School Test Questions I

Spending over 30 years teaching, I’ve collected several questions used in tests and quizzes for my students. Sure, I’ve used test bank multiple choice and True/False questions to test vocabulary and concept recall, but there are many open-ended and essay questions that I have crafted over the years. These allow the students to synthesize what they’ve learned into new understanding.

I’d like to share some of them with you, my audience. These questions are thought questions, asking the student to apply what they’ve learned to new ways of thinking and to synthesize new knowledge. Yup, a number of these questions did result in student complaints about “You didn’t teach us this!” or “You never said anything about [insert the topic students complain about here]!” All the questions were designed so as not to require a regurgitation of what was previously memorized. The questions were designed so that the student needed to take what was previously learned, make connections among these concepts, and provide a reasonable extrapolation for an answer. That’s how science works, scientists working out in the field or in a lab don’t easily find the answer embedded in a fossil or bubbling in a test tube. They take the data collected and attempt to bring a new understanding between what is already known and what they have discovered.

So here’s your chance to do the same! Don’t worry, after each question, I will provide a reasonable answer for you to check with yours. If you’ve thought of something I haven’t, let me know. We can both be learners! There are two objectives to this exercise: (1) You will learn something about the world and the way scientists work, and (2) You will have some fun!

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Today’s question:

Mongooses, animals similar to weasels and ferrets, are diurnal predatory animals. They were brought to Hawai’i by several sugar-cane growers. The sugar-cane growers hoped that the mongoose would kill the rats that were eating their sugar cane at night. Explain why this plan did not work.

There are several answers acceptable for this question.

The students had been studying the behaviors of animals that are active at different times of the day. Diurnal means active during the day, while nocturnal means active at night. Another term, crepuscular, describes the behavior of animals active during early morning and evening. A direct answer to the problem would require a comparison of the two “time partitioning” behaviors. An acceptable answer would incorporate the concept of “Being diurnal, the mongoose would not be active at night when the rats are feeding upon the sugar cane. The two animals would never, really, encounter each other, so the rat population would be able to feed upon the cane with little to fear from the mongoose.”

There is an alternative answer that would require the students to go beyond the application of behavioral time cycles. Because mongoose had to be imported into the island, you can infer that the animals are not native to Hawai’i. The introduction of non-native species can drastically disrupt the food web interactions of native plants and animals. Mongoose feed on ground-nesting birds, reptiles, and small mammals, as well as sea turtle eggs and young hatchlings. With no native predator for mongoose and with such a variety of available food for the mongoose, they can do considerable damage to the local wildlife. The failure and damage done by the introduction would be an acceptable explanation from the student.

The problem of introduced species is so severe that Hawai’i has set up a state government agency to regulate any introduction of non-native organisms. In the case of mongoose, the Hawai’i Invasive Species Council states: “Hawai’i Injurious Wildlife (HAR 124). It is against Hawai’i State law for any person to introduce, keep or breed any mongoose within the State except by permit from HDOA; permits are not issued for Kaua’i County or the island of Lana’i. Fines for violations are between $250 and $1,000 for each mongoose introduced, kept or bred. HDOA Animal Industry Division Quarantine Rules HAR 142-92.”

For more information about the introduction of mongooses into Hawaii, check out this website: https://dlnr.hawaii.gov/hisc/info/invasive-species-profiles/mongoose/