Extract Based Questions: The Making of a Scientist | English Class 10 PDF Download

Extract-based questions are of the multiple-choice variety, and students must select the correct option for each question by carefully reading the passage.

A. Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow.

At the age of twenty two, a former ‘scout of the year’ excited the scientific world with a new theory on how cells work. Richard H. Ebright and his college roommate explained the theory in an article in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science.

Q1. Why was Richard H. Ebright’s new theory significant to the scientific world?
Ans. Richard H. Ebright’s new theory was important because it gave a new way to understand how cells function. He made this discovery when he was just twenty two years old, showing his great talent and adding useful information to science.

Q2.  The information in the extract suggests that Richard H. Ebright was a _____.
Ans.  genius / prodigy/ innovator/ researcher/ visionary/ scholar or any other similar response. 

Q3. How could Richard’s youth influence his scientific ideas?
Ans.  His youth allowed him to be open to trying new things.

B. Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow.

An only child, Ebright grew up north of Reading, Pennsylvania. “There wasn’t much I could do there,” he said. “I certainly couldn’t play football or baseball with a team of one. But there was one thing I could do — collect things.”

Q1. Why did Richard H. Ebright start collecting things as a child? 
Ans. Richard H. Ebright started collecting things because he was an only child and there wasn’t much to do in his hometown. Collecting was an activity he could do alone, which kept him engaged and interested.

Q2.  Richard’s enjoyment in collecting things, despite limited options, shows his strong sense of _______.
Ans.  curiosity/ imagination/ initiative/ adaptability or any other similar 

Q3.  How might Richard’s environment have shaped his hobbies and interests?
Ans.  Limited activities led him to explore and collect different items.

C. Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow.

“I was his only companion until he started school,” his mother said. “After that I would bring home friends for him. But at night we just did things together. Richie was my whole life after his father died when Richie was in third grade.”

Q1. Why was Richie so important to his mother after his father died? 
Ans. Richie was important to his mother because he was her only companion after his father’s death. She dedicated her time and life to him, ensuring he had friends and spending evenings together to fill the void left by his father.

Q2. After his father’s death, Richie’s mother focused entirely on him, showing her profound sense of _______.
Ans. devotion/ dedication/ commitment/ support/ care/ loyalty

Q3. What did Richard’s mother mean by “Richie was my whole life”?
Ans. Richard became her main focus after his father’s death.

D. Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow.

“That probably would have been the end of my butterfly collecting,” he said. “But then my mother got me a children’s book called The Travels of Monarch X.” That book, which told how monarch butterflies migrate to Central America, opened the world of science to the eager young collector.

Q1. Why was “The Travels of Monarch X” important for Richard Ebright? Answer in about 40 words.
Ans. “The Travels of Monarch X” was important for Richard Ebright because it taught him about butterfly migration. This book made him more interested in butterflies and science, inspiring him to continue his butterfly collecting and research.

Q2. The book “The Travels of Monarch X” changed Richard’s hobby into a more serious pursuit, showing the power of _______.
Ans. inspiration/ motivation/ influence/ encouragement/ enlightenment/ insight

Q3. How can a single book profoundly impact a person’s interests?
Ans. It introduces new ideas that deeply resonate and inspire change.

E. Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow.

“Eventually I began to lose interest in tagging butterflies. It’s tedious and there’s not much feedback,” Ebright said. “In all the time I did it,” he laughed, “only two butterflies I had tagged were recaptured — and they were not more than seventy five miles from where I lived.”

Q1. Why did Richard Ebright start to lose interest in tagging butterflies?
Ans. Richard Ebright started to lose interest in tagging butterflies because it was tedious and there was little feedback. He found it discouraging that only two of his tagged butterflies were recaptured, and they were not far from where he lived.

Q2. Richard’s experience with tagging butterflies shows the importance of _______ in scientific research.
Ans. feedback/ response/ input/ evaluation or any other similar response. 

Q3. Why did Richard find tagging butterflies tedious?
Ans. There was little feedback and few recaptured butterflies.

F. Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow.

Already the competitive spirit that drives Richard Ebright was appearing. “I knew that for the next year’s fair I would have to do a real experiment,” he said. “The subject I knew most about was the insect work I’d been doing in the past several years.”

Q1. Why did Richard Ebright decide to focus on a real experiment for the next year’s fair? Answer in about 40 words.
Ans. Richard Ebright decided to focus on a real experiment because he realised that to compete successfully, he needed to conduct meaningful research.

Q2. The information in the extract suggests that Richard Ebright was motivated by a _____spirit.
Ans. competitive/ driven/ ambitious/ determined/ tenacious or any other similar response. 

Q3. Why did Richard feel the need to conduct a real experiment?
Ans. To compete seriously and improve his chances at the science fair.

G. Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow.

As a high school junior, Richard Ebright continued his advanced experiments on the monarch pupa. That year his project won first place at the International Science Fair and gave him another chance to work in the army laboratory during the summer.

Q1. How did Richard Ebright’s success at the International Science Fair impact his opportunities? Answer in about 40 words.
Ans. Richard Ebright’s success at the International Science Fair won him first place. It also gave him another chance to work in the army lab during the summer. This helped him get more research experience and learn more about science.

Q2. The information in the extract suggests that Richard Ebright’s win gave him a _____ opportunity.
Ans. valuable/ rare/ important/ desired/ progressive or any other similar response

Q3. How did winning the science fair impact Richard’s future opportunities?
Ans.  It earned him valuable lab experience during the summer.

H. Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow.

Ebright and his college roommate, James R. Wong, worked all that night drawing pictures and constructing plastic models of molecules to show how it could happen. Together they later wrote the paper that explained the theory.

Q1. Why did Richard Ebright and James R. Wong work all night on their project? Answer in about 40 words.
Ans. Richard Ebright and James R. Wong worked all night to draw pictures and build models of molecules. They wanted to clearly show and explain their new theory, which they later wrote about in a scientific paper.

Q2. The information in the extract suggests that Richard Ebright and James R. Wong were _____.
Ans. collaborators/ partners/ teammates/ associates/ colleagues/ coauthors

Q3. What did Ebright and Wong create to explain their theory?
Ans. They created pictures and plastic models of molecules.

I. Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow.

“Richard would always give that extra effort,” Mr Weiherer said. “What pleased me was, here was this person who put in three or four hours at night doing debate research besides doing all his research with butterflies and his other interests.

Q1. Why was Mr. Weiherer pleased with Richard Ebright’s efforts? Answer in about 40 words.
Ans. Mr. Weiherer was pleased with Richard because he put in extra effort. Richard spent three to four hours at night doing debate research while also working on butterfly research and other interests, showing his dedication and hard work.

Q2. The information in the extract suggests that Richard Ebright was very _____.
Ans. dedicated/ diligent/ committed/ passionate/ persistent/ industrious

Q3. What extra effort did Richard Ebright put in at night?
Ans. He did three to four hours of debate research.

J. Read the following extracts carefully and answer the questions that follow.

“Richard was competitive,” Mr Weiherer continued, “but not in a bad sense.” He explained, “Richard wasn’t interested in winning for winning’s sake or winning to get a prize. Rather, he was winning because he wanted to do the best job he could. For the right reasons, he wants to be the best.”

Q1.  Why did Mr. Weiherer believe Richard Ebright’s competitiveness was positive? Answer in about 40 words.
Ans. Mr. Weiherer believed Richard’s competitiveness was positive because Richard aimed to do his best, not just to win prizes. He wanted to achieve excellence for the right reasons, showing a genuine desire to improve and succeed.

Q2. The information in the extract suggests that Richard was competitive for the _____.
Ans. right reasons.

Q3. Why did Richard want to win?
Ans. He wanted to do the best job possible.