Test 2 Flashcards
(50 cards)
Mars experiences similar seasonal changes to those on earth because
It’s spin axis is tilted at about the same angle to it’s orbital plane as is the earths axis
The search for life in the solar system is essentially the search for
Liquid water
Where on earth have subglacial lakes been searched for life?
The Antarctic
If our sun had been a hotter star, how might the eyes of living organisms on earth have been different?
They would have evolved to see shorter wavelengths
Which NASA mission landed high in the Martian Arctic?
Phoenix
Other than hydrogen and helium, the major components of the atmosphere of Jupiter and Saturn have been found to be
CH4 (methane), NH3 (ammonia) and H20 (water)
Some scientists have suggested that life may have started on Mars first and then been transported to the earth by Martian meteorites. Which if the main theories for the origin of life on earth does this correspond to?
Lithopanspermia
Water exists on Mars. Where and in what state does it NOT exist on this planet m?
As liquid, flowing in river valleys
Humanoid life evolving on a planet similar to the earth, but which was more massive would probably be
Shorter
A chlorine (CI) atom with seven electrons in it’s outer shell (out if a full shell of right) will most likely tract with a metallic element by…
Gaining one electron
Which physical characteristic of methanol is superior even to water?
It exists as a liquid over a wider temperature range
What is the MOST important role that proteins play in living organisms on the earth?
Basic functioning of living organisms
Silicon forms it’s strongest chemical bonds with
Oxygen
Which of the following is probably the LEAST important characteristic of all living things?
Movement
Which of the following types of extremeophile thrives in high temperatures?
Thermophiles
The lakes on Titan are believed to contain mostly
Methane
How many electrons are shared between carbon atoms in a single bond?
6
Modern laboratory experiments, which repeated those of Urey and Miller in exploring the possibility of producing organic molecules (the building blocks of life) from mixtures of gases expected to exist in the atmosphere of early earth, passed electrical discharges through which mixture of gases?
Nitrogen, hydrogen, water vapor, carbon dioxide
The strong intermolecular forces between water molecules which give it it’s characteristic surface tension are due to
It’s strong polarity
Water ice can be found on the surfaces of which terrestrial bodes?
Mars, mercury, the moon
The secondary (2*) structure of a protein is
A sheet or helix
The mechanism of the greenhouse effect, which has resulted in very high temperatures on the surface of venus (and moderate temperatures on earth), can be described as
Solar UV and visible radiation heating the planet surface, the infrared emissions if which are then trapped by CO2 in the atmosphere
Which is the MOST important property of the element carbon that makes it ideal as a fundamental building block if biological molecules?
It readily forms chemical bonds with itself and other elements allowing a wide variety of complex molecules to form
Water molecules are attracted to each other with
Hydrogen bonds
