Life in the Universe (4th Edition)
Life in the Universe (4th Edition)
4th Edition
ISBN: 9780134089089
Author: Jeffrey O. Bennett, Seth Shostak
Publisher: PEARSON
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Chapter E, Problem 1DQ

Is There Life Elsewhere? After considering all the evidence to date about the possibility of extraterrestrial life, do you believe it is likely that we'll find microbial life elsewhere? Do you believe it is likely that we'll find intelligent life elsewhere? Defend your opinions, using arguments based on the full range of scientific issues discussed in this book.

Expert Solution & Answer
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To determine

If microbial life is possible elsewhere and chances of intelligent life.

Answer to Problem 1DQ

There is a possibility of existence of microbial life elsewhere due to common elements around universe and also various conditions on earth indicates similar condition in universe making human belief for possibility of microbial life. Intelligent life is also possible in universe.

Explanation of Solution

There is a great possibility of microbial life in universe.

Various evidences for such possibilitiesare as follows:

  • The elements that are found on earth are very common in universe and carbon molecules which help in life formation can also be formed easily.
  • Life on earth was possible even under harsh conditions which were supposed to be harmful. All these adverse condition made life adaptable to the changes in them with changing condition. These similar conditions are common in all over universe with less variation which makes humans belief that life can exist in universe.
  • Earth became habitable after long time of formation of universe. This makes it evitable that there might be other planets too that had life on them.

According to the books it is believed aliens would be much advanced from human civilization. They will be intelligent and more superior. Some books even suggested aliens would come to help and solve problems of human.

Conclusion:

Thus, There is a possibility of existence of microbial life elsewhere due to common elements around universe and also various conditions on earth indicates similar condition in universe making human belief for possibility of microbial life. Intelligent life is also possible in universe.

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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.
A radio broadcast left Earth in 1911. How far in light years has it traveled? If there is, on average, 1 star system per 400 cubic light years, how many star systems has this broadcast reached? Assume that the fraction of these star systems that have planets is 0.50 and that, in a given planetary system, the average number of planets that have orbited in the habitable zone for 4 billion years is 0.20. How many possible planets with life could have heard this signal?
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