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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. As of 1990, how many planets did the Voyager craft explore?
(a) Four.
(b) Two.
(c) Three.
(d) Five.

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

3. What criticism does Sagan make of NASA in Chapter 6, "The Triumph of Voyager"?
(a) It is unconcerned with human safety in spaceflight.
(b) It cannot correct its mistakes.
(c) It is essentially incompetent.
(d) It has made many engineering mistakes.

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

5. 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.

Short Answer Questions

1. How old does Sagan state that "fundamentalist monotheists" believe the Earth to be?

2. Which of the following does Sagan NOT cite as evidence for the age of the universe?

3. Which of the following is NOT one of the ways that Sagan says life seems to be?

4. What form do the materials that planets emerge from take before they coalesce into proto-planets?

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

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the problem of perspective in estimating the importance of human beings?

2. What does the image of the "pale blue dot" suggest to Sagan?

3. What contributed to the formation of the first microbes on Earth?

4. What seemingly important features of humanity does Sagan deny to be distinguishing?

5. When this book was written, what was known about planets in other solar systems?

6. What advantage make it more likely that the Voyager records will eventually be found?

7. What would be the first things an alien visitor to Earth would notice about the planet?

8. Why does Saga say he is optimistic about the "human prospect"?

9. How has the attitude of the Catholic church towards Galileo changed over time?

10. What are the distinguishing characteristics of the planet Uranus?

(see the answer keys)

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