I have work in my theory book to do at home and my teacher did not explain fermata. I know it means to hold the note longer using artistic discretion. The assignment is to draw a fermata mark above each left hand note. It is only an 8 measure practice piece, but would one hold every note in a piece?
Thanks

No.

It's just a drawing exercise. I know it seems silly, but I've come across pianists who have studied for years and still don't know how long stems are, whether the time or key signature comes first, or how to draw a treble clef.

Thanks, that does make more sense than what I was thinking.

As Kreisler stated, this is just an exercise for your theory book.

A good rule of thumb when actually encountering a fermata (or fermati plural) in a composition is to hold it 1.5 * the printed note length. It is actually more variable depending on context but now you have a starting place to work with. There are other marks that you will eventually learn that involve much more leniency-especially in Percy Grainger's music.