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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 9, An American Ship at the Frontiers of the Solar System, Chapter 10, Sacred Black.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is unusual about Uranus's orientation?
(a) It shifts from time to time.
(b) It is laid on its side.
(c) It is the only planet that lies perfectly in the ecliptic.
(d) It wobbles constantly.

2. What form do the materials that planets emerge from take before they coalesce into proto-planets?
(a) A sphere.
(b) A disc.
(c) A star.
(d) A cloud.

3. Besides the Voyager spacecraft, what does Sagan cite as a major triumph by NASA?
(a) The Hubble Telescope.
(b) The moon landings.
(c) The Gemini project.
(d) The Mars rovers.

4. Which other nation besides the United States led the way in space exploration?
(a) China.
(b) The Soviet Union.
(c) Japan.
(d) France.

5. Which of the following is NOT one of the ways that Sagan says life seems to be?
(a) Insignificant.
(b) Absurd.
(c) Meaningless.
(d) Intentional.

Short Answer Questions

1. What scientist is well-known for writing about the differences between species of animals?

2. What innovation was crucial in discovering Titan?

3. What is the constituent particle of light?

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

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

(see the answer key)

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