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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Sagan, what was the major advantage of the attitude of the government towards the Apollo project?

2. At the time this book was written, about how many asteroids were known to have paths that take them close to the Earth?

3. When was Venus first explored by a space probe?

4. When did a "disrupted" comet famously fall into Jupiter?

5. Sagan estimates that intelligent life might arise on average in one out of how many stars?

Short Essay Questions

1. How well can an asteroid's path be calculated?

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

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

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

5. What is unusual about the surface of Venus?

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

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

8. What profit motivations exist in a manned mission to Mars?

9. How does Sagan believe that humanity will progress in the next hundred or so generations?

10. What does Sagan want to see on Mars?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The program SETI is the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. Sagan endorses this program whole-heartedly despite its failure to date and many complaints about its cost.

1) Explain the SETI program and its goals, and how it goes about its search for intelligence.

2) Discuss some of the criticisms about the SETI program.

3) Explain why Sagan maintains his support for the program, despite its failure to date.

Essay Topic 2

Sagan presents a thought experiment in Chapter 5, "Is There Intelligent Life on Earth?" He suggests that the observations that a visiting alien might make of Earth would not necessarily reveal the presence of intelligent life.

1) Discuss the thought experiment that Sagan proposes in Chapter 5, and describe the obvious characteristics of the Earth from the perspective of this visitor.

2) Describe the types of observations a visitor to Earth would have to make in order to determine the presence of intelligent life on the planet.

3) Explain how this thought experiment demonstrates Sagan's point about "missing" important details in the search for life in the solar system.

Essay Topic 3

Sagan suggests that the colonization of distant worlds is both feasible and critical to humanity.

1) Explain how does Sagan envisions colonization of distant worlds occurring. What would be the motive for such efforts?

2) Discuss some of the targets that Sagan suggests for colonization, including non-planets.

3) Describe why Sagan believes that colonization is critical to securing the safety of the human race.

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