Use the PowerPoints and lecture notes, or even the web if you think you can find reliable answers... to study for our Final. There are 27 questions on our "course summary" or Final exam, which is meant to make sure you've gotten the most important points that we covered. The points below closely relate to the question you'll see on the exam...
* Would Natural Selection would favor the eventual development of Intelligence in at least some species. Why?
* Know the 3 ways, spread through time, that Nature has motivated us to use our intelligence (see Chapter 0)
* Know how and why science progress differs so radically from progress in politics and religion (see Chapter 0)
* Know the defining difference between a scientific hypothesis and a scientific theory
* Are the Laws of Physics, including those which impact on Life, the same unaltered laws throughout the Observable Universe?
* Do astronomers believe that these same laws of physics and all the parameters and forces and their strengths, the very same in all Universes of the Multi-verse?
* Know the formal definition of the Habitable Zone around a star
* How many, and which, are the chemical elements capable of being the backbone for complex molecules?
* Our first video of the course, the "World of Science" panel discussion, gave a number for how many rocky planets there are in the Milky Way Galaxy. Know approximately what that number is.
* What observations possible from another star system, looking at us, would confirm to them that Earth was covered with life of some kind (I'm not limiting it to interstellar communicating life).
* Know the Prime Requirement that a planet must show, in order for complex life to develop
* Understand the Power/Wealth Relationship, and why its important in the question of how long a civilization may last.
* Climate sensitivity to the prime Greenhouse Gas - CO2 - is described by a quantity called "ECS". What is our latest best estimate of what ECS is? Check out my talk on Climate in class, and the PowerPoint on "Future Climate" in Astro 7, or my talks to the UCSC Earth Futures Institute if you've forgotten. Beware of taking this number from the IPCC.
* Know whether the scientific evidence favors the Gaia Hypothesis, or not. Remember our Presentation on that subject, early in the course. And, what evidence was brought for, and against, the Gaia Hypothesis
* Eric Smith (video we watched in class) argued that life first appeared on Earth where, and why? This may differ from the much older suppositions on this question.
* Know how we think Life first reproduced; DNA or RNA or ???
* Advanced life's metabolism differed from early life's metabolism, in what way? What chemical energy source was the difference?
* Know roughly when life first appeared on Earth, compared to the age of the Earth.
* Know roughly when advanced complex life first crawled onto land
* Eric Smith showed that all life's molecules, no matter how complex, are based on what key circle of molecules?
* Reproduction strategies can have greater or lesser probabilities of leading to favorable offspring. What's the best, and why?
* Know the arguments within the Modern Drake Equation (vs. the original simple Drake Equation), for what is necessary for advanced life to develop
* Know why the Alien Spacecraft explanation for Oumuamua is more attractive. What key problem do the "natural" explanations have?
* Ourmuamua showed unusual motion, which was most consistent with.... what?
* How likely was the first interstellar visitor be made of pure nitrogen? The authors who favored this theory give a number.
* The Modern Drake Equation, as numerically estimated by the Instructor led by current science, produced a number of civilizations in the Galaxy today which was.... what?
* What is the most poorly known factor in the Drake Equation?
* The only civilization we know actually exists, is in deep peril today - what is the fundamental question that relates to this crisis, and which then influences how many civilizations may be out there in the Galaxy
* We argued roughly how long it would take an advanced civilization to colonize the Galaxy. About how long should that take?
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