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

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. Sagan says that which of the following is the most immediately obvious thing about the Earth?
(a) The existence of intelligent life.
(b) Its geological features.
(c) Its meteorological features.
(d) The existence of life.

3. Einstein's work undermined what concept?
(a) That the Sun is unique.
(b) That our frame of motion is stationary.
(c) That light is the fastest thing in the universe.
(d) That humans can travel to distant stars.

4. What is Neptune's largest moon?
(a) Triton.
(b) Europa.
(c) Ariadne.
(d) Eurydice.

5. Which of the following does Sagan NOT cite as evidence for the age of the universe?
(a) Telemetric spectrometry.
(b) Radioactive dating.
(c) Star evolution.
(d) Impact craters.

6. The Anthropic Principle is divided into two theories that are termed what?
(a) Orthodox and reformed.
(b) Greater and lesser.
(c) Old and new.
(d) Strong and weak.

7. At the time of the writing of this book, what is the farthest planet that humans had reached through the use of exploratory probes?
(a) Neptune.
(b) Uranus.
(c) Saturn.
(d) Pluto.

8. Conditions of what type were extremely important in the creation of early life on Earth?
(a) Aquatic.
(b) Littoral.
(c) Geological.
(d) Atmospheric.

9. Sagan uses what term to describe a theology that requires God to intentionally mislead human scientists?
(a) Malevolent.
(b) Unsupportable.
(c) Typical.
(d) Dogmatic.

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

11. Uranus has an unusual field around it of what type?
(a) Radiation.
(b) Photons.
(c) Magnetism.
(d) Gamma rays.

12. What scientist is well-known for writing about the differences between species of animals?
(a) Darwin.
(b) Hawking.
(c) Dawkins.
(d) Maxwell.

13. How fast was Voyager I moving in 1990?
(a) 500 mph.
(b) 1,000 mph.
(c) 10,000 mph.
(d) 40,000 mph.

14. What does Sagan say is an easy way to visually identify planets?
(a) Their size.
(b) Their movements.
(c) Their brightness.
(d) The color of their atmospheres.

15. What innovation was crucial in discovering Titan?
(a) The telescope.
(b) Newton's laws of motion.
(c) The chemical rocket engine.
(d) The theory of general relativity.

Short Answer Questions

1. How does Sagan describe his reaction to the difficulties in detecting human life and intelligence on Earth from space?

2. How likely does Sagan think it is that the records on Voyager will eventually be found?

3. Sagan helped to discover that Saturn provides what critical element to Titan?

4. Kuiper discovered that Titan has what chemical vital to the development of life?

5. What visual resolution would be required to determine the existence of intelligent life on Earth?

(see the answer keys)

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