Project Hail Mary

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. What is the primary mission of Ryland Grace in Project Hail Mary?

A) Establish a colony for humans to inhabit

B) Enlist the help of new forms of extraterrestrial life

C) Develop sustainable energy sources

D) Save humanity from an alien threat

2. What is the primary purpose of first-person, present-tense narration for both the main timeline and flashbacks?

A) It establishes that the story could realistically be happening today.

B) It orients the reader to the world as Grace orients to his environment.

C) It blurs the lines between the past and present, confusing the reader as Grace would be disoriented.

D) It presents the motif of competence under extreme pressure.

3. Which of the following details best illustrates the theme The Justifiable Use of Advanced Science for Morally Complex Purposes?

A) Using Astrophage to power and insulate the Hail Mary

B) Paving a quarter of the Sahara to breed Astrophage

C) Breeding nitrogen-resistant Taumoeba

D) Putting the crew in comas during the journey to Tau Ceti

4. In addition to the reference to a last-ditch, desperate play in American football, what is the significance of the mission’s name?

A) It alludes to the name of the designer of the ship.

B) It is meant to appease a deity.

C) It is a reference to a Catholic prayer.

D) It is a mark of respect for the US President.

5. Of which noble gas is the alien cylinder inexplicably made?

A) Neon

B) Argon

C) Xenon

D) Helium

6. How does Grace communicate with Rocky, the alien from the Blip-A?

A) Through a series of hand gestures and improvised sign language

B) Via telepathic communication

C) Through written messages and drawings

D) Via a translation software program

7. Which is NOT one of the ways Astrophage actually helps humans?

A) Astrophage recognizes its homeworld and leads them to Adrian.

B) Astrophage shields the astronauts from cosmic radiation.

C) Astrophage becomes a source of clean, renewable energy.

D) Astrophage becomes the fuel for near-speed-of-light travel.

8. What is panspermia?

A) The theory of gravity as a curvature of spacetime caused by mass and energy

B) The theory that life originated independently on different planets or celestial bodies

C) The theory that life is “seeded” by a common ancestor at the microbial level

D) The theory that fundamental particles are not point-like but tiny, vibrating strings of energy

9. Which theme is best represented by the following passage from Chapter 14?

“When the alternative is death to your entire species, things are very easy. No moral dilemmas, no weighing what’s best for whom. Just single-minded focus on getting this project working.”

A) Survival, Sacrifice, and the Utilitarian Good

B) The Justifiable Use of Advanced Science for Morally Complex Purposes

C) The Role of Speculation and Discovery and the Danger of Assumptions

D) The Importance of Cultural Relativism in Collaboration

10. What are the names of the beetles designed by Steve Hatch?

A) John, Paul, George, and Ringo

B) Harry, Niall, Zayn, Louis, and Liam

C) Freddie, Brian, Roger, and John

D) Mick, Keith, Brian, Bill, Ian, and Charlie

11. What do the deaths of the crew (Yao, Ilyukhina, Dubois, and Shapiro) have in common?

A) They died as a direct result of Astrophage.

B) They died because of luck or chance.

C) They died aboard the Hail Mary.

D) They died by suicide.

12. Which of the following LEAST describes Eva Stratt?

A) Motivated

B) Cynical

C) Optimistic

D) Pragmatic

13. Which of the following does NOT reflect the dangers of assumptions in scientific progress?

A) The beetles are each equipped with a terabyte of data storage for redundancy.

B) Grace nearly kills Rocky when he tries to blow soot from his radiator organ.

C) Rocky’s crewmates died of radiation sickness in space.

D) Nitrogen-resistant Taumoeba evolve to escape xenonite.

14. How does the character of Ryland Grace evolve throughout the story?

A) He becomes more selfish and isolated.

B) He loses hope and gives up on his mission.

C) He gains superhuman powers and abilities.

D) He becomes more empathetic and courageous.

15. The novel ends with Grace teaching a class of Eridian children. Which idea best represents the significance of this ending?

A) It symbolizes the potential for future cooperation and knowledge.

B) It marks the beginning of a war between Earth and Erid.

C) It demonstrates the power of advanced alien technology.

D) It ensures the survival of the Eridian civilization.

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. How does food in the novel represent biological and cultural importance?

2. Grace insists that Stratt use only coma-resistant astronauts for the mission. How is this ironic? How does it foreshadow future events?