Test Questions Flashcards
(35 cards)
By what process does the Sun generate energy?
a) gradual expansion
b) chemical reactions
c) nuclear fission
d) gravitational contraction
e) nuclear fusion
e) nuclear fusion
At the center of the Sun, nuclear fusion converts hydrogen into:
A) hydrogen compounds such asmethane.
B) molecular hydrogen.
C) radioactive elements such as uranium and plutonium.
D) helium, gamma rays, and neutrinos.
E) radiation and elements such as carbon and nitrogen.
d) helium, gamma rays, and neutrinos
Suppose you try to bring two protons close together. Because of the electromagnetic force, the two protons will:
A) collide.
B)remain stationary.
C) repel one another.
D) join together to form a deuterium nucleus.
E) attract one another
C) repel one another
According to modern science, approximately how old is the Sun?:
A) 25 million years
B) 400 million years
C) 10,000 years
D) 4.5 billion years
D) 4.5 billion years
What two physical processes balance each other to create the condition known as gravitational equilibrium in stars?:
A) gravitational force and surface tension
B) the strong force and the electromagnetic force
C) the strong force and the weak force D)gravitational force and outward gas pressure
D) gravitational force and outward gas pressure
Why do sunspots appear dark?:
A) They are regions nearly devoid of gas.
B) They are composed of different elements than the rest of the sun.
C) They are regions that do not emit any radiation.
D) They are regions that are significantly cooler than the rest of the photosphere.
D) They are regions that are significantly cooler than the rest of the photosphere
Energy balance in the Sun refers to a balance between______:
A) the amount of energy the Sun radiates into space and the amount of energy that reaches
Earth
B) the force of gravity pulling inward and the force due to pressure pushing outward
C) the rate at which fusion generates energy in the Sun’s core and the rate at which the Sun’s
surface radiates energy into space
D) themass that the Sun loses each second and the amount of mass converted into energy each
second
C) the rate at which fusion generates energy in the Sun’s core and the rate at which the Sun’s surface radiates energy into space
The Sun’s surface is called the_______:
A) photosphere
B) corona
C) convection zone
D) chromosphere
A) photosphere
The Sun’s average surface temperature is about_______:
A) 1,000 K
B) 37,000 K
C) 5,800 K
D) 1,000,000 K
C) 5,800 K
What is the solar wind?:
A) the wind that causes huge arcs of gas to rise above the Sun’s surface
B) the uppermost layer of the Sun, lying just above the corona
C) a stream of charged particles flowing outward from the surface of the Sun D) the strong wind that blows sunspots around on the surface of theSun
C) a stream of charged particles flowing outward from the surface of the Sun
The fundamental nuclear reaction occurring in the core of the Sun is_______:
A) nuclear fusion of helium into carbon
B) nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium
C) radioactive decay
D) nuclear fission
B) nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium
Which planet has the highest average surface temperature, and why?
:A) Venus, because of its dense carbon dioxide atmosphere
B) Mars, because of its red color
C) Jupiter, because it is so big.
D) Mercury, because it is closest to the Sun
E) Earth, because of its greenhouse effect
A) Venus, because of its dense carbon dioxide atmosphere
Why did the solar nebula heat up as it collapsed?:
A) Nuclear fusion occurring in the core of the protosun produced energy that heated the nebula.
B) As the cloud shrank, its kinetic energy was converted to gravitational potential energy.
C) As the cloud shrank, its gravitational potential energy was converted to thermal energy.
D) The shock wave from a nearby supernova heated the gas.
E) Radiation from other nearby stars that had formed earlier heated the nebula.
C) As the cloud shrank, its gravitational potential energy was converted to thermal energy
What kind of material in the solar nebula could condense at temperatures as high as 1,500 K, such as existed in the inner region of the nebula?
A) molecules such as methane and ammonia
B)m e t a l s
C) rocks
D) silicon-based minerals
E) hydrogen compounds
B
Based on our current theory of Earth’s formation, the water we drink likely comes from:
A) chemical reactions that occurred in Earth’s core after Earth formed.
B) water bearing planetesimals that impacted Earth.
C) ice that condensed in the solar nebula in the region where Earth formed. D) chemical reactions that occurred in Earth’s crust after Earth formed.
E) material left behind during the giant impact that formed the Moon.
B
In essence, the solar nebular theory states that:
A) oursolar system formed from the collapse of an interstellar cloud of gas and dust
B) the planets each formed from the collapse of its own separate nebula
C) nebulae are clouds of gas and dust in space
D) The nebular theory is a discarded ideathatimagined planets forming as a result of a
near-collision between our Sun and another star
A
What do we mean by the frost line when we discuss the formation of planets in the solar nebula?:
A) It marks the special distance from the Sun at which hydrogen compounds become abundant;
closer to the Sun, there are nohydrogen compounds.
B) It is another way of stating the temperature at which water freezes into ice.
C) It is the altitude in a planet’s atmosphere at which snow can form.
D) It is a circle at a particular distance from the Sun, beyond which the temperature was low
enough for ices to condense.
D
What do we mean by accretion in the context of planet formation?:
A) the growth of planetesimalsfrom smaller solid particles that collided and stuck together
B) the growth of the Sun as the density of gas increased in the center of the solar nebula
C) the solidification of ices, rocks, and metal from the gas of the solar nebular
D) the formation of moons around planets
A
According to our theory of solar system formation, what are asteroids and comets?:
A) chunks of rock or ice that condensed after the planets and moons finished forming
B) chunks of rock or ice that were expelled from planets by volcanoes
C) leftover planetesimals that never accreted into planets
D) the shattered remains o fcollisions between planets
C
Considering only the tilt of their axis, which planet listed below would have the most extreme seasons?:
A) Earth
B) Mars
C) Uranus
D) Jupiter
C
According to our theory of solar system formation, which law best explains why the solar nebula spun faster as it shrank in size?:
A) the law of conservation of energy
B) the law of universal gravitation
C) the law of conservation of angular momentum
D) Einstein’s law E= mc2
C
How do scientists determine the age of the solar system?:
A) radiometric dating of Moon rocks
B)radiometric dating of meteorites
C) radiometric dating of the oldest Earth rocks
D) Theoretical calculations tell us how long it has taken the planets to evolve to their present
forms.
B
When we say that the Sun is a ball of plasma, we mean that:
A) the Sun is made of atoms and molecules
B) the Sun consists of gas in which many or most of the atoms are ionized (missing electrons)
C) the Sun has roughly the same composition as blood
D) the Sun is made of material that acts like a liquid acts on Earth
B
What happens to energy in the Sun’s convection zone?:
A) Energy slowly leaks outward through the radiative diffusion of photons that repeatedly
bounce off ions and electrons.
B) Energy istransported outward by the rising of hot plasma.
C) Energy is produced in the convection zone by thermal radiation.
D) Energy isproduced in the convection zone by nuclear fusion.
B
