Download Can you write numbers in scientific notation

Exam 3 Review
This “review sheet” has a list of questions that you can ask yourself to get a feel for
your own comfort level on the different topics that we’ve covered in class. As with the
second exam, you should be comfortable with reading/writing numbers in scientific
notation & using your own scientific calculator to perform calculations.
Are you familiar with the properties of the Interstellar Medium (ISM)?
Do you understand how the star formation process begins?
How well you understand what processes are going on during the protostar stage of a
star’s life?
What needs to happen for a protostar to become a main sequence star?
What are the properties of a main sequence star?
How does a star’s mass effect the Luminosity, Temperature, Size, and lifespan of a star’s
life?
Can you calculate the physical properties of a main sequence star using the equations
presented in class? Do you know how to express the responses in terms of “solar units”
and physical units (meters, Watts, Kelvin, years)?
What are the properties of each of the Sun’s different layers?
How is energy produced in the Sun’s core?
How does the Sun’s magnetic field influence each type of solar activity discussed in class
(sunspots, plages, prominences, solar flares, coronal mass ejections)? Why is it important
for us to be able to predict such events?
What causes the Sun to leave the Main Sequence stage of its life and how does the Sun
change when that happens?
What are the properties of the Sun during its Giant stage? How will the Sun die and what
object will be left behind?
How does a star that is more massive than the Sun evolve and die out differently from the
Sun?
Can you use the HR Diagram to trace the evolution timeline of different stars?
What determines what object will be left behind after a star dies out? What are the
properties of each of those objects?
How does Einstein’s model of gravity differ from Newton’s description? Why Einstein’s
description taken to be “more complete” than Newton’s?
What are the effects an outside observer would notice as a “volunteer” falls toward the
event horizon of a black hole?
Key Terms to Know
The following is a list of terms that you should be comfortable with for the upcoming
exam. This list should be used as a guide and might not include every term that was
covered in class. For completeness, you should refer to the notes you took in class or the
notes that are posted on the web page.
Black Hole
Brown Dwarf
Chromosphere
Convection Zone
Corona
Coronal Mass Ejection
Event Horizon
Gravitational Redshift
Hydrostatic Equilibrium
Instability Strip
Neutron Star
Photosphere
Photospheric Granulation
Plage
Planetary Nebula
Prominence
Proto-planetary Disk
Proto-star
Pulsar
Pulsating Variable Stars
Radiation Zone
Schwarzschild Radius
Singularity
Solar Flare
Solar Wind
Space-time
Sunspot
Supernova
Time Dilation
Wormhole
Main Sequence Characteristics
Complete each table by filling in the correct value for each characteristic of the given
star. Show all work and report the proper unit for each answer.
R M
M Sun  2 x 10 30 kg
T M
R Sun  7 x 10 8 meters
TSun  5800 K
L  M 3.5  M 3  M
τ
L Sun  3.83 x 10 26 Watts
1
M2
Star Characteristic
Mass
τ Sun  9.5 x 10 9 years
Solar Units
Physical Units
6 solar masses
Radius
Temperature
Luminosity
Main Sequence
Lifespan
Star Characteristic
Solar Units
Physical Units
Mass
Radius
Temperature
Luminosity
Main Sequence
Lifespan
0.5 solar radii
2900 K