It Is Unlikely That Intelligent Life Would Develop on a Planet

question 60

Multiple Choice

It is unlikely that intelligent life would develop on a planet circling a star of significantly less mass than the Sun because

• A) such a planet would need to be very close to the star and would become tidally locked to the star,making one side of the planet too hot and the other side too cold.
• B) the lifetime of such a star on the main sequence is too short;life forms on such a planet would not have time to evolve to a sufficient level of intelligence.
• C) there would be no region around the star where UV,visible,and IR light intensities would be suitable for the evolution of life.
• D) no moon would form around a planet near such a star,and a moon is considered essential for the evolution of life because of tidal variations on the shorelines of Earth.

---

Definitions:

Open-ended Questions

Questions formulated to elicit responses that are not limited to predefined options, allowing for more nuanced and detailed answers.

Closed-ended Questions

Questions designed to elicit a specific, limited response from a range of predetermined options, facilitating easier analysis of survey or questionnaire results.

Thomas Kuhn

A philosopher of science best known for his theory on the structure of scientific revolutions and the concept of paradigm shifts.

Truth

The state or quality of being in accordance with fact or reality, often considered as an objective concept in philosophy.