83 pages 2 hours read

Andy Weir

The Martian

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2011

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Answer Key

Chapters 1-5

Reading Check

1. 124 days (Chapter 1)

2. 300 days (Chapter 2)

3. Disco (Chapter 5)

Short Answer

1. It is the spacecraft the astronauts use to leave Mars. It left without him. (Chapter 1)

2. He’ll suffocate if he runs out of oxygen, die of thirst if he runs out of water, explode if there is a Hab breach, or starve if he runs out of food. (Chapter 1)

3. Thanksgiving would occur during the mission, and NASA psychologists thought it would benefit the crew to cook a meal together. (Chapter 3)

4. He destroys Martinez’s wooden cross—the only religious icon on the Hab—to make shavings to start a fire. (Chapter 4)

Chapters 6-10

Reading Check

1. They show that Watney is alive. (Chapter 6)

2. RTGs power unmanned probes. (Chapter 6)

3. Mindy Park (Chapter 8)

Short Answer

1. He thinks there might be enough salvageable supplies to justify adding another Mars mission to the program. (Chapter 6)

2. He saves liquid waste for water reclamation and solid waste to fertilize potatoes. (Chapter 9)

3.