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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What ships can catch up with Rama before it leaves the solar system?
(a) The Calypso, Beagle, and Challenger.
(b) Only the Endeavour.
(c) The Calypso, Beagle, and Endeavour.
(d) Only the Challenger.

2. Who speaks fluent Simplish?
(a) Ernst.
(b) McAndrews.
(c) Mercer.
(d) Myron.

3. Why does the Commander choose to land the Endeavour off-center?
(a) It was smart not to block the "front door" with the Endeavour.
(b) Gravity would interfere less if the Endeavour lands off-center.
(c) The Endeavour has a side exit ramp.
(d) It is the cautious way to land on an unknown location.

4. In Chapter 16, what is the Commander ignoring because it seems insignificant?
(a) Noise.
(b) Temperature change.
(c) Darkness.
(d) Wind.

5. What slides out of the wall of the pillbox-shaped structure?
(a) Crossed bars.
(b) A tentacle.
(c) A wheel.
(d) A claw.

6. What is Straight Valley?
(a) A valley located next to the Rockies.
(b) A line dug into the sand near the Cylindrical Sea.
(c) A long groove or trench near Paris.
(d) A valley adjacent to the South Pole.

7. For the object 31/149, what do the numbers represent?
(a) The year and order of its discovery.
(b) The angular parameters of an object's elliptical orbit.
(c) The year and order of its discovery.
(d) The brightness of an object based on the magnitude scale.

8. Who is the first Character introduced in Chapter 2?
(a) Dr. Stenton.
(b) Professor Davidson
(c) Commander Norton
(d) Dr. Price.

9. How old is Dr. Bose?
(a) Sixty-three years old.
(b) One hundred fifteen years old.
(c) Eighty-nine years old.
(d) Seventy-nine years old.

10. What is a light curve?
(a) The degree to which an asteroid's orbit bends.
(b) A slow variation in the brilliance of all asteroids.
(c) The extent to which an asteroid wanes over a period of hours.
(d) The extent to which an asteroid waxes over a period of hours.

11. How many members of the United Planets are there?
(a) Nine.
(b) Six.
(c) Ten.
(d) Twelve.

12. Most asteroids tracked by Spaceguard are described as having this sort of orbit.
(a) Orbits that lay beyond Mars.
(b) Orbits that keep asteroids within the confines of the asteroid belt.
(c) Orbits that posed a possible danger to Earth.
(d) Orbits dissimilar to Earth's orbit around the Sun.

13. How does one astronomer refer to asteroids?
(a) Pests of gigantic proportion.
(b) Fireworks of the heavens.
(c) Arrows of outrageously bad fortune.
(d) Vermin of the skies.

14. Why is a cloud of vapor sent toward Rama?
(a) To see if it will interact with Rama and produce "fireworks."
(b) To see if it will be sucked into the interior of Rama.
(c) To see if Rama has enough gravity to hold an atmosphere.
(d) As a method to measure the temperature on the surface of Rama.

15. For the Commander, Straight Valley reminds him of what part of his past?
(a) A summer vacation in England.
(b) An education in industrial archaeology, abandoned in college.
(c) His childhood in the foothills.
(d) His first marriage.

Short Answer Questions

1. What location is home to more than a million people who had their hearing permanently damaged in 2077?

2. How big is the mass of Rama?

3. At first, Rama is believed to be what?

4. Where is Dr. Bose born?

5. How expensive is time on a big orbiting telescope?

(see the answer keys)

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