Download Quiz # 10

Introductory Astronomy - Quiz # 10
Multiple Choice
Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
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1. The most common element in the Sun is
a. helium
b. iron
c. hydrogen
d. water
e. nitrogen
2. The hotter region directly above the Sun's visible surface is called the
a. chromosphere
b. photosphere
c. corona
d. ionization region
e. convection zone
3. The ten million tons of particles that escape the Sun each year in the form of the solar wind get out mainly from
regions called
a. sunspots
b. spicules
c. aurorae
d. coronal holes
e. transition regions
4. Solar wind particles can be captured by the Earth's magnetosphere. When these particles spiral down along the
magnetic field into the atmosphere, they are responsible for:
a. aurorae (northern and southern lights)
b. tropical storms (regions of rapidly rotating air)
c. the greenhouse effect
d. the reddish color we see during sunsets
e. the poor quality of television programming in the world's northern hemisphere
5. Sunspots are darker than the regions of the Sun around them because
a. they consist of different elements than the rest of the Sun
b. they are located in the corona and not on the photosphere
c. they move much faster around the Sun than other material and thus heat up
d. they are the shadows of the planets and asteroids seen on the bright surface of the Sun
e. they are cooler than the material around them (although still very hot compared to Earth
temperatures)
6. Astronomers now realize that active regions on the Sun are connected with
a. the dark regions between the bright granulation cells on the photosphere
b. loops of magnetic field emerging from the surface of the Sun
c. the absence of sunspots during a solar minimum
d. great tropical storm systems in the Earth's atmosphere
e. changes in the gravitational pull of the Sun over different parts of its photosphere
7. Coronal Mass Ejections from the Sun have many serious effects on or near the Earth. Which of the following is
NOT one of these effects?
a. disrupting the electronics of satellites
b. heating the ionosphere and thus expanding the extent of our planet's atmosphere
c. causing power surges and power outages in parts of the Earth near the poles
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d. causing huge cyclones around the equator of the Earth
e. exposing astronauts and airplane passengers to increased amounts of radiation
Physicists Kelvin and Helmholtz in the last century proposed that the source of the Sun's energy could be:
a. radioactive rocks
b. a slow contraction
c. meteorites falling in
d. the annihilation of antimatter
e. nuclear fusion
Today we realize that the source of energy for the Sun is a process called
a. nuclear fusion
b. Kelvin-Helmholtz contraction
c. mechanical to thermal energy conversion
d. radioactivity
e. dilithium crystal moderation
When two light elements undergo nuclear fusion,
a. the total mass involved increases
b. the like charges in the nuclei attract, pulling the nuclei together faster and faster
c. some of the energy in their mass is released
d. only one survives; the other turns into a release of pure energy
e. the result is always to make nuclei of iron
Where in the Sun does fusion of hydrogen occur?
a. only in the core
b. only near the photosphere (its visible surface layer)
c. pretty much throughout the Sun
d. only in the layer where there is a lot of convection going on
e. nowhere
The process of fusion that keeps our Sun shining begins with which building blocks?
a. two electrons
b. two deuterons
c. two protons
d. two Einsteinium nuclei
e. two neutrinos
At the end of the p-p chain of nuclear fusion in the Sun, hydrogen nuclei have been converted into:
a. carbon nuclei
b. heavy hydrogen nuclei
c. antimatter and nothing else
d. a helium nucleus
e. a lithium nucleus
The Sun is an enormous ball of gas. Left to itself, a ball of so many atoms should collapse under its own
tremendous gravity. Why is our Sun not collapsing?
a. the gravity of the planets around the Sun pulls its material outward, preventing collapse
b. the pressure of the corona keeps the Sun's main body of gases confined to a small volume
c. nuclear fusion in the core keeps the temperature and the pressure inside the Sun at a high
enough level so that gravity is balanced
d. neutrinos from the core exert an enormous pressure on the layers of the Sun as they travel
outward, and keep our star from collapsing
e. you can't fool me, the Sun is shrinking all the time, it just happens very slowly
When great currents of hot material rise inside the Sun (and cooler material sinks downward), energy is being
transferred by a process known as:
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
convection
radiation
conduction
equilibrium
politics
Introductory Astronomy - Quiz # 10
Answer Section
MULTIPLE CHOICE
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15.
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C
A
D
A
E
B
D
B
A
C
A
C
D
C
A