "open brain" injury.
The hole on top of his head gives his battered brain swelling room.
The bad news is that his brain is open to infection.
At first, though, he does remarkably well.
The bleeding from his forehead slows and then stops within twenty-four hours.
Which statement BEST characterizes doctors' understanding of infection in Phineas's time?
They knew everything doctors know today.
They knew that infection existed but called it "sepsis".
They believed that infection was caused by bacteria.
They believed that balanced "humors" created infection.
Bacteria were first seen using microscopes sometime in the _____.
1500s
1600s
1700s
1800s
Which paragraph BEST explains why Dr. Harlow couldn't just give Phineas antibiotic pills.
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 28
Why does Dr. Harlow declare that "Phineas fully recovered" (29)?
Harlow doesn't want to make Phineas feel bad and disrupt his recovery.
Phineas can walk, count, dress himself, and speak mostly like a normal person.
Phineas didn't suffer any lasting damage from the accident.
Harlow doesn't notice some of Phineas's unusual symptoms.
Which word or phrase in the passage BEST shows that Dr. Bigelow is interested in Phineas's case?
As soon as Phineas leaves for home, Dr. Harlow writes a short report for the Boston Medical & Surgical Journal. Most doctors (ignore) Dr. Harlow's article. The few who read it (don't believe it). How could a man survive such an injury, let alone make a "complete recovery"? But one Boston doctor is (intrigued). He writes to Harlow for information and (urges) the Vermont doctor to back up his case by collecting formal statements from eyewitnesses in Cavendish. The letter is from Henry J. Bigelow, professor of surgery at the Harvard Medical College.
ignore
don't believe it
intrigued
urges
Dr. Harlow compares the new Phineas with ________.
a criminal
a politician
a child
an animal
What seems to mostly drive Dr. Bigelow's interest in Phineas's case?
the possibility of making money
the opportunity to make new discoveries
his personal friendship with Dr. Harlow
a desire to disprove Dr. Harlow's claims
All of the doctors in Boston are convinced of Phineas's story when they meet him.
True
False
Which statement BEST represents the Boston doctors' understanding of the brain?
They have not studied the human brain at all.
They have studied the human brain but they have not developed any theories about it.
They have studied the human brain and developed theories about it.
They have studied the human brain and proven a specific theory about it.
Who first suggested that the brain is responsible for thinking, feeling, and the will?
The ancient Greeks
Franz Joseph Gall
Dr. Henry Bigelow
The team of scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital
In the late 1800s, doctors knew that an injury to the spinal cord or brain stem could cause ________.
personality changes
eating problems
paralysis
According to the passage, why was Phineas so interesting to doctors?
His injury was at the rear of the brain, which doctors did not know much about.
Each group of doctors thought they could use his survival to support their own theories.
The doctors could make a lot of money by showing Phineas's skull and tamping iron to the public.
Phineas could explain to them which of their theories was correct.
Which statement is MOST true, according to the passage?
The Localizers were right and the Whole Brainers were wrong.
The Whole Brainers were right and the Localizers were wrong.
The Whole Brainers and Localizers were both completely wrong.
The Whole Brainers and the Localizers both got some things right and some things wrong.
Phineas's life after he left Boston is _________.
well-understood
not completely clear
described in his detailed diary
completely unknown
According to the passage, what was P.T. Barnum famous for?
He was a brain scientist.
He was a railroad owner.
He was a showman who ran a museum.
He was a stagecoach operator.
What do some researchers believe Phineas did for work after his accident?
He went back to working on the railroad.
He drove a stagecoach in Chile.
He drove a boat in New Hampshire.
He worked as an armed guard.
In paragraph 11, the author says that Phineas "washes up on his family's doorstep." What does this most likely mean?
Phineas showed up unexpectedly.
Phineas failed in his career.
Phineas fell into the ocean waters and was washed ashore.
Phineas cleaned his clothing on the front porch.
According to paragraph 21, the Whole Brainers and the Localizers/Phrenologists were both ______ about brain science.
completely correct
partly incorrect
completely incorrect
Why does the author say that "being social is a hard skill to measure" (28)
Most people dislike speaking with others.
Social behaviors are very complex and involve many different skills.
Many people have not been taught the correct way to socialize by their parents.
People's personalities vary a lot.
What problem do people with the same frontal love damage as Phineas often have?
They need special rules to play cards.
They have trouble making decisions about risk.
Their emotional responses are always predictable.
They have the same personality as before their injury.
Dr. Harlow's guess about the location of Phineas's injury would have been more accurate if ________.
he had the iron rod
he had a better calculator.
he had advanced scans of Phineas's brain.
The computer program, Brainvox, calculates _______ different possible paths of the tamping iron through Phineas's brain.
6
15
16
60
How does the team know which path is the right one?
They use historical evidence and medical knowledge to rule out every path but one.
They make their best guess based on the condition of Phineas's skull.
There were only one way the tamping iron would have fit into the skull.
They picked the one that was most like Dr. Harlow's original drawing of Phineas's head.
The author thinks that adolescents are sometimes mocked because they _______ than adults.
Look different
act differently
hold different opinions
How does the author define adolescence?
A social condition that changes with culture and educatin
A social problem only found among humans
A side effect of our education system and our coddling of young people
A biological period of development found across cultures and even species
Why does the author believe that other animal species also go through a period of adolescence?
She cites research that shows a period of risk-taking an novelty-seeking behavior in some animals.
She explains her personal experience with pets that she has owned over the years.
She describes experiments that she has personally conducted on teenage wombats.
She doesn't provide any specific reasons, but only speculates that they do.
