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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When was Neptune discovered?
(a) 1645.
(b) 1955.
(c) 1846.
(d) 1912.

2. What abstract concept does Sagan specifically say he is optimistic about?
(a) Human destiny.
(b) The human capacity for love and discovery.
(c) The future.
(d) The human prospect.

3. What does Sagan suggest that cavemen were usually looking for when they wandered?
(a) Shelter.
(b) Mates.
(c) Food.
(d) New territory.

4. Where does Neptune fall in the mission plan for the Voyager probes?
(a) They will pass by it only at an immense distance
(b) It is their final planetary destination.
(c) They will go into decaying orbit around it.
(d) They will return to the inner solar system after passing it.

5. What is the constituent particle of light?
(a) The electron.
(b) The photon.
(c) The neutron.
(d) The neutrino.

Short Answer Questions

1. What unusual source of energy do the Voyager spacecraft take advantage of?

2. Titan has what distinction among the moons of the planet it orbits?

3. In what century was the geocentric theory conclusively disproved?

4. What means does Sagan suggest that humans use to represent and express their desire to wander?

5. What criticism does Sagan make of NASA in Chapter 6, "The Triumph of Voyager"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Briefly describe the progress made to undermine the geocentric theory.

2. What contributed to the formation of the first microbes on Earth?

3. What "malevolent" theology does Sagan describe in Chapter 3, "The Great Demotions"?

4. What advantage make it more likely that the Voyager records will eventually be found?

5. What would be the first things an alien visitor to Earth would notice about the planet?

6. How has the attitude of the Catholic church towards Galileo changed over time?

7. How does Saga claim that human beings expressed their desire to wander as civilization grew?

8. What does the Strong Anthropomorphic principle suggest?

9. Why does Saga say he is optimistic about the "human prospect"?

10. What is the problem of perspective in estimating the importance of human beings?

(see the answer keys)

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