Form A

Discovering that the speed of light is the same for all observers implied that
(a) the concept of objective reality no longer exists
(b) distances can differ for different observers but time is absolute
(c) times can differ for different observers but distances are absolute
(d) distances and times both depend on the reference frame
Let's say you know the Hawkeyes won their basketball game some night, and the next day you are watching a recording of the end of the game. There are 4 seconds left, and the Hawkeyes are down by 4 points and do not even have the ball. You do not expect to watch something normal happen, you expect to be amazed. This is similar to
(a) the anthropic principle
(b) the principle of conservation of energy
(c) the principle of Occam's razor
(d) the principle of inertia
The primary way humans and their machines get and use energy involves
(a) replacing carbon-hydrogen bonds with carbon-oxygen bonds
(b) absorbing sunlight with solar panels and generating electricity
(c) splitting the nuclei of atoms
(d) fusing the nuclei of atoms
We have discovered a surprising number of gas giants that are close to their star because
(a) these must be the most common type of planet
(b) this type of planet is the easiest to detect
(c) this is the type we are most interested in discovering
(d) all the above
Which of the following two moons are known to have liquid water under their icy surfaces?
(a) Enceladus and Europa
(b) Io and Ganymede
(c) Mimas and Titan
(d) Lilo and Stitch
Why is NASA currently so busy exploring Mars?
(a) to mine it for its minerals
(b) to build habitats for human colonization
(c) to understand if life can exist elsewhere
(d) to make contact with alien intelligence
Which of the following is not regarded as essential for life anywhere in a planet?
(a) liquid water
(b) molecules containing carbon
(c) a thick atmosphere
(d) an energy source
If you are in deep space and everyone has a meterstick, you reckon that
(a) the people moving toward you have longer metersticks
(b) the people moving away from you have longer metersticks
(c) no one else's meterstick is shorter than yours
(d) no one else's meterstick is longer than yours
Some stars have a brightness that varies a little, and randomly with time. That makes it harder to use which technique to find planets?
(a) the radial velocity technique
(b) the transit technique
(c) both of the above are much harder to use
(d) neither of the above are much harder to use
The most uncertain issue for deciding how many technologically capable species are in our galaxy right now is:
(a) how many planets are there around other stars
(b) what fraction of those planets are in the habitable zone
(c) how long technology survives once it appears
(d) how many stars are could possibly support life
Galileo suggested using the way Io regularly enters Jupiter's shadow as a kind of clock, and later Romer used that to determine
(a) the force of gravity
(b) the size of Jupiter
(c) the motion of the Earth
(d) the speed of light
The relativity of simultaneity is required to resolve the fact that
(a) two observers moving in deep space will both think the other's clock is slower
(b) some observers think other's clocks are slower, some think other's are faster
(c) all observers have to experience the same amount of time elapsed
(d) all measurements have to come out different in different reference frames
The core of Io is still hot because
(a) it is such a large moon it has not had time to cool down
(b) it is closer to the Sun than the other moons of Jupiter
(c) it has volcanic eruptions that keep its interior hot
(d) it gets heated from time to time by tidal stresses from Jupiter
In the twin paradox, Alice stays home and Bob goes on a trip at high speed. When he returns,
(a) Alice and Bob both think the other is the older one
(b) Alice and Bob both think the other is the younger one
(c) both agree Bob is older
(d) both agree Alice is older
The relativity of simultaneity implies
(a) there is no such thing as a universal "now"
(b) no two events can ever occur at the same time
(c) if two events happen at the same time for me, they do for everyone
(d) everything happens at the same time
If we could make rockets go at nearly the speed of light, and we wanted to reach a star 10 light years away from us on Earth, then the rocket passengers
(a) would need at least 10 years on board the rocket to arrive
(b) would arrive in much less than 10 years of their lives
(c) would experience time as if they were in slow motion
(d) would experience time going backward
The reason it takes several years to verify that some possible planet in the habitable zone around a star like the Sun is indeed a planet is that
(a) the planet must pass in front of the star multiple times
(b) the picture must be exposed for a long time before the planet can be seen
(c) it takes that long for the light to get to us
(d) there is so much data it takes scientists that long to analyze it
Which is the main reason we have discovered very few Earthlike planets in Earthlike orbits?
(a) we have discovered most of those planets and they are very rare
(b) the technology to detect such planets is well beyond our reach
(c) our missions so far did not last long enough to be able do it
(d) the Tess satellite exploded on the launch pad
Which element, because of its chemical complexity, is believed to be crucial for all life?
(a) carbon
(b) hydrogen
(c) oxygen
(d) nitrogen
Which one of the following techniques is best for finding planets with high mass that are close to their star?
(a) the radial velocity technique
(b) the transit technique
(c) the gravitational lensing technique
(d) the direct imaging technique
Which one of the following techniques is best for finding planets that orbit in the same plane as the distant observer?
(a) the radial velocity technique
(b) the transit technique
(c) the gravitational lensing technique
(d) the direct imaging technique
Which type of exoplanet would be the most promising for surface life?
(a) moons of gas giants about 10 AU from sunlike stars
(b) moons of gas giants about 10 AU from less luminous stars
(c) rocky planets about 0.1 AU from sunlike stars
(d) rocky planets about 0.1 AU from less luminous stars
If the theory of evolution could only explain the appearance of intelligent life on one planet out of a trillion, then
(a) it would imply we must have come about some other way
(b) it could explain life in our galaxy but not others
(c) it could still explain the intelligent life on our planet
(d) it would mean evolution is definitely what happened
Gas giant planets that are very close to their star are called
(a) hot Jupiters
(b) binary stars
(c) super Earths
(d) nothing, it is not possible
The Sun will continue to get brighter with time, making which planet potentially more habitable in a few billion years?
(a) Jupiter
(b) Mercury
(c) Venus
(d) Mars

Answers:
(1-5) daaba
(6-10) ccdbc
(11-15) dadda
(16-20) bacaa
(21-25) bdcad