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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following is a major point opponents of space exploration raise?
(a) No good has ever come of space exploration.
(b) There is nothing of value anywhere else in the solar system.
(c) Space exploration exists for national prestige only.
(d) The problems on Earth should be solved first.

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

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

4. What is one trait of human beings that Sagan cites as being responsible for our belief in our importance in the universe?
(a) Industry.
(b) Creativity.
(c) Insecurity.
(d) Ignorance.

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

6. When were the Voyager spacecraft launched?
(a) 1972.
(b) 1977.
(c) 1969.
(d) 1982.

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

8. What space probe was an important part of Sagan's career, and passed by a major planet in 1976?
(a) Newton.
(b) Tesla.
(c) Viking.
(d) Ion.

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

10. Many of organic molecules arrived on Earth from what source?
(a) Space dust.
(b) Meteors.
(c) Comets.
(d) Asteroids.

11. How many planets were known to ancient people?
(a) Four.
(b) Three.
(c) Six.
(d) Five.

12. Sagan compares the human need for religion to what?
(a) An infant's need for a parent.
(b) A blind person's need for a cane.
(c) An injured person's need for aid.
(d) A man's need for water.

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

14. The Voyager probes found large amounts of what element on Titan?
(a) Helium.
(b) Nitrogen.
(c) Iridium.
(d) Oxygen.

15. About how long does Sagan suggest that human beings have been "settled down"?
(a) 10,000 years.
(b) 50,000 years.
(c) 100,000 years.
(d) 1,000 years.

Short Answer Questions

1. One feature that Sagan suggests would be easier to detect that human intelligence would be flatulence from what kind of animal?

2. What unusual source of energy do the Voyager spacecraft take advantage of?

3. Which of the following is NOT one of the major unknowns that Sagan says he will address in this book?

4. What is unusual about Uranus's orientation?

5. What concept does Sagan suggest that the image of the "pale blue dot" mocks?

(see the answer keys)

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