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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 1-3.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How does one astronomer refer to asteroids?
(a) Pests of gigantic proportion.
(b) Vermin of the skies.
(c) Fireworks of the heavens.
(d) Arrows of outrageously bad fortune.

2. What does the first images of Rama prove?
(a) The color of Rama fluctuates from black to shades of gray to white.
(b) The body of Rama is geometrically imperfect.
(c) Rama is too far away to see clearly.
(d) Rama is not a natural object.

3. What event do the inhabitants of Earth see as inevitable?
(a) Catastrophic destruction caused by a meteorite from space landing in an inhabited city.
(b) Continued cosmic bombardment of the Moon, causing additional scarring of the "face."
(c) The overpopulation of Earth.
(d) The destruction of the city of Venice by a tsunami, caused by the eruption of Krakatoa.

4. How does the book describe the world's population at the end of the 21st century?
(a) The human race is facing extinction from natural disasters.
(b) Cities in the northern hemisphere are sparsely populated.
(c) The human race has spread from pole to pole.
(d) Europe is more densely populated than fifty years earlier.

5. What is a light curve?
(a) The extent to which an asteroid wanes over a period of hours.
(b) The degree to which an asteroid's orbit bends.
(c) The extent to which an asteroid waxes over a period of hours.
(d) A slow variation in the brilliance of all asteroids.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the origin of the name of object 31/149?

2. What is the initial reaction of the human race to Rama?

3. The reference to the five giants is referring to what group of five?

4. SPACEGUARD is keeping track of how many asteroids at once?

5. How many asteroids are being discovered by PROJECT SPACEGUARD by the year 2130?

(see the answer key)

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