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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. How far away is Proxima Centauri from Earth?
(a) 100 million times farther than our moon.
(b) 700 million times farther than Mars.
(c) 120 million times farther than our sun.
(d) 390 million times farther than Venus.

2. What is an extremophile?
(a) A researcher who explores extremely isolated regions.
(b) An organism adapted to living in extreme conditions.
(c) A scientist who studies climate extremes.
(d) An extremely large living organism.

3. During the time of the dinosaurs, Earth's magnetic field was:
(a) Three times stronger than today.
(b) Same as it is now.
(c) Three times weaker than today.
(d) Fluctuating wildly.

4. Approximately how many miles are there from Earth's surface to its core?
(a) 595,399.
(b) 695.
(c) 45,599.
(d) 3,959.

5. Halley believed that once scientists figured out the distance from the sun to the Earth, they could then calculate what?
(a) Weight of the sun.
(b) Weight of Earth.
(c) Distances to distant stars.
(d) Distances to other planets.

Short Answer Questions

1. What campaign did geologist Clair Patterson take on?

2. In 1971, Mike Voorhies discovered an amazing fossil bed in Nebraska full of skeletons of prehistoric animals killed 12 millions years ago. How did they die?

3. After noticing an unusual phenomenon with uranium salts and a photographic plate, Henri Becquerel asked one of his graduate students to investigate the matter. Who was this student?

4. A caldera is a:

5. According to the Superstring Theory, the components making up protons, neutrons, electrons, and neutrinos are not regular particles, but instead are:

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain Albert Einstein's theory of space curvature using a tennis ball and an ant.

2. What is the theory of continental drift? Who first proposed this theory, and how was it received?

3. How close did asteroids come to Earth in 1991 and 1993?

4. Describe what happened when astronomer Edmond Halley asked Sir Isaac Newton for mathematical help.

5. Why is the term "dinosaurian" a misnomer?

6. Describe some of the theories regarding what might have caused the Big Bang.

7. Explain how inventor and engineer, Thomas Midley, Jr., solved some problems but created enormous safety and environmental issues by adding lead to gasoline and by inventing chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

8. Describe what happens in a supernova.

9. Describe Albert Einstein before he became well known in the scientific community.

10. What are quarks? How are they categorized and classified?

(see the answer keys)

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