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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. What fault does Sagan admit that science has?
(a) It fails to uplift human spirits.
(b) It can only develop theories, not laws.
(c) It is marred by human perception and arrogance.
(d) It is always inaccurate.

2. What is notable about the stars in Sagan's distant picture of the Earth?
(a) They have many different colors.
(b) They appear very close.
(c) Very few are visible.
(d) An immense number are visible.

3. What does Neptune's moon have less of compared to Titan?
(a) Carbon.
(b) Iron.
(c) Ice.
(d) Potassium.

4. What visual resolution would be required to determine that humans are related to the intelligence on Earth?
(a) 1 meter.
(b) 10 cm.
(c) 1 cm.
(d) 10 meters.

5. According to Sagan, when viewed from space, how apparent would the existence of life on Earth be?
(a) Difficult to discern.
(b) Obvious.
(c) Impossible to discern.
(d) Ambiguous.

Short Answer Questions

1. What means does Sagan suggest that humans use to represent and express their desire to wander?

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

3. What major component of the Voyager craft was threatened in Sagan's plan to take a distant picture of Earth?

4. How much bigger is Neptune than Earth?

5. What is Neptune's largest moon?

Short Essay Questions

1. What aspects of science make it unappealing to some?

2. Why did ancient people believe there could not be any other planets beyond the ones they knew about?

3. What problems does NASA face in pursuing its missions?

4. What may have happened to other planets from the early solar system?

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

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

7. What does Sagan think about the failure of the Voyager probes to find life in the solar system?

8. What was Sagan's involvement in the passage of Mars by the Viking probe?

9. How did ancient people know about the planets?

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

(see the answer keys)

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