Fermi paradox

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/fermi-paradox

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the formulation date?Informally posed in 1950, with earlier conceptual roots
2. What is the scientific framework?Rooted in statistical probability, astrobiology, and the Drake Equation
3. Why do scientists think there might be many alien civilizations?Because there are hundreds of billions of galaxies, each with many stars and planets, and calculations suggest millions of advanced civilizations could exist.
4. Where did Enrico Fermi ask the question "Where is everybody?"?He asked it during a lunch conversation in 1950 at Los Alamos, a research lab in the United States.

Drake Equation: A probabilistic argument used to estimate the number of active, communicative extraterrestrial civilizations in the Milky Way galaxy.
Astrobiology: The scientific study of the origin, evolution, distribution, and future of life in the universe.
Interstellar Travel: Hypothetical travel between stars, often requiring advanced propulsion systems and vast timescales.