Why would we not expect to find intelligent life such as ours on a planet orbiting
around a main sequence star of 10 solar masses?
Why are radio waves preferred over
other types of electromagnetic radiation (give 2 reasons)
interstellar space travel (also give 2 reasons)
in searches for extraterrestrial intelligence?
The Drake equation can be used to estimate the number of intelligent civilization in our galaxy with which we may hope to communicate via radio signals. In the last year there have been two break-through astronomical discoveries which (if confirmed) significantly reduce the uncertainty of two of the factors of the equation. What are these discoveries? Why are they so important?
In spite of the fact that the Sun was fainter in the past than it is now, the temperature
at the Earth's surface has remained almost constant. What is the most likely
reason for this so-called "Faint Sun Paradox"?
There is strong evidence that once the condition on Earth were right, life emerged very quickly. How do we know this? In your answer, describe
approximately when the Earth became suitable for life and why it was not suitable earlier,
how we can estimate when life first emerged, and
approximately how long it took for life to emerge after the Earth became habitable.
You are the chief designer of an unmanned Mars mission which will land a probe on the surface of Mars to conduct experiments to find out whether there is (or ever has been) life on this planet. No samples will be returned to Earth, so all experiments have to be carried out on Mars.
Where would you land the Mars probe?
What kind of experiment would you conduct?
Remember that you will have to put all equipment you need for your experiments
on the spececraft, so it can't be very heavy.
The extinction of the dinosaurs was probably caused by which of the following
events?
A series of volcanic eruptions released large amounts of carbon dioxide into
the atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse effect and leading to global warming.
A large meteorite slammed into the Earth, throwing vaporized rock and debris
into the atmosphere, which resulted in dramatic climate change, including acid
rain.
A large asteroid impacted the Earth, releasing radioactive iridium that killed
over 90% of the species.
the tilt of the Earth's axis shifted such that global temperatures dropped
dramatically -- too quickly for species to adapt.
Large carnivorous mammals evolved and were much smarter than the
dinosaurs; thus they could either catch and eat the dinos or out compete them for
resources, thus driving the dinosaurs to extinction.
Number the following events in the order in which they happened.(1
happened first, 10 last)
____ The first appearance of eukaryotes
____ The era of recombination
____ The creation of the solar system
____ The first appearance of life on Earth
____ The creation of Hydrogen and Helium
____ The first appearance of Homo Sapiens Sapiens
____ The K-T extinction
____ The formation of the first stars in our galaxy
____ The creation of space and time
____ The first appearance of plants and animals on land
Charles Darwin based his concept of evolution by natural selection on which of the
following observations?
Individuals within a species (or population) vary, and some of the variation is
inherited.
Beneficial traits acquired within an individual's lifetime can be passed on to
offspring.
Organisms produce more offspring than can survive, and survival is not
random but related to inherited characteristics.
All of the above.
a and c only.
Which of the following traits makes liquid water so vital for the development of life
as we know it?
Water is a "universal solvent"-- many things dissolve in water.
Water resists temperature change so is a good temperature regulator.
Water remains in the liquid state over a wide range of temperatures.
All of the above.
None of the above.
You try to recreate the Miller-Urey experiment to synthesize amino acids from a
mixture of "early atmosphere" gases. When you examine the results, you find
that you do have amino acids and that they are all of the left-handed structure
type. From this you can conclude which of the following?
Your sample was somehow contaminated with cosmic dust (that presumably
leaked out of another astronomy lab next door).
You've probably synthesized some amino acids, but your sample was
obviously contaminated with existing terrestrial amino acids.
Your sample was somehow contaminated with existing terrestrial amino acids,
and unfortunately, you haven't synthesized any new ones.
You've created an entirely new molecule!
None of the above conclusions is reasonable.
In the adventures of Peppy the Proton and her proton friends, which of the following
sequence of events for a given proton is the most likely and in the proper order?
H nucleus -> He nucleus -> C Nucleus -> Fe nucleus -> O nucleus
gaseous cloud -> 0.4 solar mass star -> 10 solar mass star
gaseous cloud -> 10 solar mass star -> 1 solar mass star
CO2 in Earth's atmosphere -> CO2 frozen in the polar ice caps -> C in plankton in the sea
It is inevitable that 3 or 4 billion years of evolution would lead to intelligent
creatures such as humans because:
Large brains are a necessity for land species.
Humans are the natural endpoint of evolution.
Mass extinctions of species destroy all non intelligent creatures.
Our vision and hands were designed to produce intelligence.
This statement is wrong, according to evolutionary biologists.
Decode the following extraterrestrial message (it's 65 bits long):