astrobiology quiz with answers

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1. Life on earth is based on, a) Carbon b) Oxygen c) Nitrogen 2. Genetic information in cells are stored and passed on to the next generation through, a) DNA b) Enzymes c) Proteins 3. Who was the famous scientists to conduct an experiment to simulate the conditions of primitive earth and demonstrate that amino acids, fatty acids and urea could be formed in nature? a) Charles Darwin b) Stanley Miller c) James Watson 4. What are 'stromatolites'? a) Fossil structures made by bacteria b) Type of meteorites that contain amino acids c) Primitive bacteria still found in deep sea beds 5. Apart from the earth, what is the most likely place to find life in our solar system? a) Venus b) Mars c) Asteroids 6. A planet orbiting a small star cannot habour intelligent life because, a) The star has a short life span b) Planets will have unstable orbits c) The life zone is too close to the star 7. Planets around a binary star system is not suitable for development of intelligent life because the planets, a) Lie outside the life zone b) Have unstable orbits c) Do not form around binary stars 8. What is the definition of a life zone around a star? a) Temperature range in which water can exist in liquid form b) Area which can form an earth-size planet c) Area between the orbits of venus and mars 9. What is the equation used to estimate the number of intelligent civilizations in our galaxy? a) SETI equation b) Carl Sagan equation c) Drake equation 10. What is the name of the argument which suggests that the universe is 'fine-tuned' to our existance? a) Anthropic principle b) Olber's paradox c) Harvey's paradox Astrobiology Quiz Difficulty level 5 www.AstronomyQuiz.info ANSWERS 1. Carbon 2. DNA 3. Stanley Miller 4. Fossil structures made by bacteria 5. Mars 6. The life zone is too close to the star 7. Have unstable orbits 8. Temperature range in which water can exist in liquid form 9. Drake equation 10. Anthropic principle Visit www.astronomyquiz.info for more online quizzes

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An Astrobiology Quiz with answers and explanations. An easy reference for anyone preparing for quizzes. Also a useful aid for studying astronomy.The online version can be accessed via

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Page 1: Astrobiology Quiz with Answers

1. Life on earth is based on,a) Carbonb) Oxygenc) Nitrogen

2. Genetic information in cells are stored and passed on to the next generation through,a) DNAb) Enzymesc) Proteins

3. Who was the famous scientists to conduct an experiment to simulate the conditions of primitive earth and demonstrate that amino acids, fatty acids and urea could be formed in nature?a) Charles Darwinb) Stanley Millerc) James Watson

4. What are 'stromatolites'?a) Fossil structures made by bacteriab) Type of meteorites that contain amino acidsc) Primitive bacteria still found in deep sea beds

5. Apart from the earth, what is the most likely place to �nd life in our solar system?a) Venusb) Marsc) Asteroids

6. A planet orbiting a small star cannot habour intelligent life because,a) The star has a short life spanb) Planets will have unstable orbitsc) The life zone is too close to the star

7. Planets around a binary star system is not suitable for development of intelligent life because the planets,a) Lie outside the life zoneb) Have unstable orbitsc) Do not form around binary stars

8. What is the de�nition of a life zone around a star?a) Temperature range in which water can exist in liquid formb) Area which can form an earth-size planetc) Area between the orbits of venus and mars

9. What is the equation used to estimate the number of intelligent civilizations in our galaxy?a) SETI equationb) Carl Sagan equationc) Drake equation

10. What is the name of the argument which suggests that the universe is '�ne-tuned' to our existance?a) Anthropic principleb) Olber's paradoxc) Harvey's paradox

Astrobiology QuizDi�culty level 5

www.AstronomyQuiz.info

ANSWERS

1. Carbon2. DNA3. Stanley Miller4. Fossil structures made by bacteria5. Mars6. The life zone is too close to the star7. Have unstable orbits8. Temperature range in which water can exist in liquid form9. Drake equation10. Anthropic principle

Visit www.astronomyquiz.info for more online quizzes

Page 2: Astrobiology Quiz with Answers

1. CarbonAll life on earth is carbon-based. Carbon has the ability to form long chains. Thus it is a key ingredient in proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and nucleic acids. Oxygen and nitro-gen are important elements but it is carbon

that forms the backbone.

2. DNADNA carries the genetic information from one generation to another. Enzymes and proteins, do not

4. Fossil structures made by bacteriaStromatolites are some of the oldest fossils created by blue-green algae.

5. MarsSo far no evidence of life has been found beyond our planet. But Mars would be a likely candidate. But the lack of a magnetic �eld and atmosphere means more cosmic rays are reaching the surface. So there can be life in the subsurface layers. Venus and

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3. Stanley MillerStanley Miller was an American biologist who was famous for his experiments on origins of life. Chales Darwin suggested the theory of evolution from natural selection. James Watson and Francis Crick discovered

the structure of DNA

Answers in detail

Page 3: Astrobiology Quiz with Answers

6. The life zone is too close to the starWhen the life zone is too close to the star, then a planet inside the life zone will be under strong tidal forces. This will slow down the rotation and one side may permanently face the star, while the otherside will remain cold in the dark.

7. Have unstable orbitsIt takes billions of years for intelligent life to evolve from primitive single cell organisms. This is not possible unless the planet is in a stable orbit.

8. Temperature range in which water can exist in liquid form

9. Drake equation where:N = the number of civilizations in our galaxy with which communication might be possible;andR* = the average rate of star formation per year in our galaxyfp = the fraction of those stars that have planetsne = the average number of planets that can potentially support life per star that has plan-etsfℓ = the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop life at some point� = the fraction of the above that actually go on to develop intelligent lifefc = the fraction of civilizations that develop a technology that releases detectable signs of their existence into space

10. Anthropic principleThis philosophical arguement suggests that the physical universe must be compatible with the intelligent conscious life that observes it.

Visit www.astronomyquiz.info for more online quizzes