Week#2-Comp.-Life on Earth-and Beyond

1. Chris McKay described the Antarctica's Dry Valleys as being like what?

• China

• Mars

• Pluto

• Canada

2. Where did Chris and his team land when they arrived at The Dry Valleys?

• on a very high mountain, called Tall Mountain

• deep in the Atlantic Ocean

• on a giant sandstone, called Battleship Promontory

• on a sand dune at South Padre Island

3.  Why did Chris McKay want to study The Dry Valleys in the Antarctic? (What was he looking for?)

• gold

• dinosaur bones

• food

• signs of life

4. What kind of organisms (living things) did Chris find in the Dry Valleys?

• grass

• microbes

• caterpillars

• little green men

5. How do these creatures survive the harsh cold conditions of the Dry Valleys?

• Tidbits of summer sunlight and a few drops of melted snow

• Big chunks of sunlight and lots of rain

• strong gusts of wind and sunlight

6.  In "Very Little Rain on the Plain," What is the name of the driest desert in the world?

• The Sahara Desert

• The Mojave Desert

• The Atacama Desert

• The Gobi Desert

7. What are the two names of the robotic rovers that landed on Mars?

• ghost and chance

• Liberty and Freedom

• Strength and Adventure

• Spirit and Opportunity

8. In "Looking for Life in the Atacama," What did Chris use to test the microbes in the air?

• helium balloon

• helicopter

• robot

• pigeons

9. According Chris McKay, "Where there is no liquid water, there is no________________.

• ice

• life

• time

• air

10  Scientists found proof that at one time Mars did have liquid water on its surface for _________ years.

• five thousand years

• one million years

• hundreds of millions of years

• hundreds of thousands of years