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A Plague of Frogs--Study Questions CHAPTER 2
- As you saw in the introduction to the book, the author uses similes often in his writing. As you read this chapter, make a list of the pages on which you find similes. Then pick three of them and
explain what they mean.
- Among the first frogs reported, where were all the abnormalities located?
- Read the description of the Ney pond as seen by Judy Helgen. Pick three words from her description that help you see what the pond was like.
- What explanation for the deformed frogs immediately occurred to Helgen as soon as she saw the pond?
- What did Helgen believe would happen to the deformed frogs? What evidence can you cite for this?
- What position did Robert McKinnell hold? What was his area of expertise?
- In what location did McKinnell find the fewest number of deformed frogs? In what area did he find the most? Why do you think this was true?
- What was the first explanation to occur to the researchers?
- n the table below, chart the similarities and differences between the Ney pond and the Kramer pond, by putting a check mark in the box beneath the characteristics.
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Pond
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Man Made
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Natural
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Recently Excavated
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Old
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Frogs collected all young
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Ney
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Kramer
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Do you think the ponds were very similar? How could you express this quantitatively (with numbers)?
- What was the first abnormality that McKinnell discovered that was not related to the legs of a frog? Describe the abnormality.
- How do you feel at this point about the frog discoveries? Write a brief paragraph explaining how you think you would have felt if you were one
of the people who was looking at these deformed frogs for the first time.
One of the main jobs of researchers is to collect data that they can later analyze to find an answer to their problem. Use the information in Chapters 1 and 2 of
this book to fill in a data table that will describe this problem quantitatively. Use this chart throughout the next two chapters to add data when possible. Some
information is filled in to get you started.
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Collection No.
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Site
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Date
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Normal Frogs
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Deformed Frogs
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1
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Ney's Farm
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8/8/95
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
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8
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9
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10
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