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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. How old are the terrain features generated by Venus' volcanoes?
(a) 1 billion years.
(b) 500 million years.
(c) 4 billion years.
(d) 2 billion years.

2. When did NASA's SETI program go online?
(a) 1978.
(b) 1992.
(c) 1984.
(d) 1996.

3. When does Sagan think that the human race will be "on its way"?
(a) When we begin living in space.
(b) When we make contact with another intelligent species.
(c) When we reach another star.
(d) When we begin colonizing other planets.

4. About how large a percentage of the mass of the total universe does dark matter make up?
(a) Sixty percent.
(b) Five percent.
(c) Ninety percent.
(d) Thirty percent.

5. Why do some suggest capturing asteroids in Earth orbit?
(a) To use them as space stations.
(b) To use them as weapons.
(c) To study them.
(d) To mine them for resources.

Short Answer Questions

1. What hazard from nuclear weapons causes "nuclear winter"?

2. What process would be critical to terraforming Mars?

3. What type of government is Sagan most opposed to?

4. What type of Mars mission did President Reagan turn down?

5. Sagan cautions that the beliefs he endorses could lead to an overabundance of what?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Sagan say that it is probably the fate of humanity to "live in the dark"?

2. Why does Sagan believe that America sent men to the moon?

3. Why does Sagan suggest that space exploration aids in protecting the planet?

4. What does Sagan believe black holes have to offer?

5. What does Sagan conclude about the morality of terraforming and planetary colonization?

6. How could planetary tides pull a small planet apart?

7. What is unusual about the ring systems of the planets in our solar system?

8. What major environmental catastrophes does Sagan warn against in Chapter 14, "Exploring Other Worlds and Protecting One"?

9. What is unusual about the surface of Venus?

10. What promising signs does Mars have for being host to life?

(see the answer keys)

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