Life in the Universe (4th Edition)
4th Edition
ISBN: 9780134089089
Author: Jeffrey O. Bennett, Seth Shostak
Publisher: PEARSON
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Chapter 5, Problem 15RQ
To determine
The ways in which the theory of evolution is analogous to the theory of gravity.
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Which of the following seems least reasonable regarding life on Earth?
Group of answer choices
There is much scientific evidence suggesting that all creatures living on Earth today appear to have evolved from a common ancestor.
Louis Pasteur discredited the concept of spontaneous generation by demonstrating that even bacteria and other microorganisms arise from parents resembling themselves.
There is ample physical evidence that the earliest life forms on Earth were multicellular creatures, perhaps resembling some of our primitive fish.
When the earth formed some 4.6 billion years ago, it was a lifeless, inhospitable place.
Before the mid-17th century, most people believed that God had created humankind and other higher organisms and that insects, frogs, and other small creatures could arise spontaneously in mud or decaying matter
About billion years into its development, the Earth it was teeming with organisms resembling blue-green algae.
Which of the following is least reasonable regarding the difficulty in contacting extraterrestrial life using space flight and radio communication.
Group of answer choices
Space flight to the nearest star would take thousands of years with current technology.
Even if another intelligent civilization is within a few hundred light-years of us, conversations would be very slow with a turnaround time of decades or even centuries.
The spacecraft that NASA sent to Proxima Centauri a few years ago should be approaching its target within a decade or two, depending on solar wind conditions.
Earth has been broadcasting at radio wavelengths since the 1930's, so any civilization within a radius of about 100 light-years or so could have received the broadcast by now.
Without some major breakthrough, interstellar space flight is totally impractical.
Which of the following is not considered a likely solution to the question of why we are not currently aware of an extraterrestrial civilization?
Group of answer choices
There is no civilization because civilizations are not common.
The civilization is probably undetectable to us because it makes use of technologies that do not obey the known laws of physics.
There is no galactic civilization because civilizations do not leave their home worlds.
There is no civilization because most civilizations destroy themselves before achieving interstellar travel.
The civilization is deliberately avoiding contact with us.
Chapter 5 Solutions
Life in the Universe (4th Edition)
Ch. 5 - Briefly describe the six key properties that...Ch. 5 - What is natural selection? Summarize the logic by...Ch. 5 - Briefly describe the evidence that points to a...Ch. 5 - Why do we say that living cells are carbon-based?...Ch. 5 - Briefly describe each of the four main classes of...Ch. 5 - Prob. 6RQCh. 5 - What are the three domains of life? Which domain...Ch. 5 - What do we mean by the tree of life? List three...Ch. 5 - What is metabolism, and what are the two basic...Ch. 5 - Why is water so important to life on Earth? List...
Ch. 5 - Describe the double helix structure of DNA. How...Ch. 5 - What is a gene? A genome? The genetic code?Ch. 5 - What are mutations, and what effects can they...Ch. 5 - What are extremophiles? Give several examples of...Ch. 5 - Prob. 15RQCh. 5 - Explain how evolution exhibits each of the three...Ch. 5 - Suppose we found an organism on Earth with the...Ch. 5 - Suppose we found an organism on Earth with the...Ch. 5 - Suppose we found an organism on Earth with the...Ch. 5 - Suppose we found an organism on Earth with the...Ch. 5 - Suppose we found an organism on Earth with the...Ch. 5 - Suppose we found an organism on Earth with the...Ch. 5 - Suppose we found an organism on Earth with the...Ch. 5 - Suppose we found an organism on Earth with the...Ch. 5 - Suppose we found an organism on Earth with the...Ch. 5 - Suppose we found an organism on Earth with the...Ch. 5 - Choose the best answer to each of the following....Ch. 5 - Choose the best answer to each of the following....Ch. 5 - Choose the best answer to each of the following....Ch. 5 - An organisms heredity is encoded in (a) DNA; (b)...Ch. 5 - Prob. 31TYUCh. 5 - Which of the following is not a source of energy...Ch. 5 - People belong to domain (a) eukarya; (b) archaea;...Ch. 5 - Which of the following mutations would you expect...Ch. 5 - Generally speaking, an extremophile is an organism...Ch. 5 - Based on what you have learned in this chapter, it...Ch. 5 - The History of Evolution. Many people assume that...Ch. 5 - Prob. 38POSCh. 5 - Rock Life? How do you know that a rock is not...Ch. 5 - Genetic Variation. One of the underlying facts...Ch. 5 - Artificial Selection. Suppose you lived hundreds...Ch. 5 - Prob. 43IFCh. 5 - Dominant Life. While most of us tend to think of...Ch. 5 - The Human Power to Destroy. We may have the...Ch. 5 - The Search for Life. Based on what you have...Ch. 5 - Prob. 47IFCh. 5 - Atomic Numbers in Life. A typical bacterium has a...Ch. 5 - Oxygen Atoms in People. Figure 5.6 shows that...Ch. 5 - Cellular Energy. A typical eukaryotic cell, such...Ch. 5 - The Genetic Code. Suppose that, as evidence...Ch. 5 - Science and Religion. Science and religion are...Ch. 5 - Computer Life. Although scientists have already...Ch. 5 - Genetic Engineering and Future Evolution. For...Ch. 5 - Prob. 55IF
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