George’s Secret Key to the Universe by Stephen and Lucy Hawking
Chapter 1
1. How does George acquire a pet pig? p. 3 His grandma gives it
to him for Christmas
2. Why is George’s mom annoyed by Freddy the pig? p.5 Freddy
often escaped and destroyed his mom’s vegetable patch and
flowers
3. Why is “Next Door” forbidden territory? p. 11 The old man
who lived there disappeared and now there have been
squatters there in the past
Chapter 2
1. What did George encounter when he first entered Next Door?
P.17, 19 Freddy the Pig and a strange girl named Annie.
2. What does Eric show George? P. 23-24 a ruler and how static
electricity effects water
3. How does Eric define science? P. 26 “explaining the world around
us using our senses, our intelligence, and our powers of
observation”
Chapters 3 & 4
1. Who was the previous owner of Eric’s telescope and why is he
important? P. 32 Galileo, he discovered that the Earth and all
the other planets orbit the sun
2. How is Eric’s computer different from the ones George uses at
school? P. 37 Eric’s has artificial intelligence (talks) and is
named ‘Cosmos’; it is the most powerful computer in the world
3. Which of Cosmos’ keys is the ‘secret key to the universe’?
p. 42 Enter
Chapter 5
1. Which reaction causes a star to be ‘born’? p. 50 a nuclear fusion
reaction
2. What does Eric ask George to keep secret? P. 56 Cosmos
Chapters 6 & 7
1. What is Dr. Reeper’s warning to George? P. 65 “Be very careful.”
2. Who saves George from Ringo and the other bullies? P. 74-75
Annie dressed up as a tiny astronaut
Chapters 8 & 9
1. What does George think is the “most interesting thing in the
universe”? p. 82 Comets
2. Which of the following does Cosmos say is “out of service as a
planet”? A) Jupiter B) Neptune C) Mars D) Pluto
Page 86 D) Pluto
Chapters 10 & 11
1. Who grabs Ringo’s ear? Page 91 Dr. Reeper
2. What lie do the bullies tell Dr. Reeper? Page 92 They were
returning George’s lunchbox
3. What is a comet made of? Page 96 Rock, ice and snow
Chapters 12 & 13
1. What did George stuff into his pocket? P. 109 a rock from
outer space
2. What is another name for the “cosmic family of our sun”?
p. 112-113 The Solar System
3. How many moons does Saturn have? P. 113 At least five
4. What begins to happen to the comet? P. 119, 121 Little
geysers of gas and dust erupt from holes in its surface
Chapters 14 & 15
1. What do George and Annie encounter after seeing
Jupiter while riding the comet? P. 123 An asteroid storm
2. Who saves George and Annie from certain death in the
asteroid storm? P. 127, 128 Eric
3. What is George and Annie’s punishment for misusing
Cosmos and exploring outer space alone? P. 132-133
They were grounded and banned from seeing each other
4. Where does George’s mom find the George and Annie?
P. 142 in the pigsty
Chapters 16 & 17
1. Whose house does Ringo and has gang select as their final
stop when pulling Halloween pranks? P. 150-151 Dr.
Reeper’s
2. What does Dr. Reeper want the boys to do for him?
p. 154 deliver a letter to Eric’s house
Chapters 18 & 19
1. What does Ringo see in Dr. Reeper’s home laboratory? P. 159161 a strange contraption involving a volcano and a large glass
ball
2. Why is Dr. Reeper conducting this experiment? P. 165 He is
searching for planets around stars other than our sun that are
habitable
3. Why does George enter the science competition? P. 172 He
wants to win a computer
4. What happens to the space rock in George’s pocket? P. 173 it
disintegrates
1.
2.
3.
4.
Chapters 20 & 21
Where does George go after school? P. 180 to Eric’s house
Who is at Eric’s house already? P. 182-184 Scientists
George asks questions about which planet at the meeting? P. 186
Mars
What does Eric do after he reads the letter? P. 198-199 suits up
and goes into outer space
Chapters 22 & 23
1. Why doesn’t Cosmos know where Eric has gone? P. 202 He went
into an undiscovered part of the Universe
2. How does George warn Eric? P. 210 He goes into space to tell
him the letter is from Dr. Reeper
Chapters 24 & 25
1. What is Dr. Reeper’s first name? p. 213 Graham
2. What does Eric want George to do? P. 218 Find his new book
about black holes
3. What has happened to Cosmos? P. 220-221 Ringo and his gang
stole the computer from Eric’s house
Chapters 26 & 27
1. What does George learn from Eric’s Black Holes book that gives
him hope of rescuing Eric? P. 7 (before 240) You can get out of a
black hole
2. What does George see when he spies through Dr. Reeper’s
window? P. 243 Reeper’s lab and that he has Cosmos
Chapters 28 & 29
1. How do George and Annie escape from school? P. 254-255 They
climb through the coatroom window to the outside
2. What does Annie’s mother teach? P. 257 Music
3. How do they save Eric from the black hole? P. 269 They
reconstruct him with help from Cosmos
Chapters 30 & 31
1. Why are Dr. Reeper and Eric no longer friends? P. 277 Dr.
Reeper tried to take Cosmos for himself when they studied
physics together at the university
2. What is the title of George’s science competition presentation?
P. 284 My Secret Key to the Universe
Chapters 32 & 33
1. Who won the science competition? P. 290 George
2. Who surprised George at the competition? P. 292 His father