Multiple-Choice Questions
1) Which of the following appears most favored by natural selection?
A) intelligence
B) opposable thumbs
C) bipedal locomotion
D) binocular vision
E) live birth
Page Ref: 18.1
2) What important molecules of life did Miller and Urey brew up?
A) RNA
B) fatty acids
C) lean acids
D) amino acids
E) antacids
Page Ref: 18.1
3) Organic molecules are
A) living cells.
B) carbon-based.
C) silicon-based.
D) found only on Earth.
E) not found outside our solar system.
Page Ref: 18.1
4) The simplest life forms appeared on Earth when it was how old?
A) five million years
B) one billion years
C) 2.5 billion years
D) 3.5 billion years
E) 4.5 billion years
Page Ref: 18.1
5) How long between the evolution of single versus multicellular organisms?
A) 4.5 billion years
B) 2.5 billion years
C) one billion years
D) 600 million years
E) 63 million years
Page Ref: 18.1
6) Which of the following appears least important in the evolution of life here?
A) the stable luminosity of the Sun for billions of years
B) the magnetic field of the earth
C) the presence of water and carbon atoms
D) an Earth-like atmosphere
E) the correct distance from the Sun
Page Ref: 18.1
7) How long ago did multicellular life forms appear in the fossil record?
A) 4.5 billion years ago
B) 3.8 billion years ago
C) one billion years ago
D) 63 million years ago
E) 30 million years ago
Page Ref: 18.1
8) The famed meteorite with carbonate rocks and possible microfossils came from
A) Venus.
B) the Moon.
C) Mars.
D) Europa.
E) Comet Halley.
Page Ref: 18.2
9) Large molecules found in meteorites and interstellar clouds is evidence that
A) life is abundant in the galaxy.
B) life has definitely formed in other places than Earth.
C) chemical evolution has taken place elsewhere in the Universe.
D) organic molecules are extremely rare.
E) life originated on Mars before Earth.
Page Ref: 18.2
10) Which Jovian moon has gotten the most attention from exobiologists?
A) Ganymede
B) Urbriel
C) Triton
D) Miranda
E) Europa
Page Ref: 18.2
11) What encouragement for life on Mars came from the Global Surveyor recently?
A) spectral evidence for chlorophyll
B) Hellas has a lake of salt water in its bottom.
C) The ice of the south polar cap is water, not dry ice.
D) Strong photographic evidence for flowing and standing water on Mars in the past.
E) The face on Mars is an artificial construct.
Page Ref: 18.2
12) Which type of molecules, vital to our life, were found in Murchison and similar carbonaceous chondrites?
A) amino acids
B) DNA
C) lipids
D) sugars
E) vitamins
Page Ref: 18.2
13) According to our definition, we have been a technological civilization for about
A) 1000 years.
B) 10,000 years.
C) 100 years.
D) 10 years.
E) 500 years.
Page Ref: 18.3
14) Assuming the conditions ripe for life and intelligence abound in the Galaxy, what factor limits the number of galactic civilizations?
A) The lack of metals for technology
B) The number of supernova explosions.
C) The expansion of the Universe.
D) The average survival time of the civilizations
E) The speed of technological development
Page Ref: 18.3
15) Why do we feel type O and B stars are poor candidates for extraterrestrial life?
A) They do not have a habitable Zone.
B) They don't produce enough yellow light.
C) Their lifetime is too short.
D) They don't produce a planetary system.
E) Their habitable zone lies too close to the star.
Page Ref: 18.3
16) If we are optimistic in our assumptions about the development of life and intelligence, then the number of technological civilizations in the galaxy should equal the
A) average lifetime of a civilization.
B) number of stars forming per year.
C) average number of planets per star.
D) number of stars in the galaxy's habitable zone.
E) average number of planets that produce life.
Page Ref: 18.3
17) What is meant by the "habitable zone"?
A) the zone where water can be a liquid around the center of the Galaxy
B) the region around each star where terrestrial planets could have liquid water on their surfaces
C) the zone in which terrestrial-sized planets could form around each star
D) the region in dense atmospheres like Jupiter's that water droplets could form
E) the regions near the poles of Mercury where liquid water might exist
Page Ref: 18.3
18) The Drake Equation is attempting to find
A) the number of planets in the Milky Way Galaxy.
B) the number of planets with life on them in the whole universe.
C) the number of stars that might have planets orbiting them.
D) the number of technological civilizations in the Galaxy at a given moment.
E) the total number of terrestrial planets ever created.
Page Ref: 18.3
19) How does Drake define a technological civilization?
A) one that can get into space
B) one that can communicate over interstellar distances
C) one that has a written language
D) one that can construct metal tools
E) one that can have the intelligence not to destroy itself
Page Ref: 18.3
20) In Drake's equation, which of the following is the closest estimate for the number of stars that are formed in the Milky Way Galaxy?
A) a star a day
B) a star a month
C) a star a year
D) a star a decade
E) a star a century
Page Ref: 18.3
21) Considering both longevity and luminosity, which of these stars would be the most likely candidate for seeking extraterrestrial intelligence?
A) Spica, a B3 main sequence star
B) 61 Cygni, a K2 main sequence star
C) Sirius B, a white dwarf
D) Antares, a M3 supergiant
E) Barnard's star, a M5 dwarf
Page Ref: 18.3
22) Most SETI searches are done at
A) x-ray wavelengths.
B) infrared wavelengths.
C) visual wavelengths.
D) radio wavelengths.
E) gamma wavelengths.
Page Ref: 18.4
23) An extraterrestrial observer would pick up the strongest radio signals when
A) the earth was at perihelion.
B) North America was either rising or setting for the observer.
C) North America was directly in front of the observers.
D) at new or full Moon.
E) Saturday Night Live is on.
Page Ref: 18.4
24) As a radio source, the period of "pulsar Earth" is
A) 30 minutes.
B) 23 hours, 56 minutes.
C) 24 hours.
D) 29.5 days.
E) 365.25 days.
Page Ref: 18.4