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Astronomy: Stellar Evolution and Type II
Supernovae Exam
Science Olympiads 2013
Written and compiled by Conrad Schnakenberg (Brentwood High School) and
Thomas Affatigato (Half Hallow Hills High School East- Planetarium)
Astronomy: Stellar Evolution and Type II Supernovae Exam Science Olympiads 2013
Welcome to your exam, you will have 50 minutes to complete this assessment. There are five parts. Please record all
answers on the three answer sheets.
PART I: Multiple Choice Questions. Pick the best possible answer. Each question has six choices. Each response is 1pt
1) The Star “Mira” has a Luminosity of approximately 9000 times that of our Sun, and a Temperature of approximately
3000 Kelvin. What is its Classification and Spectral Type:
a) White Dwarf and Spectral Type “M”
c) Sun sized Spectral Type “G” e) Red Giant Type “M”
b) Red Supergiant and Spectral Type “B” d) Blue Supergiant Type “O”
f) Brown Dwarf Type “M”
2) How does the TEMPERATURE and LUMINOSITY of Alpha Orionis compare to Procyon B:
a) Procyon B is both Hotter and Brighter than Alpha Orionis.
b) Alpha Orionis is brighter, but lower in temperature than Procyon B
c) Both stars have an Equal Luminosity and Temperature.
d) Alpha Orionis is much brighter than Procyon B
e) Procyon B is brighter, but lower in temperature than Alpha Orionis
f) Both are stellar remnants. These values cannot be measured.
3) What is the Period of this Variable Star (figure 1):
a) 13.8 days
b) 1.2 years
c) 4.8 days
d) 15.50 days
e) 8.34 days
f) 16.00 days
4) What is the average apparent magnitude of this Variable Star (figure 1):
a) 15.56
b) 4.50
c) 16.00
d) 15.70
e) 15.10
f) 6.10
Use Figure II to help with the next two questions.
5) Star “X” is a low mass metal poor variable with a period of 3.25 days. What is its approximate Luminosity?
a) 200 (L_Sun)
c) 5000 (L_Sun)
e) -0.904
b) 4 (L_Sun)
d) 6000 (L_Sun)
f) 3.875
6) Star “Y” is a classical Cepheid variable with a period of 7.5 days. What is its approximate Absolute Magnitude?
a) 2000 (L_Sun)
c) 4000 (L_Sun)
e) -3.843
b) 3000 (L_Sun)
d) 700 (L_Sun)
f) -2.263
7) Star “Z” has an apparent magnitude of 2 and an absolute magnitude of 6. What is its approximate distance from us
in light years?
a) 1.6
c) 10.0
e) 12.0
b) 3.8
d) 521.6
f) 5.216
8) Current Events in Science: A super massive black hole has been found at the center of quasar SDSS J1106+1939
which has an outflow more than five times larger than any other currently detected. This new discovery might
possibly provide evidence about (choose the best answer):
a) The Heat Death of the Universe c) Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle
b) The formation of Nebula
e) Radioactive Decay
d) Dearth of Large Galaxies in the Universe
f) Supernovae.
9) Less current event: The Carrington Event of 1859 caused by an unusual Solar Flare. Which of the following
conditions were reported to have been observed on Earth:
a) Aurorea seen worldwide, even over the Caribbean. b) Gold Miners in the Rocky Mountains fooled into believing it
was dawn. c) Telegraph lines to spark and paper to catch fire. d) Telegraph machines to continue to receive and
transmit messages even when disconnected from their power supplies. e) All of the Above f) Polar Realignment.
10) According to Figure 3; As a solar mass star
progresses through the stages of its life cycle, from
Main Sequence Stage to White Dwarf Stage its
surface temperature and luminosity will change as
follows (in general). Choose the best answer:
a) Luminosity and Temperature remain Unchanged.
b) Luminosity Increases and Temperature decreases.
c) Luminosity Increases as Temperature Decreases,
Luminosity (generally) Increases as Temperature
(generally) Decreases further, then Luminosity Decreases
as Surface Temperature Increases.
d) Luminosity decreases as Temperature Increases,
Luminosity (generally) remains constant as Temperature
(generally) Increases, then Temperature Increases as
Luminosity Decreases.
e) The star explodes in a supernovae.
f) The star’s spectral class changes from G to F.
11) A main sequence star with an absolute magnitude of 4.83 will most directly decay into which stellar remnant:
a) Carbon-Oxygen White Dwarf
c) Black Dwarf
b) Oxygen-Neon-Magnesium White Dwarf d) Neutron Star
e) Black Hole
f) Supermassive Black Hole
12) A main sequence star with a Luminosity of 20,000 will most directly decay into which stellar remnant:
a) Carbon-Oxygen White Dwarf
c) Black Dwarf
b) Oxygen-Neon-Magnesium White Dwarf d) Neutron Star
e) Black Hole
f) Supermassive Black Hole
13) A main sequence star with an apparent magnitude of 0.48 and a distance of 1000 parsecs would most likely decay
into which stellar remnant:
a) Carbon-Oxygen White Dwarf
c) Black Dwarf
e) Black Hole
b) Oxygen-Neon-Magnesium White Dwarf d) Neutron Star
f) Supermassive Black Hole
14) A healthy star of 7.5 Solar Masses will most likely decay into which stellar remnant:
a) Carbon-Oxygen White Dwarf
c) Black Dwarf
e) Black Hole
b) Oxygen-Neon-Magnesium White Dwarf d) Neutron Star
f) Supermassive Black Hole
15) A star with a luminosity of 0.001 and a surface temperature 15,000 K will most directly decay into which type of
stellar remnant:
a) Carbon-Oxygen White Dwarf
c) Black Dwarf
e) Black Hole
b) Oxygen-Neon-Magnesium White Dwarf d) Neutron Star
f) Supermassive Black Hole
16) For a large mass star, place the “fuel” elements in order from the longest “burning” to those that are used up in
Fusion Processes more quickly:
a) Hydrogen, Helium, Argon, Neon, Iron
b) Hydrogen, Helium, Oxygen, Neon, Carbon, Magnesium, Silicon
c) Hydrogen, Helium, Silicon, Argon
d) Hydrogen, Oxygen, Helium, Neon, Iron
e) Hydrogen, Helium, Magnesium, Carbon
f) Hydrogen, Helium, Carbon, Oxygen, Neon, Magnesium, Silicon.
17) Individual high energy Photons split heavy elements into lighter elements and then break those nuclei apart until
only protons and neutrons remain. What process is described here?
a) Radioactive Decay
c) Plasma Disintergration
e) Neutronization
b) Neutron Deposition
d) Photosynthesis
f) Photon-Disintegration
18) Why would a burst of Neutrinos occur directly prior to a Core-Collapse? (choose the best answer)
a) As Protons and Electrons bind together to form Neutrons which collapse as the Chandrasekhar limit is exceeded.
b) Core temperatures exceed 12 million Kelvin and Neutrino’s form out of degenerate matter.
c) Electrons and Quarks combine to make Neutrinos which escape the core due to quantum tunneling.
d) Protons and Electrons combine together under high density conditions forming Neutrons as well as Neutrinos. The
latter particles do not interact with regular matter and escape the “transparent” stellar core.
e) Photons and Electrons combine under high energy conditions to form Neutrinos and break out of the core through a
process called Atomic Lensing.
f) Muon density increases under high energy conditions and Neutrino’s escape the core using the Heisenberg uncertainty
principle.
19) Which graph (most) correctly depicts a typical Type II Supernovae event for our Galaxy:
20) What “unusual deviation” from the theoretical predictions was discovered in SN 1987A
a) The supernova event took 500 days to terminate, instead of just 80, and was 100 times brighter than expected.
b) It was a Type I Supernovae event, instead of a Type II
c) The parent star was only of 8 Solar Masses, originally believed to be insufficient for a supernova of this type.
d) The star was a Blue Supergiant instead of a Red Supergiant.
e) This star had a higher concentration of heavy metals, much larger than stars in our own galaxy.
f) SN 1987’s overall luminosity during the first few months was much higher than expected.
21) Which of the following is the most direct cause of the “Helium Flash” in a Red Giant Star:
a) The fusion of hydrogen ignites latent helium found in the star’s outer atmosphere
b) Electron Degeneracy pressure supports the stellar core independent of Gas Pressure and Core Temperature. This
allows Helium fusion to occur without equilibrium.
c) As the hydrogen supply is exhausted, gravity causes the star to collapse allowing higher temperatures to be reached.
d) Due to an increase in temperature, the core expands, density drops, and allows steady helium fusion to occur in
equilibrium as the star proceeds into stage 10, the “Horizontal Branch” of the HR diagram.
e) As temperatures exceeding 1038 Kelvin is achieved, all remaining Helium located in the Core is immediately fused
igniting the supernova event.
f) Hydrostatic Equilibrium is reached as gas pressure from the star pushes against gravity.
22) If the theoretical Helium White Dwarf star were to be discovered, what would that prove?
a) It would show that the universe is much older than we currently think it is.
b) That the Carbon-Oxygen model for the Sun’s progress into degenerate matter is invalid.
c) It would provide conclusive proof that the Big Bang theory is correct
d) That the gravitational upwelling of a White Hole actually exists as a counter to Black Holes.
e) It would verify the Khazzoom-Brooke’s postulate.
f) That Helium the main product of Hydrogen Fusion in a stellar core.
23) Which of these objects has an actual radius smaller than its Schwartzchild radius:
a) Carbon-Oxygen White Dwarf
c) Black Dwarf
b) Oxygen-Neon-Magnesium White Dwarf d) Neutron Star
e) Black Hole
f) Both A and B
24) Using this equation: Rs = 2Gm / c2 where Rs is the Schwarzschild radius, G is the gravitational constant of 6.67300
× 10-11 m3 kg-1 s-2, and 299,792,458 m/s is the speed of light in a vacuum.
If we accept the mass of the Sun to be: 1.9891x1030 kg, what would its Schwarzschild radius (Rs) be in meters?
(Choose the closest answer)
a) 6.02 x 1024
c) 2943.9
e) 186,000
b) 6.955 x 108
d) 8343.7
f) 19.99
25) As a proto-star forms it has the ability to radiate both light and heat. What is the source of this energy? (choose
the best response)
a) Fusion of deuterium with tritium creating helium-4.
b) Helium-4 nuclei (alpha particles) interact with beryllium-8 and are transformed into carbon.
c) Nuclear Fission of U-238 and other radioactive isotopes heat the core of the protostar.
d) Quantum migration of Alpha-Particles.
e) Compression and increasing pressure due to gravity.
f) Gas pressure causes a reversal to the polarity of the neutron flow, venting excess heat.
END OF MULTIPLE CHOICE SECTION- Please place all answers on the answer sheet.
PART II. Vocabulary Matching Exercise
Each vocabulary term and definition is used once in this exercise. Some terms might loosely fit more than one sample, your task is to find the
“best fit” for each. Each response is worth 1pt
TERM BANK:
Type II Supernova, Semiregular Variables, Red Supergiants, Neutron Stars, Magnetars, Pulsars, Wolf-Rayet Stars, Stellar Mass Black
Holes, X-Ray Binary Systems, Cepheid Variables
1) Stellar Remnants where electron degeneracy pressure has been exceeded creating super dense matter as high as 5.9×1017 kg/m3
2) A young star which changes in its absolute magnitude based on helium transparency as
again.
is converted into
and back
3) This event is possible with stellar remnants which exceed 1.4 solar masses, where the Chandrasekhar limit is exceeded and further
collapse occurs. The unit of measurement named a “Foe” (1051 ergs) was derived to describe this :
4) Stellar remnants which, due to their very precise periods (rivaling even atomic clocks for regularity), have been useful in the
indirect detection of gravitational radiation of binary star systems.
5) A remnant produced from a Supernova Explosion, consisting of approximately 3 to 14 solar masses. In this case, the material
density has exceeded neutron degeneracy pressure.
6) Spectral class K or M, with luminosities that can exceed 500,000 solar units.
7) Two companions consisting of a Donor and an Accretor. As material moves between the two it is heated until energy with a
frequency of approximately 3×1016 Hz to 3×1019 Hz is produced.
8) Massive stars with an exceptionally strong solar wind, often ejecting 10−5 solar masses a year.
9) A type of stellar remnant considered to be a likely source of “soft gamma repeaters” or “anomalous X-Ray pulsars”
10) A classification of giant or supergiant stars which include; Alpha Orionis, Alpha Scorpii, BL Crucis, Eta Geminorum, Mu
Geminorum, as well as Alpha Herculis and many others.
END of Vocabulary Matching section: Please make sure all responses are on the answer sheet.
PART III. Image Matching Section. For each item, determine which astronomy term and image corresponds to the
“hint” provided. A sheet of FULL COLOR images, each with a corresponding letter, has been provided for your use.
Place all responses on the answer sheet (each correct response- both the name and the image letter) is worth 1pt
Image Identification questions:
Object Names: Cassiopeia A, IGR J17091-3624, NGC 6888 or WR 136, PSR J0108-1431, Cygnus X-1, SXP 1062, M1,
V838 Monocerotis, Delta Cephei, Alpha Orionis, SN 2010JL, NGC 3582, LHa115-N19, Antares/Rho Ophiuchi , IC 1396
1) This is a “Classic” Type I Cepheid variable star which shows neutral Hydrogen ejected from the dying star
interacting with the gasses/particles of the stellar medium to exhibit a “shock wave.” This phenomenon shows
the star’s direction of motion:
2) This exceptionally powerful event revealed that X-Rays from a supernova will ionize and disperse dense gas
surrounding the remnant. In subsequent observations taken a year apart a marked increase in X-Ray emissions
were recorded:
3) This Object is acting as a “pinball” machine for electrons traveling at Relativistic Speeds. The phenomenon
should have been visible on Earth around 1667 (more or less), and may be been mis-categorized by Royal
Astronomer John Flamsteed as a new star in 1680. Others believe it might have been the “noon day star” which
purportedly marked the birth Charles II, Monarch of Great Britian in 1630:
4) This enormous nebula located in the constellation Cepheus covers a 3 degree span of our night sky. The
“elephant’s trunk” is one star forming region located in this body.
5) This object was the first of its kind to have its diameter measured with “Michelson's Beam Interferometer”
and may contain a “hot spot” of upwelling gas under its surface:
6) Visually located the constellation Scorpius; this star forming region is (relatively) close to our solar system and is
the first star forming region found to contain “Brown Dwarf” type stars:
7) This item is a puzzling phenomenon which was first thought to be a typical Nova, but since then has behaved
very strangely (it is getting brighter, and hotter, but also smaller in size). The exact causes of these changes is
not yet known, but there are several theories:
8) This object is a “ticking time bomb” that is currently searing the inside of its own shell of ejected gasses with a
powerful ultra-violet enriched stellar wind:
9) This object is producing a “wind” of gasses traveling at 3 percent the speed of light as they enter an
exceptionally intense gravitational field (the artist rendering attempted to show this specifically).
10) This object is a 166 million year old Pulsar.
11) This object is a scientific curiosity puzzling scientists with its slow rotation rate:
12) 200,000 light years away the Small Magellanic Cloud is a ‘little brother’ to our Milky Way. What “super-bubble
rich” component of this cloud is particularly useful in the study of Stellar Life Cycles?
13) This Nebula in the Sagittarius arm of our Milky Way Galaxy is actually just one of six bright sources which were
initially thought to be separate nebulae, but were later revealed to be smaller components of a larger region of
Star Formation:
14) This object is likely a black hole 14.8 times the mass of the Sun in orbit around a blue supergiant variable star:
15) This object is a remnant from a supernova explosion that occurred approximately 7000 years ago and has been
recorded by various Earth civilizations:
END of Image Matching Section. Go on to the Essay.
Astronomy Essay Question:
TEAM NUMBER: ________________
SCHOOL: _________________________________________________
STUDENTS: ________________________________ and _____________________________________________
One to three points will be awarded for this section. Use your knowledge of astronomy to write an essay of 500 words or
less.
In 1969 Joni Mitchell wrote a song named Woodstock. A quote (from one version) is below:
We are stardust.
Billion year old carbon.
We are golden.
From a science standpoint, evaluate these lyrics. Reference whatever processes or systems you deem necessary to
explain this concept in detail.
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PART V. Light Curve Analysis (10pts) – Tear this page off as a separate sheet please.
Part V: LIGHT CURVE ANALYSIS: TEAM NUMBER: __________________ School: _________________
Students: _________________
Some useful Equations: L = 354 P^ 1.152
and
M = 4.83 - (2.5 log L ) and M = -2.43 (log (P) -1) –4.16
___________________________
Below you will find a light curve for a high mass variable star.
1.
(1pt) What is the period of this variable star?
2.
(1pt) Based on the information, what type of variable star is this?
3.
(1pt) What is the mean apparent magnitude?
4.
(2pts) What is the approximate luminosity in solar units of this star?
5.
(2pts) What is it absolute magnitude of this star?
6.
(2pts) What is the distance to this star?
7. (1pt) Where is this Star located?
a. Milky Way
b. Small Magellanic Cloud
c. Fornax Dwarf
d. Andromeda Galaxy
Astronomy: Stellar Evolution and Type II Supernovae Exam ANSWER SHEET
Part III. Image Matching Section (2pt/ea):
Please print neatly
Team Number: __________ Team School: ____________________
1) Object Name: __________________________________
Object Letter: _________
Name (Student #1): _______________________________________
Name (Student #2): _______________________________________
Part I. Multiple Choice Section (1pt ea):
1)________
14) ________
2)________
15) ________
3) ________
16) ________
4) ________
17) ________
5) ________
18) ________
6) ________
19) ________
7) ________
20) ________
8) ________
21) ________
9) ________
22) ________
10) ________
11) ________
12) ________
23) ________
24) ________
25) ________
Part II. Vocabulary
Matching Section
(1pts/ea):
1)___________ ____
2)_______________
3) _______________
2) Object Name: __________________________________
Object Letter: _________
3) Object Name: __________________________________
Object Letter: _________
4) Object Name: __________________________________
Object Letter: _________
5) Object Name: __________________________________
Object Letter: _________
6) Object Name: __________________________________
4) _______________
Object Letter: _________
5) _______________
6) _______________
7) _______________
8) _______________
9) _______________
7) Object Name: __________________________________
Object Letter: _________
8)Object Name: __________________________________
Object Letter: _________
9) Object Name: __________________________________
Object Letter: _________
10) ______________
13) ________
10)Object Name: __________________________________
Object Letter: _________
11) Object Name: __________________________________
Object Letter: _________
12) Object Name: __________________________________
Part IV. ESSAY QUESTION (see separate sheet): Approximately
500 words worth 0-3 points
Object Letter: _________
13) Object Name: __________________________________
Object Letter: _________
14) Object Name: __________________________________
Part V. Light Curve Analysis. Answer on separate sheet.
(10pts)
Object Letter: _________
15) Object Name: __________________________________
Object Letter: _________
Raters Only: TOTAL SCORE: __________