WorksheetsLife on Earth and Beyond
Total questions: 19
Worksheet time: 10mins
Which months is Antarctica in darkness for each winter?
from June to November
from April to September
from May to October
from July to December
Why do the Dry Valleys of Antarctica fascinate astrobiologists?
The Dry Valleys are warm and dry, just like the surface of Mars.
The Dry Valleys are cold and dry, just like the surface of Mars.
The Dry Valleys are home plants that also grow on the surface of Mars.
The Dry Valleys are home to aliens who traveled there from other planets.
"The cargo plane had no reclining seats or meal service. No windows either. It was eight hours of being cold and cramped." What do these details tell us about Chris Mackay's flight to Antarctica?
It was an enjoyable flight.
It was an uncomfortable journey.
His journey to Antartica was more comfortable than a normal flight.
He saw some incredible scenery on the journey there.
Which detail tells us that it was difficult to survive at Battleship Promontory?
The scientists had to fill two helicopters with camping gear, equipment, food and water before flying there.
Everybody at Battleship Promontory lived in a tent.
At the end of the trip, helicopters flew out every piece of trash and human waste.
The scientists went shopping at McMurdo's supermarket: a big metal hut filled with groceries.
What effect did the climate in Antarctica have on the food that the scientists brought with them?
The food rotted and spoiled quickly because of the cold, dry air.
The cold, dry air made the food become tasteless.
Nothing rotted or spoiled in the cold, dry air.
The food rotted and spoiled quickly becuase the air was hot and humid.
How do creatures survive the world's coldest and worst weather in the Dry Valleys?
They shelter themselves from the cold by digging homes in the snow and eatting plants that grow under the ice.
They live inside the rock, surviving on small amounts of summer sunlight and drops of snowmelt.
The migrate to the Dry Valeys in the summer, when the waether is warm and there is a lot of food to eat.
They live in the hot springs in the middle of the Dry Valleys and feed on bacteria.
Scientists believe that if life exists on Mars, it may be similar to the microbes found in rocks in Antarctica. According to the reading, why do they believe this?
Scientists have looked for life on Mars in every other place. Inside rocks is the only other place they could be.
They beleive the same microbes found in Antarctica traveled to Mars.
A shelter of rock or dirt would be important to protect any Martian life from the Sun's radiation.
The microbes feed on ice and there is a lot of ice on Mars.
What is a "living thing?"
A living thing eats, gives off waste, reproduces and evolves.
A living thing eats, has babies, makes a home for itself and has a job.
A living thing gives off waste, reproduces and evolves.
A living thing eats, evolves and makes a home for itself.
Why is fire not an example of life?
Fire cannot reproduce.
Fire cannot eat.
Fire does not give off waste.
Fire cannot evolve.
Which of the following statements about science is true?
Science is about always finding the correct answer. If you can't find it, you are bad at science.
Science is about testing out new things. Sometimes things work out, and sometimes they don't.
Science is about proving that you are right and everyone else is wrong. The best scientists are always right.
Science is about finding life in rocks on Mars.
What might some of the equipment that is used to find microbes in Antarctica be used for in the future?
It may be used to destroy the microbes that are found inside rocks.
It may be used to create new vaccines for viruses, such as the flu.
It may be used to make cold places, like Antarctica, warmer and able to sustain human life.
It may be used to find life on other planets.
Why do scientists believe that life on other planets is more likely to be microbes, not aliens that walk on two legs and have big eyes?
We haven't been able to find aliens that walk on two legs and have big eyes yet, therefore they must not exist.
Microbes take less time to evolve than complex life and can live in more places than complex life.
There are no other planets in the universe that can support complex life.
We killed all the aliens that walk on two legs and have big eyes in the 1996 movie, Independence Day.
In 2004, NASA sent two machines called rovers to Mars. What were they trying to find out?
They were trying to find out if water had ever existed on Mars.
They were looking for alien footprints.
They were trying to find out what happened to the spaceship that crashed there in 1994.
They were trying to find out what happened to the people that lived there.
What do the Atacama Desert in Chile and the surface of Mars have in common?
They are both home to alien life.
They are both very dry places.
They are both very cold places.
They both have very thin atmospheres and little air.
Where is the driest place that scientists have found?
the Gobi Desert
the Atacama Desert
the Dry Valleys
the Australian outback
What happened to the microbes that had adapted to living in other dry places when they were brought to the Atacama Desert?
They died.
They survived, just as they had done in other dry places.
They reproduced faster than in other places.
They started producing water.
Why did scientists use a helium balloon when studying microbial life in the Atacama Desert?
They were studying which way the wind was blowing.
They were comparing the air in the Atacama Desert with the air on Mars.
They used it to take photos of the landscape.
They were studying microbial life in the air.
What did scientists learn about living things while studying the Atacama Desert?
They learned that life can exist without liquid water.
They learned that microbes only need air to survive.
They learned that only microbes can survive in areas with no liquid water.
They learned that where there is no liquid water, there is no life.
What did the rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, discover on Mars?
They discovered that once upon a time, Mars had a lot of liquid water on it.
They discovered that there has never been liquid water on Mars.
They discovered that there used to be complex life on Mars, millions of years ago.
They discovered that there is still a lot of liquid water on Mars today.
