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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Who helped Sagan calculate that Titan should be host to oceans?
(a) Kuiper.
(b) Cassini.
(c) Dermott.
(d) Mach.

2. What means does Sagan suggest that humans use to represent and express their desire to wander?
(a) Stories and symbols.
(b) Adventures.
(c) Trade.
(d) Colonization.

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

4. Earth will most likely lose contact with the Voyager probes when what happens?
(a) Their solar cells die.
(b) They reach the Kuiper belt.
(c) They pass the troposphere.
(d) Their radio transmitters die.

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

6. Kuiper discovered that Titan has what chemical vital to the development of life?
(a) Hexamine.
(b) Argon.
(c) Methane.
(d) Cytozine.

7. What astronomical discovery did Galileo make that significantly damaged the geocentric theory?
(a) Planets move in ellipses.
(b) Gravity moves the planets.
(c) Jupiter has its own moons.
(d) Stars are stationary relative to the Earth.

8. What is notable about pictures taken of the Earth from the moon?
(a) No landmasses can be seen.
(b) There is no visible sign of mankind.
(c) The Earth is always in a half-eclipse.
(d) The Earth appears completely dark.

9. What are the records on the Voyager craft engraved in?
(a) Iron.
(b) Platinum.
(c) Lead.
(d) Gold.

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

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

12. What scientist is credited with making the first discoveries that caused problems for the geocentric theory?
(a) Copernicus.
(b) Galileo.
(c) Kelper.
(d) Ptolemy.

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

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

15. Sagan believes that Titan hosts oceans made of what compound?
(a) Saturated salts.
(b) Water.
(c) Hydrocarbons.
(d) Methane.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the most important thing that would immediately be apparent to any alien intelligence that found the Voyager probes?

2. According to Sagan, how do early Earth and Titan compare?

3. What strange motion do all of the stars in the sky exhibit?

4. What punishment did Galileo suffer as a result of his works?

5. What material that humans have added to the environment would be easily detectable from space?

(see the answer keys)

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