End of Chapter Questions

Discussion Questions

Question 15.1

1. Which stellar spectral type is most likely to have a planet on which advanced life exists?

  1. O

  2. B

  3. A

  4. G

  5. M

Question 15.2

2. Which element serves as the foundation or “backbone” of life?

  1. oxygen

  2. carbon

  3. silicon

  4. hydrogen

  5. nitrogen

Question 15.3

3. What arguments could you make against sending messages via radio or spacecraft into interstellar space?

Question 15.4

4. Try using the Drake equation with values that you find reasonable. How many civilizations do you estimate there are in our Galaxy?

Question 15.5

5. Discuss the possible biological effects of our probes that visit other life-sustaining worlds.

Question 15.6

6. What social effects might probes from other worlds have on us?

Question 15.7

7. List some of the pros and cons in the argument that alien spacecraft have visited Earth.

Got It?

Question 15.8

8. Have astronomers found concrete evidence for the existence of extraterrestrial life? If so, please describe these discoveries.

Question 15.9

9. Have scientists found credible evidence that extraterrestrials have visited Earth? Explain your answer.

Question 15.10

10. Has life been created in the laboratory? If so, when and where?