Deck 24: Beyond Our Solar System

Question 1

Which of the following events is not part of the history associated with the Big Bang Theory?

A)Just before Big Bang occurred,there was only energy and disassociated electrons and protons.
B)About 13.7 billion years ago,our universe started with a huge explosion.
C)The first matter formed 380,000 years after the formation of the universe.
D)Our Sun formed approximately 9 billion years after the universe formed.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which color stars have the highest surface temperature?

A)red
B)orange
C)yellow
D)blue

Answer 2

D

Question 3

In the early 1700's Kant suggested there were many galaxies visible from Earth but the idea was not popular because ________.

A)at that time,people generally believed the earth was the center of the universe.
B)only modern satellite data supports that point of view
C)that hypothesis would require a significantly larger universe than was widely accepted at that time
D)that hypothesis would require that objects travel faster than the speed of light
E)the "Big Bang" theory did not support that concept

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Which color stars have the coolest surface temperature?

A)red
B)orange
C)yellow
D)blue

Question 5

Which main-sequence stars are the most massive?

A)red
B)orange
C)yellow
D)blue

Question 6

The main difference between Bright and Dark Nebulae is ________.

A)the composition of their gases
B)the composition of their dust
C)their proximity to a black hole
D)their proximity to a blue star
E)none of the above

Question 7

Interstellar matter is composed primarily of ________.

A)ions
B)dust
C)oxygen
D)hydrogen
E)helium

Question 8

What was Hubble's major contribution to Cosmology?

A)He identified Cepheid Variable stars.
B)He measured the size of the universe.
C)He identified numerous new galaxies outside the Milky Way.
D)He developed a new method for measuring the absolute magnitude of stars.
E)He proved the Big Bang Theory.

Question 9

The densest stars known to exist are ________.

A)black holes
B)neutron stars
C)white dwarfs
D)red dwarfs

Question 10

What two elements formed first?

A)electrons and protons
B)hydrogen and oxygen
C)helium and oxygen
D)helium and hydrogen
E)protons and neutrons

Question 11

A Hertzsprung-Russell diagram (H-R Diagram)is a plot of ________.

A)size versus brightness
B)size versus color
C)color versus brightness
D)brightness versus temperature
E)temperature versus color

Question 12

Which main-sequence stars are the least massive?

A)red
B)orange
C)yellow
D)blue

Question 13

The reason scientists believe the reflective bright nebulae contain more heavy materials than the emission bright nebulae is that ________.

A)they reflect more colors than the emission nebulae
B)they glow brighter than an energy emission source could produce
C)they are brighter than a low density source could produce
D)they are dimmer than a low density source could produce
E)they are blue,and that color is associated with carbon

Question 14

Fluorescence occurs when ________.

A)visible light is converted to ultraviolet light
B)visible light is converted to infrared light
C)infrared light is converted to visible light
D)ultraviolet light is converted to visible light
E)Infrared light is converted to ultraviolet light

Question 15

A red star is ________ our Sun.

A)hotter and smaller than
B)hotter and larger than
C)colder and larger than
D)colder and smaller than
E)approximately the same temperature and size as

Question 16

Why did Hubble think the Cepheid variables he saw in "Fuzzy Patches" were outside the milky way?

A)They were dim.
B)They were small.
C)Their brightness varied.
D)They had a red shift character.

Question 17

When viewed through an optical telescope,planetary nebula ________.

A)look like giant planets such as Jupiter
B)have visible planets within their cloud of debris
C)show the explosive form of the dead sun
D)still have planets orbiting the cloud
E)are spherical in form and often have "rings" like Saturn

Question 18

The red color of emission nebulae comes from the ________.

A)conversion of infrared light to visible light
B)conversion of ultraviolet light to visible light
C)energy emission of hydrogen
D)energy emission of helium
E)energy emission of oxygen

Question 19

Fluorescence is a characteristic of ________.

A)emission nebulae
B)dark nebulae
C)planetary nebulae
D)reflection nebulae
E)blue nebulae

Question 20

Cepheid Variables are stars whose brightness varies in a predictable manner so that the absolute magnitude of the star can be determined,and this allows the ________ of the star to be determined.

A)size
B)distance from Earth
C)velocity
D)direction of motion
E)composition

Question 21

What is the dominant factor in the life of a star?

A)temperature
B)size
C)gravity
D)energy
E)composition

Question 22

A star with the same color as another but 100 times brighter must be ________.

A)100 times hotter
B)100 times larger
C)100 times closer
D)100 times colder
E)none of the above

Question 23

Degenerate matter can have densities 1 million times greater than the density of water,and they achieve this density by ________.

A)fusing all of their atoms into super atoms with very high atomic numbers
B)compressing all of the electrons so that they are close to the nucleus
C)forming ions that bond electrostatically so that there volume is very small
D)converting the atomic nucleus to a small volume with high mass by expelling all neutrons

Question 24

A main-sequence star like our sun is expected to be stable for approximately ________.

A)100 billion years
B)10 billion years
C)1 billion years
D)100 million years
E)10 million years

Question 25

Which of the following is not true of first generation stars?

A)They are very dense.
B)They are massive.
C)They are composed primarily of hydrogen.
D)They are short-lived.
E)They have violent,explosive deaths.

Question 26

A neutron star theoretically will form from a supernovae collapse that ________.

A)fuses all of the atoms into super atoms with very high atomic numbers
B)compresses all atoms so that electrons are so close to the nucleus that all of the protons are converted to neutrons
C)forms ions that bond electrostatically into very small volumes
D)converts the atomic nucleus to a small volume with high mass by expelling all neutrons

Question 27

Balance for a main sequence star is achieved when ________.

A)nuclear fusion and fission occur at the same rate
B)gas pressure matches temperature
C)temperature matches the rate of nuclear fusion
D)gravitational collapse matches gas pressure
E)all of the above

Question 28

Spiral galaxies tend to resemble a pinwheel because ________.

A)stars in the center of the galaxy are moving faster than the ones on the outer edges
B)stars are moving from the center to the edges of the galaxy
C)the barred structures form twisted pathways that distort the flow patterns
D)the stars in the center are very old and large while the outer edges of the galaxy contain the youngest and smallest stars
E)stars in the center of galaxy are moving more slowly than the ones on the outer edges.

Question 29

The point in stellar evolution when a star has used up all its fuel and is radiating away its remaining thermal energy as light is the ________ stage.

A)black hole
B)main-sequence star
C)red giant
D)white dwarf

Question 30

Prior to the formation of the protostar,________.

A)the interstellar clouds are composed of equal amounts of hydrogen and helium
B)the temperature of the cloud is greater than 10,000 K
C)nuclear fusion converts hydrogen to helium
D)nuclear fusion does not occur

Question 31

The temperature of a red giant increases rapidly because ________.

A)exothermic chemical reactions occur
B)endothermic chemical reactions occur
C)fusion increases and gives off heat
D)gravitational energy is converted to heat
E)friction from the collapse creates heat

Question 32

The first stars formed about 300 million years after Big Bang in the most massive nebulae because ________.

A)only the massive nebulae had the material needed to make stars
B)it took that long for enough matter to form to make a star
C)the massive nebulae had enough gravity to attract star material early in the history of the universe
D)the massive nebulae had enough gravity to collapse and condense
E)all of the nebulae at that time were massive and it was not until much later that smaller nebulae formed

Question 33

Most stars are in this stage of evolution.

A)black hole
B)main-sequence star
C)red giant
D)white dwarf

Question 34

What is the main factor that determines what will happen to a star after it consumes all of its nuclear fuel?

A)temperature
B)size
C)mass
D)velocity
E)composition

Question 35

A blue star is ________ our Sun.

A)hotter and smaller than
B)hotter and larger than
C)colder and larger than
D)colder and smaller than
E)approximately the same temperature and size as

Question 36

What is a "main sequence star"?

A)a star that is aligned with many other,similar colored stars
B)a star that is in a group of stars with similar ages and sizes
C)a star that falls in a band in a band on the H-R Diagram with most other stars
D)a star that is statistically indistinguishable from 90% of all stars
E)a star that shows the same trend in distance from earth and temperature as many other stars

Question 37

The final stage for a star which is as massive as the Sun is a ________.

A)black hole
B)main-sequence star
C)red giant
D)white dwarf

Question 38

The Sun belongs to this class of stars.

A)black hole
B)main-sequence star
C)red giant
D)white dwarf

Question 39

On a Hertzprung-Russell Diagram,our Sun is classified as ________.

A)a yellow giant
B)a yellow dwarf
C)a mediocre star
D)a super star
E)an average star

Question 40

A red giant has ________.

A)a hydrogen-rich core
B)a helium-rich core
C)an iron-rich core
D)no outer shell
E)high gas pressure

Question 41

Which one of the objects listed below has the largest size?

A)galactic clusters
B)globular clusters
C)galaxies
D)stars
E)nebula

Question 42

Stars spend most of their life span as main-sequence stars.

Question 43

The measure of a star's brightness is called its magnitude.

Question 44

What was the test of the Big Bang Hypothesis discussed in your text?

A)The universe should be expanding.
B)There should be more expansion in older galaxies than in young ones.
C)We should be able to model how the galaxies have moved and reconstruct the original explosion.
D)We should be able to detect remnants of the initial heat of the universe.
E)We should be able to measure how atoms have changed through fusion since the original explosion.

Question 45

How do astronomers believe an irregular galaxy forms?

A)Several regular galaxies of different sizes merge.
B)They form when an elliptical and a spiral galaxy merge.
C)They are regular galaxies that are distorted by the gravity field of a large nearby galaxy.
D)They are two or more galaxies that have not completed their merger.
E)They are young galaxies that have not yet developed a more regular form.

Question 46

Based on the observed red shifts in the spectral lines of distant galaxies,astronomers conclude that ________.

A)Earth is in the center of the universe
B)the universe is contracting
C)the universe is expanding
D)the universe is in a steady state

Question 47

The largest known galaxies are ________.

A)spiral
B)barred spiral
C)elliptical
D)irregular
E)round

Question 48

The Sun is considered an average star.

Question 49

The larger the magnitude number,the brighter will be the star.

Question 50

Red Giant neutron star main sequence Red Supergiants

Question 51

neutron star supernova white dwarf black hole

Question 52

The least massive main-sequence stars are blue in color.

Question 53

There are three possible fates for the universe: 1)eternal expansion; 2)total collapse; or 3)some equilibrium condition with no further motion.What conditions might favor one result over the other?

A)Critical velocity-is there enough momentum to continue expansion forever?
B)Critical density-is there enough mass in the universe to cause gravitational collapse?
C)Critical energy-is there enough energy in the universe to maintain either expansion or collapse?
D)Critical volume-is the universe large enough for unlimited expansion?

Question 54

Slipher made the observation that galaxies rotated and moved relative to each other.Hubble expanded on this work to show that ________.

A)the rates of rotation varied within galaxies
B)the relative motion between adjacent galaxies varies
C)galaxies within the Local Group rotate more than other galaxies
D)galaxies within the Local Group rotate less than other galaxies
E)all galaxies except those in the Local Group are moving away from the Milky Way

Question 55

magnitude color temperature composition

Question 56

Hubble's law states that galaxies are receding from us at a speed that is proportional to their ________.

A)distance
B)orientation
C)volume
D)mass

Question 57

The discovery that the universe appears to be expanding led to a widely accepted theory called ________.

A)the Big Bang
B)Hubble's Law
C)Einstein's Law
D)the Doppler effect

Question 58

Big Bang Theory suggests that prior to the Big Bang,the universe was ________.

A)nothing
B)a giant neutron star
C)in a very hot and massive state
D)a collapsed supernova

Question 59

Evidence for the existence of dark matter includes ________.

A)the observation that Mercury rotates about the Sun faster than Pluto
B)the observation that the universe is not expanding as fast as predicted by Big Bang Theory
C)the observation that stars near the center of galaxies do not rotate as fast as expected
D)the observation that the universe appears to be slowing down

Question 60

Stars having the same surface temperature radiate the same amount of energy per unit area.

Question 61

Our galaxy is currently absorbing other galaxies.

Question 62

Stars with a surface temperature 3000 K appear red in color.

Question 63

The most dense objects known are black holes.

Question 64

Our galaxy is called the Milky Way.

Question 65

Most galaxies are of this type.

Question 66

The hottest main-sequence stars are also the most massive.

Question 67

Stars that are composed of matter in which electrons have combined with protons are called ________ stars.

Question 68

Cool stars evolve much more quickly than do hot stars.

Question 69

Very large red stars,such as Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion,are called ________.

Question 70

The red shift refers to the tendency of stars to cool and become red in color.

Question 71

Possibly the most cataclysmic event associated with the death of a star is the ________.

Question 72

Stars spend most of their life span as giants.

Question 73

Hubble's law states that galaxies are receding from us at a speed that is proportional to their ________.

Question 74

A star in which light cannot escape because of the immense gravitational pull is called a(n)________.

Question 75

The name applied to large quantities of interstellar dust and gas is ________.

Question 76

Dark Energy and Dark Matter are similar in that they both appear to be slowing the expansion of the universe.

Question 77

The Milky Way is classified as an irregular galaxy.

Question 78

The greatest number of galaxies belong to the type known as elliptical galaxies.

Question 79

The distance light travels in a year,called a(n)________,is used by astronomers to measure stellar distances.

Question 80

The "true" brightness of a star is called its ________ magnitude.