Requirements for the development of life

Question 1 of 19

1

What is the definition of life?

Select one of the following:

"a biological system which has the ability to reproduce, mutate and evolve in response to changing environments"
"a material system which has the ability to self-replicate, mutate and evolve in response to changing environments"
"a material system which has the ability to reproduce, mutate and evolve in response to changing temperatures"
"a Biological system which has the ability to self-replicate, mutate and evolve in response to changing temperatures"

Explanation

Question 2 of 19

1

What is the second law of thermodynamics?

Select one of the following:

The entropy of an isolated system not in equilibrium will tend to increase over time, approaching a maximum value at equilibrium.
As temperature approaches absolute zero, the entropy of a system approaches a constant minimum.

Explanation

Question 3 of 19

1

What are Advantages of Carbon in the evolution of complex life?

Select one of the following:

Strength & Quantity
Size & structure
Mass & Volume
Speed and Velosity

Explanation

Question 4 of 19

1

which element has the greatest ability to bond with itself creating greater variety and long Chains?

Select one of the following:

Carbon
Oxygen
Potassium
Hydrogen

Explanation

Question 5 of 19

1

The element silicon has similar chemical properties to carbon – it can form four separate chemical bonds, and has been suggested, particularly by science fiction writers, as a basis for life forms, why is it not such a likely candidate as carbon?

Select one of the following:

Chemical bonds are not as strong, cannot form double bonds & and is more likely to bond with Oxygen to for smaller molecules rather than long chains.
Chemical bonds are not as strong, it always forms double bonds & and is more likely to bond with Oxygen to for smaller molecules rather than long chains.
Chemical bonds are too strong and will not break

Explanation

Question 6 of 19

1

Of all the requirements for life, almost all biologists would agree that water, or some other liquid, is the most important. Complex chemistry is not likely to develop far in the rigid structure of a solid; nor is it likely to develop in a vapour as it would be hard to keep all the working components together.

Select one of the following:

True
False

Explanation

Question 7 of 19

1

Why is water "Stable"?

Select one of the following:

Water exists as a liquid over a very broad temperature range. At atmospheric pressure this range is 0 to 100°C, whereas at higher pressures the range extends upwards to 363°C. There is no other abundant molecule which significantly overlaps this stable range.
Water exists as a liquid over all temperature ranges. There is no other abundant molecule which significantly overlaps this stable range.
Water is very unstable.

Explanation

Question 8 of 19

1

Why is water so abundant?

Select one of the following:

It is composed of H (Hydrogen) which is the third most abundant element in the universe.
It is composed of O (Oxygen) which is the third most abundant element in the universe.
There it a lot of H2O on earth thus abundant.

Explanation

Question 9 of 19

1

Why is Oxygen Chemistry very active?

Select one of the following:

lot of energy is available in chemical reactions involving free (molecular) oxygen
lot of energy is available in chemical reactions involving fixed (molecular) oxygen
Oxgyen emits lots of energy

Explanation

Question 10 of 19

1

What are Environmental Conditions?

Select one of the following:

Temperature, atmospheric composition, mass and age
Time & Water present.

Explanation

Question 11 of 19

1

What other conditions are necessary to protect life?

Select one of the following:

Protection from radiation, Moderate and stable temperatures & Atmospheric recycling mechanisms.
Protection from solar winds, Moderate and stable temperatures & Atmospheric recycling mechanisms.
Protection from solar winds, Moderate and water source & Atmospheric recycling mechanisms.

Explanation

Question 12 of 19

1

Is Short wavelength radiation is damaging to biological tissues?

Select one of the following:

True
False

Explanation

Question 13 of 19

1

On Earth we are protected from the malign effects of UV radiation by a thin layer of ozone. Which atom makes up the ozone?

Select one of the following:

OZone, a molecule composed of three oxygen atoms, which absorbs the radiation.
OZone, a molecule composed of three hydrogen atoms, which absorbs the radiation.
OZone, a molecule composed of three carbon atoms, which absorbs the radiation.
OZone, a molecule composed of three nitrogen atoms, which absorbs the radiation.

Explanation

Question 14 of 19

1

What is the The Habitable Zone?

Select one of the following:

0.6 to 1.5 astronomical units from the sun
1.5 to 3 astronomical units from the sun
3 to 6 astronomical units from the sun
6 to 9 astronomical units from the sun

Explanation

Question 15 of 19

1

What will happen if the planetary surface is too close to the star?

Select one of the following:

Too much heat / Radiation
Not enough heat and too much radation
Not enough radiation to hot

Explanation

Question 16 of 19

1

What happens to water the surface of a planet if its too close to the surface of a star?

Select one of the following:

Liquid water will not exist, the surface will be too warm, ultraviolet radiation from the central star may dissociate the water, breaking H2O into its constituents H and O.
Water is permanently frozen.

Explanation

Question 17 of 19

1

What other factors determin whether a planet can maintain liquid water

Select one or more of the following:

Mass of the planet
Geothermal activity
Shape and density
Atmosphere

Explanation

Question 18 of 19

1

What is the greenhouse effect?

Select one of the following:

The presence of "greenhouse gases" in the atmosphere of a planet leads to warming of the surface
A planet being close to the sun thus being very hot
The Ozone layer stopping heat escaping the atmosphere

Explanation

Question 19 of 19

1

The Earth’s crust is broken up into large rigid plates, which move slowly across its surface, riding on a hotter deformable layer. This is called?

Select one of the following:

plate tectonics
Movable plates
Floating Plates
Tectonic ridges

	Created by Lindsay White about 8 years ago

BSc (Hons) Cosmos Quiz on Requirements for the development of life , created by Lindsay White on 28/10/2016.

Requirements for the development of life

Question 1 of 19

What is the definition of life?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 2 of 19

What is the second law of thermodynamics?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 3 of 19

What are Advantages of Carbon in the evolution of complex life?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 4 of 19

which element has the greatest ability to bond with itself creating greater variety and long Chains?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 5 of 19

The element silicon has similar chemical properties to carbon – it can form four separate chemical bonds, and has been suggested, particularly by science fiction writers, as a basis for life forms, why is it not such a likely candidate as carbon?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 6 of 19

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 7 of 19

Why is water "Stable"?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 8 of 19

Why is water so abundant?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 9 of 19

Why is Oxygen Chemistry very active?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 10 of 19

What are Environmental Conditions?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 11 of 19

What other conditions are necessary to protect life?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 12 of 19

Is Short wavelength radiation is damaging to biological tissues?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 13 of 19

On Earth we are protected from the malign effects of UV radiation by a thin layer of ozone. Which atom makes up the ozone?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 14 of 19

What is the The Habitable Zone?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 15 of 19

What will happen if the planetary surface is too close to the star?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 16 of 19

What happens to water the surface of a planet if its too close to the surface of a star?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 17 of 19

What other factors determin whether a planet can maintain liquid water

Select one or more of the following:

Explanation

Question 18 of 19

What is the greenhouse effect?

Select one of the following:

Explanation

Question 19 of 19

The Earth’s crust is broken up into large rigid plates, which move slowly across its surface, riding on a hotter deformable layer. This is called?

Select one of the following:

Explanation