1A future news release might report that a new planet has been found around a star very similar to our sun. This newly discovered planet is claimed to have a mass 40 times that of Earth and is located nearly 25 AU from the star it orbits. Which of the following would be reasonable predictions about this planet?
I.The planet will probably have a mean density of around 5 g/cm.
II.The planet will probably have a radius many times greater than Earth's.
III.The planet will probably have several satellites.
IV.The planet will probably have a composition that is mostly hydrogen and helium.
AI & IV
BI, II, & III
*CII, III, & IV
DI, II, & IV
EI, II, III, & IV
2The greenhouse effect occurs because
*Acarbon dioxide is transparent to visible light and opaque to infrared radiation.
Bcarbon dioxide is transparent to infrared radiation and opaque to ultraviolet radiation.
Cozone is transparent to ultraviolet radiation and opaque to infrared radiation.
Dmethane is transparent to infrared radiation and opaque to visible light.
Ethe sun emits more infrared radiation than ultraviolet radiation.
3What limitation(s) make it close to impossible to travel, round trip, between stars?
I.Fuel requirements
II.The tremendous distances between stars
III.The finite speed at which objects can travel
AI
BI and II
CIII
DII and III
*EI, II and III
4The Drake equation allows us to estimate
*Athe number of intelligent civilizations in our galaxy.
Bthe number of stars in our galaxy.
Cthe number of people on the Earth.
Dthe lifespan of a civilization.
Ethe lifespan of a species.
5Mars seasons are caused by
Aits circular orbit.
Bits eccentric orbit.
Cits elliptical orbit.
Dits hyperbolic orbit.
*Eits axis tilt relative to the orbital plane.
6The 3 biology experiments aboard the Viking mission to Mars
*Agave no clear answer.
Bproved that there was life on Mars.
Cproved that there was no life on Mars.
Dproved that there was no organic life on Mars.
Ediscovered microscopic life remains in the rocks.
7Two scientists, Abbott and Costello, are trying to search for life around other stars. Costello is studying a star that is a blue main sequence star. Abbott is studying a star that is a yellow main sequence star. Who is more likely to be able to detect a radio signal from his cluster, Abbott or Costello?
Aboth will detect intelligent radio signals.
Bboth are equally likely to detect intelligent radio signals.
Cneither are more likely to detect intelligent radio signals.
DCostello, because his star can't live long enough to develop life.
*EAbbott, because his star has a long enough lifetime to develop life.
8Fossilized microbial remnants
Ahave yet to be discovered on Earth.
Bhave been discovered in rocks some 6000 years old.
Chave been discovered on Mars.
Dare not able to be detected with modern instruments.
*Ehave been discovered in rocks dating back some 3.8 billion years.
9All of the following are NECESSARY for life here on Earth except:
Ametabolism
Breproduction
Corganic molecules
*Dlight
Epresence of liquid water at some time in lifecycle
10Evidence for organic molecules ha already been discovered where?
Amolecular clouds
Batmospheres of other planets/moons in our solar system
Cmeteors
*Dall of the above
Enone of the above
11You have 4 pounds of a radioactive element with a half-life of 2 years. How many pounds of the original element remain after 6 years has passed.
A4 pounds.
B3 pounds.
C2 pounds.
D1 pound.
*Ea half pound.
12How would you estimate the distance in a light year?
AMultiply the speed of light in .meters per second by 60.
BMultiply the speed of light in .meters per second by 3600.
CMultiply the speed of light in .meters per second by 24.
*DMultiply the speed of light in meters per second times the number of seconds in a year to get the number of meters in a light year.
EThis is a trick question, a light year isn't a measure of distance.
13What is an Astronomical Unit?
AThe distance to the nearest star.
BThe average distance from the Earth to the Moon.
*CThe average distance from the Earth to the Sun.
DA measure of time that light travels.
EA generic term for any large distance.
14Using the proper phase diagram from those provided, what phase would carbon dioxide be in at a temperature of -56.4o C and an atmospheric pressure equivalent to 73 times that of Earth's at sea level?
AThe carbon dioxide would exist as a liquid.
BThe carbon dioxide would exist as a gas.
*CThe carbon dioxide would exist as a solid.
DThe carbon dioxide could be in any phase, solid, liquid or gas.
EThe carbon dioxide could be either in a gas or solid phase.
15What is the name given to the dilemma that we have yet to discover any extraterrestrial life?
AThe Big Bang Theory.
*BThe Fermi Paradox.
CThe Theory of Relativity.
DThe Maxwell Paradox.
EThe Planck Duality Paradox.
16Earth possesses few visible craters and the moon possesses many. This is because
AEarth formed later than the moon and, therefore hasn't encountered as many meteoroids.
BThe Moon doesn't have an atmosphere that could burn up meteorites before impacting.
CErosion and plate tectonics have slowly removed evidence of past cratering on Earth.
DA, B and C.
*EOnly B and C above.
17Which portion of the Earth (using the diagram below) is most dense?
A
B
C
*D
ENone of the above is the mantle.
18Which of the following concepts are hallmarks of science (i.e. part of the scientific method)?
AScience is driven by observations and a belief that the world is inherently understandable.
BScience progresses through the creation and testing of models designed to explain our observations.
CA scientific model is testable.
*DAll of the above are hallmarks of science.
ENone of the above are valid hallmarks of science.
Short Answer Questions:
1) Rocks that are formed from the cooled magma or lava from a volcano are called ______igneous______rocks.
2) Rocks that are a changing combination of the other two kinds of rocks and are changed due to pressures, physical and chemical are called ______metamorphic______rocks.
3) Radioactive dating is a type of ______absolute______dating.
4) The different layers of the sedimentary rock provide a type of ______relative______dating.
5) The maximum speed that any material body can achieve is ____the speed of light______.
6) Any planet discovered orbiting a star other than our sun is known as a(n) ______extrasolar planet______.
7) Mars cannot sustain liquid water on its surface because ______its atmospheric pressure is too low______.
Short Essay Questions (choose 1 of each pair of essay questions below):
1A) Define, describe and discuss the theory about the origins of our universe from the Big Bang.
1B) Define, describe and discuss the theory about the origins of our sun and planetary system from a gaseous nebula.
2A) Describe the theory behind radiometric dating techniques.
2B) Describe the theory of the layers of the rock record and how that helps scientists to date fossils.
3A) Describe at least 3 different ways that scientists can search for life on planets in our solar system.
3B) Describe at least 3 different chemical techniques used in searching for indicators of possible life on a planet in our solar system.
Long Essay Questions (choose 1 of each pair of essay questions below):
1A) Define and describe the science of astrobiology. Provide its goals and its methods.
1B) Describe why scientists believe that life could exist on other worlds in our solar system, while also believing that we are unlikely to find intelligent life in our solar system.
2A) Suppose you are on a team tasked with designing a project to search for extraterrestrial intelligence. Describe how you would determine the optimal region of the electromagnetic spectrum that you would utilize in your search. Provide details of your search technique, including where you would search in the sky and why a particular region.
2B) Suppose you are on a team tasked with designing a robot to search for life on Mars. Describe how you would determine the best region on Mars to explore. Describe, in detail your techniques for determining whether or not life was present in the region that your robot is exploring.
3A) Describe and discuss in detail your own version of an equation like the Drake equation and how it would lead to the number of technological civilizations currently existing in our galaxy.
3B) Describe and discuss the Fermi Paradox and some of the explanations that developed to avoid the paradox.