Deck 14: The Stars: How Much Longer Can the Sun Sustain Life on Earth

Question 1

If the Hubble telescope detects an intensely bright region in the sky that lasts only a few days, it has probably found evidence of a

A) white dwarf.
B) supernova.
C) main sequence star.
D) new galaxy.
E) black hole.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Which of the following is among the things scientists predict for Sun's demise?

A) The burning of helium will produce a carbon ash core.
B) The Sun will expand until it extends past the present orbit of Venus.
C) The sun will emit more energy but appear to be cool.
D) At different points in its final years, the Sun will become a red giant and a white dwarf.
E) All of these are correct.

Answer 2

E

Question 3

If you were to observe a pulsar, what would you see?

A) a blinking red glow
B) intermittent radio waves
C) a steady glow that oscillates among the stars
D) the sudden brightening of a star
E) the total eclipse of the Sun

Answer 3

B

Question 4

From what part of the electromagnetic spectrum is most of the Sun's energy emitted?

A) radio waves
B) infrared waves
C) visible light waves
D) gamma rays
E) microwaves

Question 5

Which of the following is not an endpoint of stellar evolution?

A) white dwarf
B) main sequence star
C) pulsar
D) black hole
E) neutron star

Question 6

The solar wind

A) extends into space as far as Mercury.
B) consists of hydrogen and carbon particles.
C) is a part of the Sun's atmospheric circulation.
D) affects the magnetic fields of planets.
E) is another term for the Sun's chromosphere.

Question 7

Which of the following satellite observatories is used to examine the collision of neutron stars?

A) Planck Observatory
B) Chandra X-ray Observatory
C) Hubble Space Telescope (HST)
D) Femi Gamma Ray Telescope
E) Giant Magellan Telescope

Question 8

The energy source of stars is primarily associated with

A) the reactions of atoms in the star corona.
B) the reactions of nuclei in the star core.
C) the reactions of atoms in the outer regions of the star.
D) burning of elements until they become radioactive.
E) burning of elements heavier than lead.

Question 9

Which of the following ground-based telescopes has a collecting surface that combines more than a dozen mirrors?

A) Keck Telescope on Mauna Kea
B) Hubble Space Telescope
C) Fermi Telescope
D) Chandra Observatory
E) Giant Magellan Telescope

Question 10

What is Supernova 1987A likely to become?

A) black hole
B) pulsars
C) main sequence star
D) Cepheid variable
E) solar wind

Question 11

Where were the heaviest chemical elements on Earth created?

A) neutron stars
B) black holes
C) the Sun
D) supernovae
E) the asteroid belt

Question 12

The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram is a graphical technique used in astronomy to compare

A) the surface temperature versus the energy output of a star.
B) the star's luminosity versus its distance from Earth.
C) the absolute magnitude of the star versus the star's relative temperature.
D) the distance the Sun is from the nearest red giant.
E) the location of possible solar systems in the Milky Way.

Question 13

The difference in appearance of a star from other stars is a function of

A) the star's gravitational force on the Earth.
B) how far away the star is from other stars.
C) the total energy emitted by the star.
D) the composition of the core of the star.
E) the star's absolute brightness.

Question 14

At this moment, the Sun is producing energy by burning

A) plutonium.
B) anthracite.
C) hydrogen.
D) helium.
E) iron.

Question 15

Which of the following affects the life of a star?

A) gravitational force
B) mass
C) temperature
D) fusion processes
E) all of these are correct

Question 16

Which of the following can be said about large stars?

A) Large stars have a longer lifetime than smaller stars.
B) Large stars have a shorter lifetime than smaller stars.
C) Large star lifetime is about the same as that of smaller stars.
D) The helium in the large star's core burns to produce hydrogen.
E) Large stars are the source of oxygen in photosynthesis.

Question 17

The end products of fusion in the Sun's core are

A) helium isotopes, protons, and gamma rays.
B) hydrogen isotopes, photons, and infrared rays.
C) helium ions, photons, and hydrogen isotopes.
D) hydrogen ions, protons, and gamma rays.
E) deuterium, photons, and gamma rays.

Question 18

Where in the Milky Way galaxy would astronomers expect to find planetary systems other than our own?

A) neutron stars
B) nebulae
C) supernovas
D) black holes
E) Cepheid stars

Question 19

Which of the following variables related to star observation would not be among an astronomer's data?

A) wave length
B) intensity
C) sound
D) position
E) brightness

Question 20

Approximately how long does it take the energy of the Sun to be transferred from the stellar core to the photosphere?

A) one light-year
B) many thousands of years
C) 24 hours
D) one month
E) eight minutes

Question 21

Why are new stars made of hydrogen gas?

Question 22

Why do astronomers currently prefer orbiting telescopes over Earth-based telescopes?

A) lower user costs and more research time options
B) exciting space travel possible for observations
C) wider range of electromagnetic wavelengths detected
D) greater international cooperation
E) more aesthetically pleasing

Question 23

From the perspective of Earth, how are neutron stars and pulsars the same and how are they different?

Question 24

What is the answer to the 'solar neutrino problem'?

Question 25

How can the ashes of one stellar nuclear fire become the fuel for the next stellar nuclear fire?

Question 26

What four aspects of photons are measured by astronomers and what instruments do the scientists use?

Question 27

The iron in your blood was made during

A) a chemical process that occurred during Earth's formation.
B) the final moments in the life of a small star.
C) fusion during our Sun's creation.
D) fission reactions during the Big Bang.
E) the nuclear burning of a very large star.

Question 28

List the events in the life of a Sun-like star in chronological order.

Question 29

Red giants can be described as

A) huge planets that are surrounded by gases.
B) large stars that emit a lot of energy but have cool surfaces.
C) large stars that emit a lot of energy but have glowing, hot surfaces.
D) stars that are in the hydrogen-burning stage of their lives.
E) large planets with glowing iron oxide surfaces.

Question 30

What is the difference between apparent brightness and absolute brightness in star classification?

Question 31

If you were describing the structure of the Sun correctly, you would say that

A) ten percent of the total volume of the Sun is the core.
B) the Sun's outer region is a convection zone.
C) the photosphere thins away from the Sun's surface.
D) a gaseous chromosphere and corona are visible only during a solar eclipse.
E) all of these are correct.

Question 32

Why do scientists think that black holes exist, considering that black holes cannot be seen and none have ever been directly observed in space?

Question 33

Compare the process of hydrogen burning with helium burning in a star.

Question 34

How are naturally occurring elements heavier than iron formed in stellar processes?

Question 35

Why do larger stars have shorter life spans?

Question 36

What are the two factors that affect the behavior of every star?

Question 37

This scientist showed that the absolute magnitude of Cepheid variable stars is related to the time it takes for them to go through the dimming-brightening-dimming sequence.

A) Albert Einstein
B) Ejnar Hertzsprung
C) Henrietta Leavitt
D) Henry N. Russell
E) Pierre Simon

Question 38

What are the Earth's 'northern lights' and how are they are formed?

Question 39

From an observer's point of view, how would the birth of a star appear different from the death of a large star (supernova)?

Question 40

Why are imaginary space creatures often depicted as having eyes larger than those of Earth dwellers?

Question 41

How are the original optical telescopes different from modern telescopes? How are modern optical telescopes better than older ones?

Question 42

During ocean voyages, early sailors used a method called triangulation to determine the location of their ships. How is this same method used today by astronomers to determine the distance to certain neighboring stars?

Question 43

If the Earth had evolved around a different star - a redder star that produced more frequencies in the infrared and microwave bands - how might plant and animal development be different in response to these frequencies?

Question 44

When pulsars were first detected, they were called LGM, which stood for Little Green Men. What characteristic of pulsars might have caused astronomers to give them this name?

Question 45

If a new star were discovered, what characteristics would it have to have in order to be identified as a main sequence star?

Question 46

In the 1800s, scientists knew that if the Sun was composed of conventional fuels (coal, oil, or wood) it would have a burning life of only a few thousand years at best. How might this information have impacted the debate of "how old is the Earth" during that era?

Question 47

What elements on the periodic table are the products of supernovae and how did this happen?

Question 48

How are Cepheid variables used to classify stars?

Question 49

How is it that optical telescopes are placed in orbit but radio telescopes are not?

Question 50

What will the next generation of optical telescope look like and what kind of images will it produce?