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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 1, You Are Here, Chapter 2, Aberrations of Light.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. What major component of the Voyager craft was threatened in Sagan's plan to take a distant picture of Earth?
(a) The spectral analyzer.
(b) The solar panel array.
(c) The vidicon system.
(d) The telemetry antenna.

3. What did ancient people notice about planets that set them apart from the stars?
(a) They were much larger.
(b) They grew closer from time to time.
(c) They had complex motions and were not fixed.
(d) They had unique colors.

4. What is the major difference between space exploration and human exploration in the past?
(a) It is much less costly, in relative terms.
(b) There is much more uncertainty in space.
(c) Humans cannot travel to the places they explore.
(d) It takes months or years to get to the destination.

5. What other medium was used to express the desire to wander, according to Sagan, as human civilization developed?
(a) Ethics.
(b) Religion.
(c) Law.
(d) Technology.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is notable about the Sun's light in Sagan's distant picture of the Earth?

2. Sagan suggests that the image of the "pale blue dot" teaches the need for what?

3. As of 1990, how many planets did the Voyager craft explore?

4. What space probe was an important part of Sagan's career, and passed by a major planet in 1976?

5. About how long does Sagan suggest that human beings have been "settled down"?

(see the answer key)

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