Quiz Extinction Douglas Preston

Extinction by Douglas Preston: Full-Book Quiz

About This Quiz

Test your understanding of Extinction by Douglas Preston. This quiz covers the entire novel—from the opening epigraphs to the afterword. You'll find questions on plot sequence, character motivation, theme and symbolism, and synthesis. Each question is based directly on the chapter summaries and evidence provided.

Quiz Questions

Plot and Sequence (8 questions)

1. (Multiple choice) What de-extinct animals do Olivia and Mark first see during their honeymoon at Erebus Resort?

  • A. Glyptodons
  • B. Woolly mammoths
  • C. Irish elk
  • D. Giant ground sloths

2. (Short answer) Inside the woven grass ornaments discovered at the cult’s forest altar, what specific object did Romanski find?

3. (Multiple choice) How did the killers mask their scent to evade the bloodhounds?

  • A. They washed in a stream.
  • B. They wore perfume made from mammoth dung and bile.
  • C. They used commercial scent-blocking spray.
  • D. They walked through a herd of deer.

4. (Short answer) What was the name of the baby mammoth that was killed and butchered by the attackers?

5. (Multiple choice) What did Cash and her team discover behind the steel door deep inside the mine?

  • A. A secret laboratory with cloned dinosaurs
  • B. A hidden facility with Neanderthal children
  • C. A weapons cache used by the cult
  • D. The stolen drone footage archive

6. (Short answer) What caused the power failure that allowed the Neanderthals to escape their enclosures?

7. (Multiple choice) What weapon did the cult use to attack the main lodge during the climax?

  • A. Poison gas
  • B. Explosives stolen from the film set
  • C. Flaming torches thrown by hand
  • D. A helicopter crash

8. (Short answer) What did Frankie Cash request from her boss McFaul that he refused, regarding the resort?

Character Motivation (5 questions)

9. (Multiple choice) Why did Frankie Cash refuse Sheriff Colcord’s offer to carry her pack when they first met?

  • A. She was not tired.
  • B. She wanted to assert her independence.
  • C. She thought the pack was too light.
  • D. She did not trust him.

10. (Short answer) What was the real purpose of wealthy couples visiting Erebus under the cover of a honeymoon?

11. (Multiple choice) Why did Dr. Karman defend the de-extinction of Neanderthals?

  • A. To restore balance to the ecosystem
  • B. To isolate superior physical genes for human enhancement
  • C. To create a workforce for the mines
  • D. To study prehistoric behavior

12. (Short answer) What motivated the Neanderthals to hunt and kill the humans at Erebus?

13. (Multiple choice) Why did Sheriff Colcord continue to help Cash after she was demoted?

  • A. He was ordered to by McFaul.
  • B. He believed in the investigation and trusted her judgment.
  • C. He wanted to take over the case.
  • D. He was hoping for a promotion.

Theme and Symbol (4 questions)

14. (Multiple choice) The epigraph by Edward O. Wilson warns about the danger of combining:

  • A. Evolution and religion
  • B. Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology
  • C. Capitalism and environmentalism
  • D. Science and ignorance

15. (Short answer) What did the Monopoly tokens found at the cult sites symbolize?

16. (Multiple choice) The hidden facility’s interior—including a football on the floor and playground equipment—symbolizes what theme?

  • A. The innocence of childhood
  • B. The attempt to create a normal environment for unnatural experiments
  • C. The danger of sports in confined spaces
  • D. The abandonment of education

17. (Short answer) According to the afterword, what did Douglas Preston argue was the primary cause of Neanderthal extinction?

Synthesis (3 questions)

18. (Multiple choice) How does the novel challenge popular stereotypes about Neanderthals?

  • A. It shows them as unintelligent and violent.
  • B. It depicts them as artistic, musical, and capable of organization.
  • C. It suggests they could not speak.
  • D. It portrays them as entirely peaceful.

19. (Short answer) Which real-world company is cited in the afterword as currently working on de-extinction of the woolly mammoth?

20. (Multiple choice) Which quote from the novel best summarizes its central warning about humanity’s future?

  • A. “Survival is the rule. Extinction is the exception.”
  • B. “Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception.”
  • C. “Technology will save us.”
  • D. “Nature always wins.”

Answer Key

Plot and Sequence

  1. B. Woolly mammoths.
    In Chapter 1, Olivia and Mark observe woolly mammoths at the lake during their first day at Erebus.

  2. A Monopoly shoe token.
    In Chapter 28, Romanski opens one of the woven ornaments and finds a Monopoly shoe token inside.

  3. B. They wore perfume made from mammoth dung and bile.
    Chapter 30 reveals that the killers used a mixture of herbivore dung and fresh bile to mask their human scent.

  4. Tom Thumb.
    The baby mammoth killed and butchered in Chapter 33 is named Tom Thumb.

  5. B. A hidden facility with Neanderthal children.
    In Chapter 56, Cash and her team discover an underground dome containing Neanderthal children.

  6. The Neanderthals sabotaged the power grid.
    Chapter 63 explains that the Neanderthals deliberately cut power, causing locks to release.

  7. B. Explosives stolen from the film set.
    In Chapter 61, an explosion at the Mammoth Gates shatters the lodge’s glass wall, using dynamite stolen from the movie production.

  8. Calling the National Guard.
    In Chapter 33, Cash recommends calling the National Guard, but McFaul refuses.

Character Motivation

  1. B. She wanted to assert her independence.
    Chapter 3 states that Cash refused Colcord’s offer to carry her pack to demonstrate her self-reliance.

  2. To receive Neanderthal gene editing for designer babies.
    Chapter 71 reveals that Erebus inserted Neanderthal genes into embryos of wealthy clients under the guise of a honeymoon.

  3. B. To isolate superior physical genes for human enhancement.
    In Chapter 71, Karman explains the need to de-extinct Neanderthals to see how their genes are expressed in vivo.

  4. Revenge for humans driving them to extinction.
    Chapter 71 states the Neanderthals want revenge for the extinction of their species.

  5. B. He believed in the investigation and trusted her judgment.
    Throughout Chapters 42–46, Colcord supports Cash’s decisions and helps her obtain a warrant after her demotion.

Theme and Symbol

  1. B. Paleolithic emotions, medieval institutions, and godlike technology.
    The epigraph in Chapter 1 quotes E.O. Wilson warning of this mismatch.

  2. An anti-capitalist message or mockery of greed.
    Chapter 30 suggests the Monopoly tokens carry an anti-capitalist symbolic meaning.

  3. B. The attempt to create a normal environment for unnatural experiments.
    The football and playground in the hidden facility (Chapter 54) highlight the paradox of simulating normalcy in an unethical project.

  4. Human violence.
    The afterword argues that Homo sapiens likely drove Neanderthals to extinction through violent conflict.

Synthesis

  1. B. It depicts them as artistic, musical, and capable of organization.
    In Chapter 59, a Neanderthal girl plays violin; in Chapter 71, Karman notes their larger brains and tactical skills.

  2. Colossal.
    The afterword names Colossal as the company working on woolly mammoth de-extinction.

  3. B. “Extinction is the rule. Survival is the exception.”
    This Carl Sagan quote, used as the second epigraph, frames the novel’s exploration of existential risk.

Additional Resources