The Sun

Question 1

>one of the 200 billion stars that make up the Milky Way Galaxy
>an “average star” compared to the other stars in the universe

Answer 1

Sun

Question 2

Earth’s primary source of energy

Answer 2

Sun

Question 3

The Sun’s Structure

Answer 3

1. solar interior
2. photosphere
3. chromosphere
4. corona

Question 4

radiates most of the sunlight we see and therefore appears as the bright disk of the Sun

Answer 4

Photosphere

Question 5

consists of a layer of incandescent gas less than 500 kilometers (300 miles) thick

Answer 5

Photosphere

Question 6

grainy structure due to granules

Answer 6

Photosphere

Question 7

this gas spreads laterally, cooling causes it to darken and sink back into the interior

Answer 7

Granule

Question 8

each granule survives for only __ mins

Answer 8

10-20 mins

Question 9

What gives the photosphere the appearance of boiling?

Answer 9

combined motion of old granules being replaced by new ones

Question 10

up-and-down movement of gas

Answer 10

Convection

Question 11

produces the grainy appearance of the photosphere

Answer 11

Convection

Question 12

responsible for the transfer of energy in the uppermost part of the Sun’s interior

Answer 12

Convection

Question 13

“color sphere”

Answer 13

Chromosphere

Question 14

thin layer of hot, incandescent gases a few thousand kilometers thick

Answer 14

Chromosphere

Question 15

observable for a few moments during a total solar eclipse (appears as a thin red rim around the Sun)

Answer 15

Chromosphere

Question 16

contains numerous spicules

Answer 16

Chromosphere

Question 17

flamelike structures that extend upward about 10,000 kilometers into the lower corona

Answer 17

Spicules

Question 18

produced by the turbulent motion of the granules below

Answer 18

Spicules

Question 19

the outermost portion of the solar atmosphere

Answer 19

Corona

Question 20

visible only when the brilliant photosphere is blocked

Answer 20

Corona

Question 21

normally extends a million kilometers or so from the Sun

Answer 21

Corona

Question 22

streams of protons and electrons that boil from the corona

Answer 22

Solar Wind

Question 23

travels outward through the solar system at high speeds (250–800 kilometers a second)

Answer 23

Solar Wind

Question 24

interacts with the bodies of the solar system, altering its appearance

Answer 24

Solar Wind

Question 25

Magnetic fields deflect..?

Answer 25

Solar Wind

Question 26

upward from the photosphere..

Question 27

although the coronal temperature exceeds that of the photosphere, it radiates much less energy overall because of..?

Answer 27

its very low density

Question 28

the high temperature of the corona is probably caused by..?

Answer 28

sound waves generated by the convective motion of the photosphere

Question 29

just as boiling water makes noise, energetic sound waves generated in the photosphere are believed to be

Answer 29

absorbed by the gases of the corona, thereby increasing its temperature

Question 30

small, dark pores about 1,600 kilometers in diameter

Answer 30

Sunspots

Question 31

appear dark only by contrast with the brilliant photosphere

Answer 31

Sunspots

Question 32

Sunspots temperature

Answer 32

1,500 K less than that of the solar surface

Question 33

over the course of 11 years, the yearly average number of sunspots slowly increases and then return to normal levels before rising again for the subsequent cycle

Answer 33

11-year sunspot cycle

Question 34

huge cloudlike structures, made of chromospheric gases

Answer 34

Prominences

Question 35

best observed when they are on the edge of the Sun

Answer 35

Prominences

Question 36

2 Promiences

Answer 36

quiescent and eruptive prominences

Question 37

appearance of a fine tapestry and seem to hang motionless for days at a time

Answer 37

Quiescent Prominences

Question 38

material within them is continually falling like luminescent rain

Answer 38

Quiescent Prominences

Question 39

rise almost explosively away from the Sun

Answer 39

Eruptive Prominences

Question 40

reach velocities up to 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) per second and may leave the Sun entirely

Answer 40

Eruptive Prominences

Question 41

brief outbursts that normally last an hour or so and appear as a sudden brightening of the region above a sunspot cluster

Answer 41

Solar Flares

Question 42

during Solar Flares' existence..

Answer 42

enormous quantities of energy are released across the entire electromagnetic spectrum, intensifying solar winds

Question 43

following a strong solar flare, Earth’s upper atmosphere above the magnetic poles is set aglow for several nights

Answer 43

Auroras

Question 44

Northern lights

Answer 44

aurora borealis

Question 45

Souther lights

Answer 45

aurora australis

Question 46

What is the source of sun's energy?

Answer 46

Proton-proton chain reaction

Question 47

Proton-proton chain reaction = ?

Answer 47

Nuclear Fusion

Question 48

During nuclear fusion..

Answer 48

- hydrogen atoms fuse to produce helium - mass of helium produced \< mass of hydrogen that produced helium - mass that is "lost" is converted into energy (light, heat and invisible forms of radiation)

Question 49

Proton-proton Chain reaction = Nuclear Fusion

Answer 49

\>four hydrogen atoms have a combined atomic mass of whereas the atomic mass of helium is 4.003, or 0.029 less than the combined mass of the hydrogen \>tiny missing mass is emitted as energy \>only a small percentage (0.7%) of the hydrogen in the proton– proton reaction is actually converted to energy \>the Sun is consuming an estimated 600 million tons of hydrogen each second, with about 4 million tons of it being converted to energy \>the by-product of hydrogen burning is helium, which forms the solar core

Question 50

To initiate the proton–proton reaction, the Sun’s internal temperature must have reached several million degrees. What was the source of this heat?

Answer 50

COLLISION OF PARTICLES

Question 51

When a gas is squeezed (compressed)

Answer 51

its temperature increases

Question 52

Although all of the bodies in the solar system were heated in the same manner, the Sun was the only one, due to its ____ , that became hot enough to trigger the proton–proton reaction.

Answer 52

mass