Question 1

Where would a brown dwarf be located on an H-R diagram?

Accepted Answer

A)   Below and to the right of the lowest part of the main sequence
B)   Above and to the left of the highest part of the main sequence
C)   In the upper right corner of the H-R diagram
D)   In the lower left corner of the H-R diagram

Question 2

Do you think it is possible that a 10-solar-mass main-sequence star could harbor an advanced civilization? Explain your reasoning.

Accepted Answer

A 10-solar-mass star has a ver...

Question 3

Choose from the list below for the following questions. You may use a choice more than once.
-Which one provided the energy that made the Sun hot in the first place?

Accepted Answer

A)  H fusion by the proton-proton chain
B)  H fusion by the CNO cycle
C)  helium fusion
D)  matter-antimatter annihilation
E)  gravitational contraction

Question 4

In any star cluster, stars with lower masses greatly outnumber those with higher masses.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 5

The heaviest element produced by stars or in supernovae is silicon.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 6

Why does a star grow larger after it exhausts its core hydrogen?

Accepted Answer

A)   The outer layers of the star are no longer gravitationally attracted to the core.
B)   Hydrogen fusion in a shell outside the core generates enough thermal pressure to push the upper layers outward.
C)   Helium fusion in the core generates enough thermal pressure to push the upper layers outward.
D)   Helium fusion in a shell outside the core generates enough thermal pressure to push the upper layers outward.
E)   The internal radiation generated by the hydrogen fusion in the core has heated the outer layers enough that they can expand after the star is no longer fusing hydrogen.

Question 7

What types of stars end their lives with supernovae?

Accepted Answer

A)   all stars that are red in color
B)   all stars that are yellow in color
C)   stars that are at least several times the mass of the Sun
D)   stars that are similar in mass to the Sun
E)   stars that have reached an age of 10 billion years

Question 8

Why is iron significant to understanding how a supernova occurs?

Accepted Answer

A)   Iron cannot release energy either by fission or fusion.
B)   Iron is the heaviest of all atomic nuclei, and thus no heavier elements can be made.
C)   Supernovae often leave behind neutron stars, which are made mostly of iron.
D)   The fusion of iron into uranium is the reaction that drives a supernova explosion.

Question 9

Which part of the electromagnetic spectrum generally gives us our best views of stars forming in dusty clouds?

Accepted Answer

A)   Infrared
B)   Visible light
C)   Ultraviolet
D)   Blue light

Question 10

The Faintest White Dwarfs: All low-mass stars end their lives by forming white dwarfs which evolve by cooling at a constant radius, growing less and less luminous with time. You are about to begin an observing program to look for the faintest white dwarfs in the Milky Way Galaxy. In the course of your observations, will you continue to find white dwarfs that are less and less luminous, or will you ultimately find a population of white dwarfs that are the least luminous ones in the Milky Way? If you answer the latter, what is your interpretation of this result?

Accepted Answer

In the course of our observations, we wi...

Question 11

Which two processes can generate energy to help a star maintain its internal thermal pressure?

Accepted Answer

A)   Nuclear fusion and gravitational contraction
B)   Nuclear fusion and nuclear fission
C)   Nuclear fusion and supernova
D)   Nuclear fission and supernova

Question 12

Our Sun will end its life in a planetary nebula and become a white dwarf.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 13

What happens to the core of a star after it ejects a planetary nebula?

Accepted Answer

A)   It contracts from a protostar to a main-sequence star.
B)   It breaks apart in a violent explosion.
C)   It becomes a white dwarf.
D)   It becomes a neutron star.
E)   none of the above

Question 14

We do not know for certain whether the general trends we observe in stellar birth masses also apply to brown dwarfs. But if they do, then which of the following would be true?

Accepted Answer

A)   Brown dwarfs would outnumber all ordinary stars.
B)   Brown dwarfs would be responsible for most of the overall luminosity of our Milky Way Galaxy.
C)   Brown dwarfs would be extremely rare.
D)   Most of the brown dwarfs in the Milky Way Galaxy would be quite young in age.

Question 15

Which is more common: a star blows up as a supernova, or a star forms a planetary nebula/white dwarf system?

Accepted Answer

A)   Planetary nebula formation is more common.
B)   Supernovae are more common.
C)   They both occur in about equal numbers.
D)   It is impossible to say.

Question 16

Choose from the list below for the following questions. You may use a choice more than once.
-Which process leads to the production of carbon?

Accepted Answer

A)  H fusion by the proton-proton chain
B)  H fusion by the CNO cycle
C)  helium fusion
D)  matter-antimatter annihilation
E)  gravitational contraction

Question 17

Lithium, beryllium, and boron are elements with atomic number 3, 4, and 5, respectively. Even though they are three of the five simplest elements, why are they rare compared to many heavier elements?

Accepted Answer

Helium fuses into carbon by combining th...

Question 18

Suppose the star Betelgeuse (the upper left shoulder of Orion)  were to become a supernova tomorrow (as seen here on Earth) . What would it look like to the naked eye?

Accepted Answer

A)   Because the supernova event destroys the star, Betelgeuse would suddenly disappear from view.
B)   We'd see a cloud of gas expanding away from the position where Betelgeuse used to be. Over a period of a few weeks, this cloud would fill our entire sky.
C)   Betelgeuse would remain a dot of light but would suddenly become so bright that, for a few weeks, we'd be able to see this dot in the daytime.
D)   Betelgeuse would suddenly appear to grow larger in size, soon reaching the size of the full moon. It would also be about as bright as the full moon.

Question 19

A spinning neutron star has been observed at the center of a ________.

Accepted Answer

A)   supernova remnant
B)   planetary nebula
C)   red supergiant
D)   protostar

Question 20

Which of the following statements about the stages of nuclear burning in a massive star is not true?

Accepted Answer

A)   Each successive stage of fusion requires higher temperatures than the previous stages.
B)   As each stage ends, the core shrinks further.
C)   Each successive stage creates an element with a higher atomic weight.
D)   Each successive stage lasts for approximately as long as the first, hydrogen fusion stage.

Exam 12: Star Stuff

Our Sun will end its life in a planetary nebula and become a white dwarf.

Correct Answer
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Which of the following statements about the stages of nuclear burning in a massive star is not true?

Correct Answer
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Do you think it is possible that a 10-solar-mass main-sequence star could harbor an advanced civilization? Explain your reasoning.

Correct Answer
verified
A 10-solar-mass star has a ver...
View Answer

Choose from the list below for the following questions. You may use a choice more than once. -Which process leads to the production of carbon?

Correct Answer
verified

What happens to the core of a star after it ejects a planetary nebula?

Correct Answer
verified

In any star cluster, stars with lower masses greatly outnumber those with higher masses.

Correct Answer
verified

Suppose the star Betelgeuse (the upper left shoulder of Orion) were to become a supernova tomorrow (as seen here on Earth) . What would it look like to the naked eye?

Correct Answer
verified

Lithium, beryllium, and boron are elements with atomic number 3, 4, and 5, respectively. Even though they are three of the five simplest elements, why are they rare compared to many heavier elements?

Correct Answer
verified
Helium fuses into carbon by combining th...
View Answer

Correct Answer
Answered by ExamLex AI
In the course of our observations, we wi...
View Answer

The heaviest element produced by stars or in supernovae is silicon.

Correct Answer
verified

Which is more common: a star blows up as a supernova, or a star forms a planetary nebula/white dwarf system?

Correct Answer
verified

We do not know for certain whether the general trends we observe in stellar birth masses also apply to brown dwarfs. But if they do, then which of the following would be true?

Correct Answer
verified

Which part of the electromagnetic spectrum generally gives us our best views of stars forming in dusty clouds?

Correct Answer
verified

A spinning neutron star has been observed at the center of a ________.

Correct Answer
verified

Where would a brown dwarf be located on an H-R diagram?

Correct Answer
verified

Why does a star grow larger after it exhausts its core hydrogen?

Correct Answer
verified

Choose from the list below for the following questions. You may use a choice more than once. -Which one provided the energy that made the Sun hot in the first place?

Correct Answer
verified

Which two processes can generate energy to help a star maintain its internal thermal pressure?

Correct Answer
verified

Why is iron significant to understanding how a supernova occurs?

Correct Answer
verified

What types of stars end their lives with supernovae?

Correct Answer
verified

Exam 12: Star Stuff

Our Sun will end its life in a planetary nebula and become a white dwarf.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following statements about the stages of nuclear burning in a massive star is not true?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Do you think it is possible that a 10-solar-mass main-sequence star could harbor an advanced civilization? Explain your reasoning.

Correct AnswerverifiedA 10-solar-mass star has a ver...View AnswerShow Answer

Choose from the list below for the following questions. You may use a choice more than once. -Which process leads to the production of carbon?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What happens to the core of a star after it ejects a planetary nebula?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In any star cluster, stars with lower masses greatly outnumber those with higher masses.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Suppose the star Betelgeuse (the upper left shoulder of Orion) were to become a supernova tomorrow (as seen here on Earth) . What would it look like to the naked eye?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Lithium, beryllium, and boron are elements with atomic number 3, 4, and 5, respectively. Even though they are three of the five simplest elements, why are they rare compared to many heavier elements?

Correct AnswerverifiedHelium fuses into carbon by combining th...View AnswerShow Answer

Correct AnswerAnswered by ExamLex AIIn the course of our observations, we wi...View AnswerShow Answer

The heaviest element produced by stars or in supernovae is silicon.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which is more common: a star blows up as a supernova, or a star forms a planetary nebula/white dwarf system?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

We do not know for certain whether the general trends we observe in stellar birth masses also apply to brown dwarfs. But if they do, then which of the following would be true?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which part of the electromagnetic spectrum generally gives us our best views of stars forming in dusty clouds?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

A spinning neutron star has been observed at the center of a ________.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Where would a brown dwarf be located on an H-R diagram?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Why does a star grow larger after it exhausts its core hydrogen?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Choose from the list below for the following questions. You may use a choice more than once. -Which one provided the energy that made the Sun hot in the first place?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which two processes can generate energy to help a star maintain its internal thermal pressure?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Why is iron significant to understanding how a supernova occurs?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

What types of stars end their lives with supernovae?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified
A 10-solar-mass star has a ver...
View Answer

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified
Helium fuses into carbon by combining th...
View Answer

Correct Answer
Answered by ExamLex AI
In the course of our observations, we wi...
View Answer

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
verified

Correct Answer
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Correct Answer
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Correct Answer
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Correct Answer
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