Name ____________________________________________ Date _____________________________ Period _________
Informational Documents: Research Questions
Standard: Reading Comprehension 2.3 – Generate relevant questions about readings on issues that can be researched.
ESLR: Resourceful Learner
Directions: Read the following two articles. Then, read each multiple-choice question that follows, and circle the letter of the best
response. Don’t forget to use your test-taking strategies!
Local Hands on a New Space Project
Seema Mehta
Crystal capsules prepared by UC Irvine scientist Alexander
McPherson and schoolchildren across the United States are
scheduled to be launched into space this morning on the
shuttle Atlantis, destined for the International Space Station,
a gigantic laboratory taking shape about 200 miles above the
earth.
The station is a 16-nation effort led by the U.S. that should be
completed in 2005. The finished lab, which will house
scientists, should be as big as a football field and would weigh
1 million pounds on the ground.
The growing of protein crystals is the first experiment aboard
the massive lab. Protein crystals, used for new HIV inhibitors,
cancer drugs, nonpolluting laundry detergent, and more,
grow better in low-gravity environment of space.
About 150 of the 500 crystal samples being sent up were
made by student in California, Alabama, Florida, and
Tennessee. A total of 87 California students and teachers
participated, most in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
“Our intention is not just to use the space station as a lab, but
as a scientific classroom for the United States,” McPherson
said.
McPherson said student participation is a key element,
because today’s students are tomorrow’s scientists. He traces
his own interest in science to his youth.
the samples into thermoslike containers that are kept cool
with liquid nitrogen. Once in orbit, the nitrogen naturally
boils off, thawing the samples and allowing the protein
crystals to begin growing, according to the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration.
The crystals will remain in orbit until October, when they will
be retrieved by another manned space shuttle.
Once the crystals are brought back to earth, scientists will use
X-rays to deduce the detailed atomic structure of the
molecules.
Such studies have significant implications for humans because
information gathered from the crystals can ultimately be
used for manufacturing pharmaceuticals1 and to learn more
about human ailments such as genetic defects2.
“Those protein molecules are extremely important because
they are the major biochemical elements of all living tissue,”
said McPherson, who has been involved with NADA protein
crystal projects since 1984. He received the agency’s
Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal in 1999. “We can
use our knowledge of those to design new drugs.”
The information also has application in the manufacturing of
insecticides3, herbicides4, and industrial products, such as
laundry detergent that use enzymes5.
-
A Mission to Excite Kids About Science
From the Los Angels Times, September
8, 2000
“Since I grew up in Orlando, I saw all the early missions. I’ve
been following the space program since Alan Shepard went
up in the early 1960s,” he said.
But today, “the students are simply not going into science
and mathematics – they think it’s too hard or intimidating or
not interesting,” he said. “We’re trying to turn that around.
Science is the most interesting thing in the world.”
Researchers and the students, working under McPherson’s
direction, sealed chemicals into small tubes that were then
frozen to minus 320 degrees Fahrenheit. Scientists placed
1
Pharmaceuticals: n. medicines
Genetic defects: disorders carried in the body’s genes that
can be passed from parent to child
3
Insecticides: n. substances used to kill insects.
4
Herbicides: n. substances used to destroy plants, especially
weeds.
5
Enzymes: n. here, synthetic proteins, used to create kinds
of chemical reactions.
2
1. Which research question is MOST relevant to
the information in the article?
A. What have scientists deduced about the
atomic structure of the molecules of a
protein crystal?
B. What techniques do master teachers
use to make science and math more
appealing to high school students?
C. What is the history of the U.S. space
program?
D. Who is Alan Shepard?
2. Which research question would probably yield
the MOST relevant information about future
experiments planned for the ISS?
A. What is the likelihood of future
experimentation in space?
B. How profitable is experimentation on
the ISS?
C. What do the scientists hope to learn
from space experiments?
D. What are the research plans for the ISS
for the next two years?
3. Which of the following research questions
about protein crystals is the MOST narrow
and focused?
A. Why are the protein crystals important?
B. What are the results of some recent
experiments in space?
C. How will the information gained from
protein-crystal research be used
practically?
D. What are the different types of crystals,
and how does each grow?
4. If you were using a search engine on the
Internet to try to find out more about the
research experiment described in this article,
which search term would probably be MOST
helpful?
A. UC Irvine
B. Space science
C. International Space Station
D. Exceptional Scientific Achievement
Medal
5. To find out the design of the ISS (what it looks
like), which resource would be the MOST
helpful?
A. a recent magazine article about
experiments aboard the ISS
B. the ISS NASA-sponsored Web site.
C. an encyclopedia article about Alexander
McPherson
D. a book about the history of U.S. space
program published in 1997
6. For conducting further Internet research on
the ISS, which kind of Web site would probably
provide the MOST reliable source of
information?
A. a government-agency site on the U.S.
space program
B. a former astronaut’s personal Web site
C. the Web site of a graduate student in
molecular science, the subject of which
is growing crystals in space
D. a popular author’s Web site, the subject
of which is space exploration and
experiments in space