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'Sphere' Trivia Quiz

Here's a quiz on the Michael Crichton book 'Sphere', which (I thought) was excellent. Hopefully you've read it.

A multiple-choice quiz by GeniusBoy. Estimated time: 5 mins.

Author
GeniusBoy

Time
5 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
49,894

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
15

Difficulty
Average

Avg Score
9 / 15

Plays
1172

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 15

1. What was the name of the study that Norman Johnson (the psychologist) had conducted for the U.S. government, concerning the 'optimal composition of a crash-site team to confront an alien invader'? Hint

ULF

AIE

UHF

ETI

NEXT>

Question 2 of 15

2. Which member of the team had not been proposed by Norman in his original report? Hint

Ted Fielding

Arthur Levine

Beth Halpern

Harry Adams

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Question 3 of 15

3. What is the maximum time that the team could stay underwater in the habitat? Hint

72 hours

96 hours

48 hours

36 hours

NEXT>

Question 4 of 15

4. What did the probe reveal about the underwater spacecraft that Harry already knew and Barnes suspected? Hint

the air inside was toxic to humans

it had arrived at least 300 years ago

the aliens inside were still alive

it was American

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Question 5 of 15

5. When the team enters the spaceship they discover a date stamped into the plastic near a keyboard in one of the rooms. What date was it? Hint

November 14, 2031

April 3, 2051

August 5, 2043

January 22, 2038

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Question 6 of 15

6. When the team returns to the underwater habitat, Norman learns from Tina, a Navy crew member, something Harry had asked her about earlier. What was it? Hint

going back to the surface earlier

making out his will

bringing weapons down to the habitat

bringing some of his colleagues down to the habitat

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Question 7 of 15

7. When the team first find the sphere, and the strange patterns on the back of it, what color is it? Hint

gold

white

green

silver

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Question 8 of 15

8. Ted and Harry believe that the spacecraft went through a black hole, which is why it arrived in the past. Where was this black hole located? Hint

between Jupiter and Saturn

7 light years away

just outside the solar system

between Mercury and the Sun

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Question 9 of 15

9. Edmunds, another Navy crew member, is killed outside the habitat by what? Hint

jellyfish

squid

giant squid

sharks

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Question 10 of 15

10. The message the team receives from the entity 'Jerry' is found by taking a keyboard and turning it into what shape? Hint

a sphere

a square

a spiral

a triangle

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Question 11 of 15

11. During an argument, Captain Barnes reveals how much this project is costing the Navy. About how much does 'a deep-placement, saturated gas environment with full support' cost per hour, according to Barnes? Hint

$100,000

$200,000

$75,000

$50,000

NEXT>

Question 12 of 15

12. The habitat is attacked by what giant sea creature, similar to the one in the Jules Verne book '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'?

Answer: (calamari)

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Question 13 of 15

13. What power does the sphere give you when you go into it? Hint

the power to make things happen by thinking of them

the power of immortality

the power to read minds

the power of mind control

NEXT>

Question 14 of 15

14. Near the end Beth, Norman, and Harry all get into the small submarine and head for the surface quickly. What danger are they trying to escape? Hint

jellyfish

giant squid

explosives

Jerry

NEXT>

Question 15 of 15

15. True or false: At the end of the book, at least two surviving team members (Harry and Norman) choose to forget that they ever saw the sphere.

True

False

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: ULF

ULF stood for 'Unknown Life Form'. Norman's paper was titled 'Recommendations for the Human Contact Team to Interact With Unknown Life Forms'.

2. Which member of the team had not been proposed by Norman in his original report?

Answer: Arthur Levine

Arthur Levine was the marine biologist and biochemist for the {team;} however, he didn't join the team in the habitat underwater because he got claustrophobic in the sub on the way down and had to be taken back.

3. What is the maximum time that the team could stay underwater in the habitat?

Answer: 72 hours

Captain Harold Barnes, the Navy man in charge, explains that simply as 'Navy regs'. When asked why, he replied 'Never, never ask a reason for Navy regulations'.

4. What did the probe reveal about the underwater spacecraft that Harry already knew and Barnes suspected?

Answer: it was American

The probe revealed English labels on the door, after which Harry (the mathematician) revealed that it was an American ship that had arrived from the future. The entire team already knew that the ship had been there for over 300 years (which had been calculated by the amount of coral that had grown around it).

5. When the team enters the spaceship they discover a date stamped into the plastic near a keyboard in one of the rooms. What date was it?

Answer: August 5, 2043

The stamp reads 'Intel Inc. Made in U.S.A. Serial No:98004077 8-5-43'.

6. When the team returns to the underwater habitat, Norman learns from Tina, a Navy crew member, something Harry had asked her about earlier. What was it?

Answer: making out his will

Harry wasn't able to make out his will because it couldn't be transmitted over electronic lines. Harry was the logician and could figure things out instantly...if I were Norman I would have been very alarmed to find out Harry was thinking about his death.

7. When the team first find the sphere, and the strange patterns on the back of it, what color is it?

Answer: silver

I could be wrong, but I believe the sphere was gold in the movie version.

8. Ted and Harry believe that the spacecraft went through a black hole, which is why it arrived in the past. Where was this black hole located?

Answer: just outside the solar system

Ted (the astrophysicist) identifies an image from the flight record as that of the sun (in the distant backround), Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto.

9. Edmunds, another Navy crew member, is killed outside the habitat by what?

Answer: jellyfish

Harry, who has been in the sphere at this point, hates {squid;} he manifested his fear and it killed Edmunds.

10. The message the team receives from the entity 'Jerry' is found by taking a keyboard and turning it into what shape?

Answer: a spiral

Starting with G as 1, it spirals out with B being 2, H being 3, and so on. The message the crew receives is 'Hello. How are you? I am fine. What is your name? My name is Jerry'. Later Norman discovers that Harry decoded the message wrong...instead of the name being 'Jerry' it is 'Harry', who manifested the words in the first place.

Answer: $100,000

One hundred thousand dollers per hour. According to Barnes, the total project cost will be eighty to a hundred million dollars.

12. The habitat is attacked by what giant sea creature, similar to the one in the Jules Verne book '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea'?

Answer: squid

Captain Barnes goes out with weapons to stop it, but is never seen again. The attack ends when Harry is knocked out.

13. What power does the sphere give you when you go into it?

Answer: the power to make things happen by thinking of them

Norman figures this out after both Harry and Beth have been in the sphere. The key to opening the door is imagining it opening. Once inside you have the power to manifest your fears, thoughts, dreams, etc. In order to combat their powers Norman has to enter the sphere and get the power for himself.

14. Near the end Beth, Norman, and Harry all get into the small submarine and head for the surface quickly. What danger are they trying to escape?

Answer: explosives

Beth had set explosives around the spaceship and they were about to explode. The three remaining members of the team are trying to escape to the surface before the habitat and spaceship are destroyed.

15. True or false: At the end of the book, at least two surviving team members (Harry and Norman) choose to forget that they ever saw the sphere.

Answer: True

And with that their power is gone. Thanks for {playing;} I tryed not to ruin the book by giving away too much of the plot in case you haven't yet read it (in which case you should as soon as possible). The 15 questions in this quiz barely skim the surface of the plot.

Source: Author GeniusBoy

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor looney_tunes before going online.
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