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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. How do today's professional astronomers search for supernovae?
(a) Using classical mathematical predictions.
(b) Hiring interns to peer through telescopes 24/7.
(c) With digital cameras and computers.
(d) In collaboration with astrologers.

2. Which of the following is not part of an atom?
(a) Morton.
(b) Electron.
(c) Proton.
(d) Neutron.

3. Earth is composed of 8 to 12 larger plates and about how many smaller ones?
(a) Five.
(b) Eighty.
(c) Twenty.
(d) One hundred.

4. Earth is the only planet in the solar system to have what?
(a) Storms.
(b) Plate tectonics.
(c) Mountains and valleys.
(d) Moons.

5. What followed the last supervolcanic eruption on Earth in the region that is now northern Sumatra?
(a) A two-year series of tidal waves.
(b) A reversal of the magnetic poles.
(c) Twenty years of intense earthquakes.
(d) A six-year volcanic winter.

Short Answer Questions

1. In 1875, why was Max Planck advised against studying physics and urged to study math instead?

2. In the 1960s, what did Bob Christiansen realize about Yellowstone National Park after observing NASA-supplied images?

3. During the time of the dinosaurs, Earth's magnetic field was:

4. What massive bone belonging to a dinosaur was found in New Jersey in 1789?

5. About how many stars can be seen from Earth using a two-inch telescope?

Short Essay Questions

1. How close did asteroids come to Earth in 1991 and 1993?

2. Describe what happened when astronomer Edmond Halley asked Sir Isaac Newton for mathematical help.

3. What is the theory of continental drift? Who first proposed this theory, and how was it received?

4. Summarize what the author says about why it took so long to discover that Pluto has a moon.

5. Why does Bryson consider Pluto to be an oddity?

6. Describe Albert Einstein before he became well known in the scientific community.

7. How does the Superstring Theory explain quarks?

8. Who was Bob Christiansen, and how did he determine that Yellowstone is a supervolcano?

9. Why is the term "dinosaurian" a misnomer?

10. Describe the three basic layers of Earth, namely, the crust, mantle, and core.

(see the answer keys)

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