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Astrobiology Final Exam With Explained Solutions 2024
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Astrobiology Final Exam With Explained Solutions 2024
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Astrobiology Final Exam With ExplainedSolutions 2024
extraterrestrial .life .- .correct .answer.life .beyond .Earth
extrasolar .planets .- .correct .answer.planets .orbiting .stars .other .than .our .Sun
habitable .worlds .- .correct .answer.worlds .that .have .the .ingredients .and .conditions
.necessary .for .life
SETI .- .correct .answer.search .for .extraterrestrial .intelligence
astrobiology .- .correct .answer.the .study .of .life .in .the .universe
How .does .astronomy .help .us .understand .the .possibilities .for .extraterrestrial .life? .- .correct
.answer.Astronomy .tells .us .that .we .live .on .just .a .tiny .planet .orbiting .a .rather .ordinary .star
.in .a .vast .cosmos, .and .that .the .same .physical .laws .that .operate .here .also .operate
.throughout .the .universe. .Together .these .ideas .suggest .that .there .could .be .many .other
.worlds .with .life.
How .does .planetary .science .help .us .understand .the .possibilities .for .extraterrestrial .life? .-
.correct .answer.Based .on .current .understanding .of .how .planets .form, .we .expect .planets
.to .be .common .around .other .stars- .an .idea .that .has .been .confirmed .by .discoveries .of
.extrasolar .planets. .By .learning .how .planets .work, .we .learn .the .conditions .that .might
.make .a .habitable .world, .meaning .a .world .that .has .the .basic .necessities .for .life, .even .if .it
.does .not .actually .have .life.
How .does .biology .help .us .understand .the .possibilities .for .extraterrestrial .life? .- .correct
.answer.Modern .biology .provides .three .lines .of .evidence .suggesting .that .life .might .be
.common .on .other .habitable .worlds: .
1) .the .fact .that .life .arose .quickly .on .Earth .suggests .that .is .might .occur .on .any .world .that
.has .the ."right" .conditions
2) .We .know .from .observations .of .meteorites .and .interstellar .clouds .that .organic
.molecules .are .common .throughout .the .galaxy, .suggesting .that .we'll .find .them .on .many
.other .worlds
3) .The .fact .that .some .life .on .Earth .survives .even .under .seemingly .extreme .conditions
.suggests .that .life .is .hardy .enough .to .survive .in .many .other .places .as .well
,Where .should .we .search .for .life .in .the .universe? .- .correct .answer.The .search .for .life
.begins .right .here .on .Earth, .as .we .seek .to .learn .more .about .the .life .on .our .own .planet.
.Elsewhere .in .our .solar .system .we .can .search .many .planets .and .moons, .but .current
.understanding .suggests .that .the .most .promising .candidates .for .life .are .Mars .and .a .few
.moons, .including .Jupiter's .moon .Europa .or .Saturn's .moon .Enceladus. .In .the .future, .we
.should .be .able .to .conduct .telescopic .searches .for .life .around .other .stars.
Could .aliens .be .searching .for .us? .- .correct .answer.If .life .is .common .in .the .universe,
.civilizations .might .also .be .common, .in .which .case .other .civilizations .might .be .conducting
.their .own .searches .and .broadcasting .signals .of .their .existence. .We .look .for .such .signals
.form .alien .civilizations .through .search .for .extraterrestrial .intelligence .or .SETI
How .do .we .study .the .possibility .of .life .beyond .Earth? .- .correct .answer.The .science .of .life
.in .the .universe, .or .astrobiology, .focuses .on .three .major .areas: .1) .studying .the .conditions
.conductive .to .the .origin .and .ongoing .existence .of .life
2) .looking .for .such .conditions .on .other .planets .in .our .solar .system .and .around .other .stars
3) .looking .for .the .actual .occurrence .of .life .elsewhere.
Together, .these .studies .should .help .us .understand .the .connections .between .living
.organisms .and .the .places .where .they .reside
How .did .attempts .to .understand .the .sky .start .us .on .the .road .to .science? .- .correct
.answer.The .development .of .science .began .with .Greek .attempts .to .create .models .to
.explain .observations .of .the .heavens. .Although .most .Greek .philosophers .favored .a
.geocentric .model, .which .we .now .know .to .be .incorrect, .their .reasons .for .this .choice .made
.sense .at .the .time. .One .of .the .primary .difficulties .of .the .model .was .that .it .required .a
.complicated .explanation .for .the .apparent .retrograde .motion .of .the .planets, .with .planets
.going .around .small .circles .on .larger .circles .that .went .around .the .Earth, .rather .than .the
.much .simpler .explanation .that .we .find .with .a .Sun-centered .model
Why .did .the .Greeks .argue .about .the .possibility .of .life .beyond .Earth? .- .correct
.answer.Some .Greek .philosophers .(the .atomists) .held .that .our .world .formed .among .an
.infinite .number .of .indivisible .atoms, .and .this .infinity .implied .the .existence .of .other .worlds.
.In .contrast, .Aristotle .and .his .followers .(the .Aristotelians) .argued .that .all .earth .must .have
.fallen .to .the .center .of .the .universe, .which .rationalized .the .belief .in .a .geocentric .universe
.and .the .belief .that .the .heavens .were .fundamentally .different .from .Earth. .This .implied .that
.Earth .must .be .unique, .in .which .case .no .other .worlds .or .other .life .could .exist
How .did .the .Copernican .revolution .further .the .development .of .science? .- .correct
.answer.During .the .Copernican .revolution, .scientists .began .to .place .much .greater
.emphasis .on .making .sure .that .models .successfully .reproduced .observations, .and
.learned .to .trust .data .even .when .it .contradicted .deeply .held .beliefs. .This .willingness .to .let
.data .drive .the .development .of .models .led .Kepler .to .develop .what .we .now .call .Kepler's
.laws .of .planetary .motion, .and .later .led .to .the .deeper .understanding .that .came .with
.Newton's .laws .of .motion .and .the .universal .law .of .gravitation
, How .did .the .Copernican .revolution .alter .the .ancient .debate .on .extraterrestrial .life? .-
.correct .answer.The .Copernican .revolution .showed .that .Aristotle's .Earth-centered .beliefs
.had .been .incorrect, .effectively .ruling .out .his .argument .for .Earth's .uniqueness. .Many
.scientists .of .the .time .therefore .assumed .that .the .atomists .had .been .correct, .and .that
.other .worlds .and .life .are .widespread. .However, .the .data .didn't .really .support .this .view,
.which .is .why .we .still .seek .to .learn .whether .life .exists .elsewhere.
How .can .we .distinguish .science .from .nonscience? .- .correct .answer.Science .generally
.exhibits .these .three .hallmarks: .1)Modern .science .seeks .explanations .for .observed
.phenomena .that .rely .solely .on .natural .causes. .2) .Science .progresses .through .the
.creation .and .testing .of .models .of .nature .that .explain .the .observations .as .simply .as
.possible. .3) .A .scientific .model .must .make .testable .predictions .about .natural .phenomena
.that .would .force .us .to .revise .or .abandon .the .model .if .the .predictions .do .not .agree .with
.observations ..
What .is .a .scientific .theory? .- .correct .answer.A .scientific .theory .is .a .simple .yet .powerful
.model .that .explains .a .wide .variety .of .observations .in .terms .of .just .a .few .general
.principles, .and .has .attained .the .status .of .a .theory .by .surviving .repeated .and .varied
.testing.
How .does .the .fact .of .gravity .differ .from .the .theory .of .gravity? .- .correct .answer.Gravity .is .a
.fact .in .that .objects .really .do .fall .to .the .ground .and .planets .really .do .orbit .the .Sun. .The
.theory .of .gravity .is .used .to .explain .why .gravity .acts .as .it .does. .While .the .fact .of .gravity
.does .not .change, .the .theory .can .be .improved .with .time, .as .Einstein's .general .theory .of
.relativity .improved .on .Newton's .theory .of .gravity.
geocentric .model .- .correct .answer.model .adopted .by .Greek .philosophers .with .a .spherical
.Earth .at .the .center .of .a .great .celestial .sphere
apparent .retrograde .motion .- .correct .answer.while .planets .usually .move .eastward
.relative .to .the .constellations, .sometimes .they .reserve .course .and .go .backward.
Ptolemaic .model .- .correct .answer.this .model .reproduced .retrograde .motion .by .having
.planets .move .around .Earth .on .small .circles .that .turned .around .larger .circles. .A .planet
.following .this .circle-on-circle .motion .traces .a .loop .as .seen .from .Earth, .with .the .backward
.portion .of .the .loop .mimicking .apparent .retrograde .motion
stellar .parallax .- .correct .answer.annual .shifts .in .stellar .position .that .provide .concrete
.proof .that .Earth .really .does .go .around .the .Sun
Kepler's .laws .of .planetary .motion .- .correct .answer.planetary .orbits .take .the .shapes .of .the
.special .types .of .ovals .known .as .ellipses. .Kepler .used .his .knowledge .of .mathematics .to
.put .his .new .model .of .planetary .motion .on .a .firm .footing, .expressing .the .key .features .of
.the .model.
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