Deck 1: A Universe of Life

Question 1

Astronomy has shown us that the Earth

A) occupies a special location in the universe so that life elsewhere is unlikely
B) is the only planet in the universe with any kind of life
C) is the only planet in the universe with advanced life
D) is just one planet orbiting an ordinary star in a vast universe

Answer 1

is just one planet orbiting an ordinary star in a vast universe

Question 2

Which three branches of science are most important in our study of life in the universe?

A) physics, mathematics, and astronomy
B) astronomy, planetary science, and biology
C) planetary science, biology, and mathematics
D) biology, mathematics, and physics

Answer 2

astronomy, planetary science, and biology

Question 3

On the surface of which moon of Saturn are liquids observed to exist?

A) Enceladus
B) Mimas
C) Iapetus
D) Titan

Answer 3

Titan

Question 4

The molecular building blocks of life have been found

A) only on the Earth
B) on the Earth, in interstellar clouds, and in meteorites
C) on the Earth and in meteorites
D) on the Earth and on Mars

Question 5

Beneath the surface of which moon of Saturn is there evidence for the existence of a subsurface ocean of liquid water?

A) Titan
B) Enceladus
C) Dione
D) Helene

Question 6

Humanity has been thinking about the possibility of extraterrestrial life

A) since the first reports of unidentified flying objects in the 1940's
B) since reports of canals on Mars were first made in the 1870's
C) throughout human history since the time of the ancient Greeks

Question 7

Extraterrestrial life elsewhere in the universe

A) will be unrecognizable
B) could be similar to life on Earth or might be completely different
C) will be identical to life on Earth
D) will be completely different than life on Earth

Question 8

If life exists on Mars today it will most likely be found

A) everywhere-on the surface, beneath the surface, and in its atmosphere
B) on the surface
C) beneath the surface
D) in its atmosphere

Question 9

Using current spacecraft, how long would it take to reach the nearest stars?

A) hundreds of thousands of years
B) millions of years
C) only a few years
D) thousands of years

Question 10

Extraterrestrial life is defined to be

A) life found beyond the Earth which is based on the same biology and chemistry as life on Earth
B) advanced life forms that have visited the Earth
C) any kind of life found beyond the Earth
D) advanced life found on Earth-like planets around other stars

Question 11

Biologists have found that life on Earth can

A) survive over a wide range of environmental conditions
B) only survive on the surface of the Earth
C) survive over only a very narrow range of environmental conditions
D) survive only in the presence of sunlight

Question 12

The discovery of extrasolar planets indicates that planets around other stars are

A) all Earth-like
B) nonexistent
C) common
D) relatively rare

Question 13

For most of human history it was believed that the Earth was at the center of the universe. This idea is referred to as

A) heliocentric
B) egocentric
C) geocentric
D) stellocentric

Question 14

The discovery of any kind of life beyond the Earth would

A) cause a profound change in perspective of the whole of humanity
B) be of interest to all scientists, but of little interest to the wider public
C) be of no interest to anyone at all
D) only be on interest to biologists

Question 15

The portrayal of nearly all aliens in movies and on TV as being humanoid is

A) based on the fact that it would be impossible for us to understand anything that wasn't very similar to a human
B) realistic because the human form has several unique qualities that make it a good choice for any advanced civilization
C) based on the fact that the human form is the only possible form for an advanced civilization
D) probably unrealistic because the human form is most likely a result of the particular conditions and events that occurred on the Earth

Question 16

The fact that the life on Earth seems to have appeared quite rapidly suggests that life

A) can arise on most habitable worlds
B) can only appear soon after a planet forms
C) on any kind of planet is inevitable
D) is only possible on Earth-like planets

Question 17

Among the other planets, probably the most likely place to find evidence for life either now or in the past is on

A) Venus
B) Mercury
C) Jupiter
D) Mars

Question 18

A habitable world is defined to be one that

A) is identical to the Earth
B) is in orbit about a solar-type star
C) has an atmosphere
D) has conditions suitable for life

Question 19

Astronomy has shown us that the fundamental laws of physics are

A) the same everywhere in the universe
B) the same in our solar system but different beyond the solar system
C) completely random and unpredictable
D) different on other planets in our solar system

Question 20

Beneath the surface of which moon of Jupiter is there the strongest evidence for the existence of a subsurface ocean of liquid water?

A) Io
B) Callisto
C) Europa
D) Ganymede

Question 21

Astrobiology as a field of scientific research, includes contributions from

A) only astronomers and biologists
B) biologists with an interest in astronomy
C) astronomers with an interest in biology
D) many different scientific disciplines

Question 22

The study of life in the universe is best described by the term

A) astrochemistry
B) bioastronomy
C) astrobiology
D) exobiology

Question 23

At its most fundamental level, the goal of astrobiology is to

A) discover the connection between life and the places it is found
B) find how life on Earth originated
C) find life beyond the Earth
D) understand the biological makeup of other life forms

Question 24

The ancient view of an Earth-centered geocentric universe suggested that life elsewhere should be

A) common
B) rare
C) this view gives us no clue of the likelihood of life elsewhere
D) at the center of another, parallel universe

Question 25

The modern view of our place in the universe suggests that life elsewhere may be

A) this view gives us no clue of the likelihood of life elsewhere
B) rare
C) common
D) at the center of another, parallel universe

Question 26

Currently, our best hope of finding life on extrasolar worlds is

A) by interstellar travel
B) by searching with telescopes
C) by listening to extraterrestrial radio broadcasts
D) contact with alien visitors to the Earth

Question 27

The Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI) program currently involves

A) broadcasting signals for other advanced civilizations to receive
B) listening for signals broadcast by advanced civilizations
C) searching for life on planets around other stars
D) searching for life in our solar system

Question 28

The scientific discipline of astrobiology is

A) one of the oldest branches of science
B) a relatively young branch of science
C) a similar age to other fundamental disciplines like physics and chemistry
D) a hypothetical branch of science which has yet to be established