Explorations of the Universe Quizzes
Steven Dutch, Professor Emeritus, Natural and Applied Sciences, Universityof Wisconsin - Green Bay
May 4, 2000. This is the final version. All Final Exam Questions will betaken from this question bank.
Wording of some questions may be modified, some answers omitted, etc. onthe final. Also, there may be some duplicate questions in this question bank.
Shores of the Cosmic Ocean
About how old is the Universe?
- 100 billion years
- 15 Billion years
- 5 Billion years
- 1 Billion years
On the Cosmic Calendar (Age of the Universe compressed into a year) aboutwhen did the Earth form?
- February
- June
- September
- December
On the Cosmic Calendar (Age of the Universe compressed into a year) aboutwhen did the dinosaurs die out?
- February
- June
- September
- December
On the Cosmic Calendar (Age of the Universe compressed into a year) wheredoes human history plot?
- November 1
- December 1
- December 25
- December 31
What did Eratosthenes Do?
- Map the Constellations
- Find the distance to the Moon
- Discover the concept of Atoms
- Measure the Size of the Earth
- Devise a theory of Planetary Motion
- Propose that the Earth goes around the Sun
What does a light year measure?
- Distance
- Brightness
- Time
- Speed
Sagan uses this ancient institution as a symbol throughout Cosmos:
- Library at Alexandria
- Colosseum at Rome
- Pyramids
- Temple at Jerusalem
- Parthenon at Athens
Arrange in order of size (smallest to largest)
- Galaxy
- Planet
- Distance Between Galaxies
- Star
- Solar System
Ancient Greek astronomer who first proposed that the Earth goes around the Sun
- Eratosthenes
- Thales
- Anaximander
- Aristarchus
- Democritus
Harmony of the Worlds
In the partnership between Kepler and Tycho, what did Kepler contribute?
- Mathematical expertise
- Church connections
- Financial backing
- Good instruments
- Access to a fine library
In the partnership between Kepler and Tycho, what did Tycho contribute?
- Mathematical expertise
- High-quality observational data
- Good telescopes
- Access to a fine library
- Got Kepler a title in the nobility
What crime was Keplers mother charged with?
- Prostitution
- Drug dealing
- Conspiracy
- Treason
- Witchcraft
According to Keplers First Law, a planets orbit is -------with the sun ---------
- Circular
. At the center
- Elliptical
. At the center
- Circular
Not at the Center
- Elliptical
. At one focus
According to Keplers Second Law, a line between the planet and thesun:
- Sweeps out equal areas in equal times
- Stays constant in length
- Changes length at a steady rate
- Sweeps out equal angles in equal times
Keplers Third Law relates what two quantities:
- Diameter and mass of a planet
- Diameter of a planet and distance from the sun
- Distance and period of a planet
- Distance and diameter of a planet
The drive to improve planetary predictions in the Renaissance was impelled by the needto fix the date of:
- Easter
- Christmas
- New Years
- Pentecost
Hes most famous for inventing the telescope and proposing that the Earth goesaround the Sun, but he didnt originate either one:
- Nicolaus Copernicus
- Tycho Brahe
- Johannes Kepler
- Galileo Galilei
Kepler originally believed the spacing of the planetary orbits was dictated by:
- gravity.
- the Sun.
- astrology
- the five perfect solids
Match the people and their attributes
- Kepler
- Galileo
- Copernicus
- Tycho
- Newton
| - Developed theory of gravity
- Popularizer of science
- First proposed Earth circles the sun
- Invented calculus
- Playboy with a gold nose
- Spent part of his life as a refugee
- Polish cleric
- Problems with the Inquisition
- Had the best observational data
|
Early voyages around the world were primarily for:
- Discovering new colonies
- Exploration and scientific discovery
- Supplying remote settlements
- Piracy and harassing enemy powers
A major scientific work was inspired when this instrument failed to workas expected:
- Telescope
- Compass
- Chronometer (Clock)
- Sextant
Matching
- Your distance north or south on earth
- Requires accurate timekeeping to measure
- Measuring it was a very powerful stimulus to science and technology
- Can be determined easily from astronomical sightings
| |
The British survey of this country was one of the 19th centuryslargest scientific projects:
- Canada
- India
- Egypt
- Australia
That survey was motivated mostly by:
- Desire for scientific understanding
- Resolving disputes between property owners
- Establishing military and political control
- Curiosity over what was the highest mountain in the world
In the 1700s and 1800s, Britain and France engaged in ascientific rivalry that revolved around:
- Finding the distance to the Sun
- Determining the exact shape of the earth
- Finding the highest mountain
- Exploring the sea floor
The great 19th-century British survey did all of these except:
- Found the deepest spot in the oceans
- Found the highest mountain in the world
- Found evidence that the earths crust is thicker under mountain ranges
- Established British control over a large addition to its empire.
Compasses dont always point due north because:
- the magnetic poles are not at the geographic poles
- solar disturbances affect compasses
- metal in ships causes compasses to be in error
- compass needles lose their magnetism
Why finding the exact shape of the earth was such a keen scientific rivalry in the1700's
- It was a measure of national scientific and military power
- It led to improved navigation
- It led to the ability to predict magnetic variation
- It led to improved map projections
The Great Trigonometrical Survey led to the discovery of Mount Everest but it was also:
- a means of consolidating British control of India.
- the first accurate determination of the size of the Earth.
- the most extensive oceanographic expedition in history.
- the first detailed mapping of any country.
Spaceflight I
Known as the Chief Designer, his existence was kept strictly secret by the SovietUnion:
- Sergei Korolev
- Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
- Hermann Oberth
- Yuri Gagarin
Probably the most successful test aircraft ever built:
The first cruise missile:
The first true ballistic missile to leave the Earth's atmosphere:
All but one of the following are reasons why the Soviet Union led in rocket boostersfor several years early in the Space Age. Pick the one that is not.
- They needed powerful boosters for their military missiles.
- They had help from the best German scientists.
- The U.S. relied more on manned bombers than rockets.
- The U.S. preferred to wait until nuclear weapons got smaller before building missiles.
Which is true of rockets and jets?
- They move by pushing against the air
- Rockets take off by pushing against the ground
- They move by pushing matter out
- Neither require oxygen to function
When a rocket takes off, most of its mass is:
- Fuel and Oxygen
- Supplies for the crew
- Cargo destined for orbit
- Shielding to protect against air friction, cosmic rays, and meteorites
Matching
- The top-secret "Chief Designer"
- Started rocketry in Germany
- First liquid-fuel rocket
- Worked for U.S. after World War II
- A Russian who worked out most theoretical problems of space flight
| - Robert Goddard
- Hermann Oberth
- Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
- Sergei Korolev
- Werner von Braun
|
How does a rocket differ from a jet?
- A rocket pushes against the ground, a jet doesnt.
- B A jet pushes against the air, a rocket doesnt.
- A rocket carries its own oxygen, a jet gets its from the air.
- Rockets can exceed the speed of sound, a jet cant.
What role did German scientists play in the Soviet space program?
- They built knock-off V-2s but had no contact with the main program
- The "Chief Designer" was German
- They corrected numerous major flaws and got the program on the right track
- They were the principal forces behind the program
Why did the Russians lead in lift capability at first?
- They needed it to lift their bulky nuclear weapons
- They stole secrets from the U.S. through espionage
- They wanted big rockets for national prestige
- They wanted it to be able to reach the Moon.
- Their fuel was more efficient
Spaceflight II-III
The first U.S. manned space program:
- Mercury
- Gemini
- Apollo
- Skylab
- Soyuz
How much time in space did America have when Kennedy committed us to amoon landing?
- None
- 15 minutes
- 3 orbits (5 hours)
- 24 hours
Which was an American space first?
- First woman in space
- First two-spacecraft mission
- First 24-hour space flight
- First water landing
Matching
- Oldest man in space
- First human in space
- First American in orbit
- First man on the Moon
- First American in space
- Died in a launch pad accident
- Had his capsule sink on landing
| - John Glenn
- Yuri Gagarin
- Gherman Titov
- Neil Armstrong
- Alan Shepard
- Gus Grissom
- Valentina Tereshkova
|
List the programs in chronological order:
- Mercury, Apollo, Gemini
- B Mercury, Gemini, Apollo
- Apollo, Mercury, Gemini
- Gemini, Apollo, Mercury
What killed three American astronauts in 1967?
- Their parachute failed on re-entry
- Their spacecraft lost pressurization
- Their retro-rocket failed, leaving them stranded
- There was a fire during a test on the launch pad.
In Russian, "sputnik" means:
- Socialism
- Victory
- Communism
- Universe
- Satellite
Ranger and Surveyor were:
- Military reconnaissance satellites
- Weather satellites
- Early communications satellites
- Probes to Mars and Venus
- Unmanned lunar probes
This U.S. president was in office when the first satellites were launched and tried tocalm public fears of a "missile gap" with the Soviet Union:
- Truman
- Eisenhower
- Kennedy
- Johnson
- Nixon
The only U.S. president to hold office when humans landed on the Moon:
- Truman
- Eisenhower
- Kennedy
- Johnson
- Nixon
This U.S. president challenged the Soviet Union to a race to the Moon:
- Truman
- Eisenhower
- Kennedy
- Johnson
- Nixon
The basic theoretical problems of space travel were first identified and solved by:
- Galileo and Copernicus
- Amateur space enthusiasts of the 1930's and 1940's
- German rocket scientists working for the Soviet Union
- NASA engineers in the Apollo Program
- Science fiction writers of the 1950's
Which spacecraft carried only a single crew member?
- Voskhod
- Mercury
- Gemini
- Apollo
The first person to set foot on the Moon:
- Yuri Gagarin
- Alan Shepard
- John Glenn
- Neil Armstrong
The only manned program ever to go beyond Earth orbit
- Vostok
- Voskhod
- Mercury
- Gemini
- Apollo
Lyndon Johnson was a staunch supporter of the space program but also caused it a greatdeal of harm through:
- political scandals.
- excessive bureaucracy.
- involving the U.S. in Vietnam.
- refusal to hire minority employees.
Heaven and Hell
The role of impact in Solar System history:
- was most important early on.
- has been increasing over time.
- has been constant.
- has been gradually decreasing.
The greenhouse effect on Venus is due to:
- water vapor.
- sulfuric acid droplets.
- methane.
- carbon dioxide.
The principal clue that the surface of a planet is geologically young
- Atmosphere
- Heavy cratering
- Volcanoes
- Lack of craters
The 1908 Tunguska Event is now (2000) believed to have been caused bywhat?
- A rocky asteroid or meteor
- A comet
- A piece of anti-matter
- A mini-black hole
When a meteor hits, the resulting crater is ______ the size of the meteor:
- less than
- about equal to
- five times
- 20-30 times
The energy of a moving body is related to its:
- Diameter
- Mass and Speed
- Speed
- Diameter and Composition
Comets are mostly made of:
- Frozen gases
- Rock
- Dust
- Rock and metal
Comets Orbits:
- Are usually pretty circular
- Do not obey Keplers Laws
- Always get smaller with time
- Are usually very elongated ellipses
Venus atmosphere is mostly:
- Water Vapor
- Nitrogen
- Oxygen
- Carbon Dioxide
Who landed the first (and only) spacecraft on Venus to send back pictures?
- The U.S.
- European Space Agency
- Japan
- Russia
- China
Why is Venus So Hot?
- Volcanism
- Meteor Impacts
- Runaway Greenhouse Effect
- Plate Tectonics
What is mostly responsible for Earths Greenhouse Effect?
- Water Vapor
- Carbon Dioxide
- Methane
- Sulfur Dioxide
- Nitrogen
What are Venus clouds made of?
- Water droplets
- Carbon Dioxide
- Windblown Dust
- Sulfuric Acid droplets
- Nitrogen
In what respect is Venus most similar to Earth?
- size
- topography
- atmospheric composition
- surface temperature
Comets exhibit a tail because:
- friction wears them away.
- they begin to evaporate when they get close to the Sun.
- The tail is always there but sunlight makes the tail visible.
- centrifugal force flings material off the comet.
The favored theory for the formation of the Moon is:
- Formation along with the Earth
- Formation somewhere else and capture by the Earth
- The proto-earth became unstable and split in two (fission)
- Formation somewhere else and a collision with the Earth
Blues for the Red Planet
The "canals" on Mars are now regarded as:
- Chains of Craters
- Imaginary
- Tectonic cracks in the crust
- Streaks of windblown debris
Mars is earthlike in many ways. In which ways is Mars earthlike and in which ways not?
- Length of day
- Composition of atmosphere
- Surface temperature
- Presence of ice caps
- Seasonal changes on the surface
- Presence of liquid water
- Tilt of Axis
Just for Fun: What do Tarzan and Mars have in common?
This biologist was a harsh and accurate critic of the idea of canals on Mars:
- Charles Darwin
- Alfred Russell Wallace
- Carl Linnaeus
- Jean Lamarcke
- Charles Lyell
Which are (and are not) examples of liquid water on Mars?
- Periodic brief but large ancient floods
- Small ponds and streams spotted by recent space missions
- Subsurface liquid water found by the Viking lander
- Possible evidence for water-deposited rocks early in Mars' history
Mars' atmosphere is mostly:
- Oxygen
- Nitrogen
- Carbon Dioxide
- Methane
- Ammonia
His novel, War of the Worlds, was the first to depict truly alienextraterrestrials:
- H. G. Wells
- Edgar Rice Burroughs
- Giovanni Schiaparelli
- Percival Lowell
Believed that Mars was covered by a network of intelligently-designed canals
- H. G. Wells
- Edgar Rice Burroughs
- Giovanni Schiaparelli
- Percival Lowell
The results of the Viking search for life are generally interpreted as due to:
- terrestrial microorganisms carried on the lander.
- definite signs of Martian life.
- errors in the instrumental readings.
- chemical reactions with the Martian soil
Travelers' Tales
This moon of Jupiter is the largest satellite in the Solar System:
- Io
- Europa
- Ganymede
- Callisto
This chemical element is believed to power the volcanoes on one of Jupiters moonsand also account for its strange surface colors:
- iron
- copper
- hydrogen
- sulfur
Jupiter is about ___ times as large in diameter as the Earth, but the Sun is as manytimes bigger than Jupiter:
Sagan argues for the benefits of open-mindedness and exploration by describing thissociety:
- The British Empire
- The American Frontier
- 17th century Holland
- France under Louis XIV
- Spain under Charles V
Two important instruments invented in this society were:
- Compass and Barometer
- Microscope and Telescope
- Speedometer and Sextant
- Clinometer and Surveyor's Transit
- Spectroscope and Radio
Perhaps the leading scientist of this culture was:
- Galileo
- Tycho Brahe
- Christian Huyghens
- Isaac Newton
- Johannes Kepler
- Percival Lowell
Which were and were not discoveries by this scientist?
- The telescope
- First person to see a surface feature on Mars
- First person to understand Saturn's rings correctly
- The planet Uranus
- That comets periodically return to the inner Solar System
- The pendulum clock
- The microscope
- Bacteria
- Saturn's moon Titan
Matching
- Io
- Europa
- Ganymede
- Callisto
- Titan
| - Thin icy crust, possible subsurface ocean
- Dark, cratered, with a huge impact basin
- Not a moon of Jupiter
- Volcanoes and a sulfur covered surface
- Thick brownish atmosphere
- Largest moon in the solar system
- Not discovered by Galileo
|
The volcanism on one of Jupiter's moons is powered by
- Decay of radioactive materials
- Heat from meteorite impacts
- Electrical forces created by Jupiter's magnetic field
- Friction generated by tidal forces
Voyager and the Outer Solar System
How do Uranus and Neptune compare to Earth in diameter?
- about the same
- twice as big
- four times as big
- eight times as big
Which planet has not yet been visited by a spacecraft?
- Uranus
- Neptune
- Pluto
- Saturn
Planetary Rings must be:
- Circular and in the planet's equatorial plane
- No particular shape or orientation
- At least halfway to the nearest satellite
- Less than halfway to the nearest satellite
- Circular but any orientation
The sharp edges of rings are maintained by
- Collisions between ring particles
- Erosion by solar particles
- Centrifugal force
- Shepherd moons
Lives of the Stars
The color of a star is due to:
- Its distance
- Its composition
- Its temperature
- Its age
- Its size
All objects exist as the result of a balance between some force and:
- Centrifugal force
- Electromagnetism
- Gravity
- Nuclear Forces
- Radiation
Matching: what force keeps each object from collapsing?
- Planets
- Normal Stars
- White Dwarf
- Neutron Star
- Black Hole
| - Radiation
- Gravity
- Nuclear Forces
- Electron repulsion
- Forces between atoms
- No known force can prevent collapse
|
Match the object and its approximate size:
- Planets
- Normal Stars
- Giant Stars
- White Dwarf
- Neutron Star
- Black Hole
| - No size at all
- 10 km
- 10,000 km
- 1,000,000 km
- 100,000,000 km
|
Parallax is:
- The apparent shift in a stars position from one side of the Earth to the other
- The apparent shift in a stars position from one side of the Earths orbit to the other
- The apparent diameter of a star as seen in a telescope
- The amount a star moves in a year due to its own motion
To multiply two numbers in scientific notation, _____ their exponents
- add
- subtract
- multiply
- average
To divide one number by another in scientific notation, _____ the lower exponent
- add
- subtract
- multiply
- average
Anything to the first power is:
Anything to the zero power is:
What determines the identity of each particular chemical element?
- its size
- the number of neutrons it has
- the total number of particles it has
- the number of protons it has
What two elements make up 99.9% of the cosmos?
- iron and silicon
- hydrogen and helium
- carbon and silicon
- hydrogen and oxygen
- carbon and hydrogen
Where did the heavy elements in the Solar System come from?
- comets coming in from outside
- formed in earlier generations of stars
- formed in the Sun
- formed by nuclear reactions as the Solar System was condensing
The spacecraft HIPPARCOS provided us with:
- Images of planets around other stars
- Vastly improved measurements of the sizes of stars
- Images of the most distant galaxies
- Vastly improved measurements of the distances of stars
To determine distances in the Solar System, we used observations of which bodies?
- Mars and the Moon
- Venus and nearby asteroids
- Mercury and Saturn
- Jupiter and its moons
To determine distances in the Solar System, we must:
- Determine the distance to each planet separately
- Determine one distance and use Kepler's Third Law to find the rest
- Determine the distance to the Moon accurately
- Determine the diameter of the Earth accurately
The violent collapse and explosion of a star is termed a:
- Supernova
- Nebula
- Starburst
- Stellar Implosion
The heavier (more complex) an element is, the __________
- rarer it is in the Universe
- more common it is in the universe
- less essential it is for life
- more likely it is to occur on Earth
- more important it is for producing energy in stars
Great spiral mass of stars about 100,000 light years across
- Nebula
- Globular Cluster
- Pulsar
- Quasar
- Galaxy
Technique astronomers use to find distance to nearby stars
- Parallax
- Spectroscopy
- Doppler Shift
- Radar
Deneb, 1600 light years away, is too far even for HIPPARCOS to measure its distanceaccurately. We estimate its distance by:
- Observing its motion
- Comparing it to stars of the same type whose distance we can measure
- Knowing it's in a globular star cluster
- Measuring its red shift
Galaxies and the Universe
How Big is our Galaxy?
- 1000 light years across
- 10,000 light years across
- 100,000 light years across
- 1,000,000 light years across
Where are we in our Galaxy?
- In the central hub
- In the disk 2/3 of the way to the edge
- At the extreme edge of the disk
- Neither in the hub nor the disk
We know our location in our Galaxy by observing what?
- The movements of nearby stars
- Positions of Globular Star Clusters
- Motions of small satellite galaxies
- The expansion of the Universe
- Areas of star formation in the Galaxy
Our galaxy is in the center of:
- We are not at the center of anything
- A small group of 100 galaxies
- A cluster of 1,000 galaxies
- A supercluster of a million galaxies
How is our Sun moving in the galaxy?
- Standing Still
- Moving straight away from the center
- Moving out of the disk plane
- Orbiting once every 250 million years
The evidence that galaxies are receding from us is:
- They have gotten smaller since we first observed them
- They have gotten fainter since we first observed them
- Their light is blue-shifted
- Their light is red-shifted
The energy released at the Big Bang is now observed as:
- Visible light
- X-rays
- Infrared
- Ultraviolet
- Faint microwaves
To get an object moving at the speed of light would require:
- Earths energy output for 100 years
- The Suns energy output for 100 years
- The Suns energy output for a million years
- Infinite Energy
This great astronomical discovery was made by a woman astronomer:
- The recession of galaxies
- Relativity
- How chemical elements form in stars
- Variable stars as distance indicators
- Parallax of distant galaxies
In the evenings in _______ we look toward the center of the galaxy
- Summer
- Fall
- Winter
- Spring
Where is the Solar System in relation to the center of the Milky Way?
- near the center
- at the extreme outer rim
- outside it
- two-thirds of the way from the center to the rim
These stars give us a distance scale to the galaxies:
- Cepheid variables
- red giants
- white dwarfs
- pulsars
Why arent astronomers very worried about the "missing mass" in theuniverse?
- They think the entire concept is an error.
- The missing mass has recently been accounted for.
- There are no ways to estimate the amount of mass in the Universe.
- There are so many forms the missing mass could take.
The "missing mass" in the universe is more accurately described as:
- Antimatter
- Imaginary
- Non-luminous
- Undiscovered particles
One Voice in the Cosmic Fugue
Matching
- Linneaus
- Lamarck
- Darwin
- Wallace
- Mendel
| - He gave us the biological classification system still in use today:
- Inspired by a four year voyage on HMS Beagle
- Discovered genes but his discovery went largely unnoticed for a long time
- Was an obscure scientist until he co-discovered evolution
- He believed organisms are changed by their environment
- His real job was social peer and gentleman companion to the ship's captain
- He first included humans among the primates
|
What does the term "random" mean in scientific contexts?
- no purpose or direction
- not bound by physical laws
- too complex to describe or predict simply
- lacking in meaning or significance
Molecule that carries genetic information in most organisms
Why was John Scopes put on trial for teaching evolution?
- He had made a lot of enemies
- He wanted to test the Constitutionality of an anti-evolution law
- A student with a bad grade reported him
- Someone found his class notes and turned him in
What happened to him?
- He was acquitted
- He went to prison
- He had to flee the country
- He was given a small fine
The term "fundamentalist" was devised to describe:
- Vocal supporters of evolution
- Militant Moslems
- Militant atheists
- Believers in a statement of core beliefs in Christianity
What's a "fugue?"
- A musical piece with several versions of a theme playing simultaneously
- A complex code, such as that embodied in DNA
- A tendency to flee from beliefs that are threatening
- Any intricate piece of art
The Geologic Column, the standard names and orders of geologic periods, was establishedin its modern form:
- Over 100 years before Darwin
- About 20 years before Darwin
- After radiocarbon dating was invented
- As a result of Darwin's theories
One opponent of evolution reverted to Lamarck's ideas and used his politicalconnections to persecute his opponents. This happened in:
- The U.S.
- Nazi Germany
- The Soviet Union
- Britain
- France
Encyclopedia Galactica
Sagan uses the translation of this as a model for how we might someday communicate withextraterrestrial civilizations:
- Dead Sea Scrolls
- Mayan inscriptions
- The Rosetta Stone
- Southwestern petroglyphs
- Cuneiform
The fact that bureacracies tend to use predictable formats for documents aided indecipheing this ancient writing:
- Dead Sea Scrolls
- Mayan inscriptions
- The Rosetta Stone
- Southwestern petroglyphs
- Cuneiform
The man who did much to destroy these writings also left clues that aided in theirdecipherment:
- Dead Sea Scrolls
- Mayan inscriptions
- The Rosetta Stone
- Southwestern petroglyphs
- Cuneiform
This writing was almost easy to decode because it included a translation in Greek:
- Dead Sea Scrolls
- Mayan inscriptions
- The Rosetta Stone
- Southwestern petroglyphs
- Cuneiform
Inscribed stone that led to the decipherment of ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics
- Rosetta
- Obelisk
- Ptolemaic
- Champollion
- Fourier
"Hostile alien" science-fiction films went out of fashion for a time at aboutthe same time as this TV program type, and for many of the same reasons:
- Detective series
- News magazines
- Situation comedies
- Prime-time cartoon shows
- Westerns
This science-fiction film explored the notion that aliens might be so advanced as to beincomprehensible, and also pioneered the use of ultra-realistic special effects:
- Star Wars
- War of the Worlds
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Star Trek
- Plan 9 From Outer Space
A radical departure from previous science fiction in that it depicted enlightenedhumans interacting as equals with alien races:
- Star Wars
- War of the Worlds
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Star Trek
- Plan 9 From Outer Space
A "Close Encounter of the First Kind" involves what?
- Direct contact with aliens
- Sighting only
- Finding physical evidence
- Attack by aliens
- Communications received from space
A "Close Encounter of the Second Kind" involves what?
- Direct contact with aliens
- Sighting only
- Finding physical evidence
- Attack by aliens
- Communications received from space
A "Close Encounter of the Third Kind" involves what?
- Direct contact with aliens
- Sighting only
- Finding physical evidence
- Attack by aliens
- Communications received from space
The Drake Equation estimates what?
- Number of stars in the galaxy
- Fraction of planets with life
- Likelihood of planets around other stars
- Number of possible extraterrestrial civilizations
Which are and are not terms in the Drake Equation?
- Number of stars in the Galaxy
- Number of planets per star system suitable for life
- Average lifetime of stars
- Fraction of stars with planets
- Fraction of planets with Earthlike gravity
- Fraction of planets where life evolves
- Fraction of planets where intelligence evolves
- Fraction of planets smaller than Jupiter
- Fraction of planets with atmospheres
Which is the first term in the Drake Equation we can't estimate with at least someconfidence?
- Number of stars in the Galaxy
- Number of planets per star system suitable for life
- Fraction of stars with planets
- Fraction of planets where life evolves
- Fraction of planets where intelligence evolves
Other Questions
First known person to speculate that the Earth revolves around the Sun:
- Aristarchus
- Claudius Ptolemy
- Nicolaus Copernicus
- Tycho Brahe
- Johannes Kepler
This measure of geographic position can be determined by watching the heavens appear torotate:
- latitude
- longitude
- altitude
- azimuth
Matching
- Normal Star
- White Dwarf
- Neutron Star
- Black Hole
- Red Giant
| - Gravity overwhelms all other forces
- Largest of all stars
- Can be a pulsar
- What the most massive stars become
- What the sun will probably become next
- Nuclear fusion is the source of its energy
- The final stage in the evolution of the Sun
|
- Heliocentric Theory of Solar System
- Deduced size of Earth
- Theory of Epicycles and Deferents
- Gold nose and wild lifestyle
- Pious and brilliant theoretician
| - Kepler is best identified with:
- Eratosthenes is best identified with:
- Tycho is best identified with:
- Ptolemy is best identified with:
- Copernicus is best identified with:
|
- Jean Champollion
- Robert Goddard
- Percival Lowell
- Sir George Everest
- Christian Huyghens
| - Lived in 17th-century Holland
- Invented many clocks and other instruments
- Discoverer of Titan
- Developed the liquid-fuel rocket
- "Saw canals" on Mars
- Directed the Great Survey of India
- Deciphered Egyptian writings
- Directed the project that discovered the world's highest peak
- Deduced the nature of Saturn's rings
- Was encouraged as a boy by a famous physicist
|
- Venus
- Mars
- Jupiter
- Saturn
- Mercury
| - Nearest planet with surface visible from Earth
- Has a Giant Red Spot
- Has four giant moons
- Has a runaway greenhouse effect
- Has enormous volcanos and rift valleys
- Once had liquid water
- Has two tiny, irregular moons
- Has a moon with an atmosphere
- Has clouds of sulfuric acid droplets
- Closest to the sun and smallest of the group listed
- Has polar ice caps that expand and contact with its seasons
- The Cassini probe is on its way here
- Visited by Viking
- The Galileo mission studied this planet
|
This relatively unknown scientist discovered evolution at about the same time asDarwin:
- Huxley
- Mendel
- Wallace
- Goddard
- Oberth
A moon of Jupiter that has active volcanoes
- Titan
- Triton
- Io
- Callisto
- Europa
This country was one of the most open societies in the 1600's
- Holland
- Russia
- Spain
- Portugal
- Germany
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Created 31 March 2000, Last Update 1 May 2000