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Content Benchmark E.12.B.4
Students know the on-going processes involved in star formation and destruction. W/L
Sample Test Questions
1st Item Specification: Identify the processes of stellar evolution.
Depth of Knowledge Level 1
1. Which of the following determines most characteristics and future events of a star’s
existence?
A. Color
B. Mass
C. Size
D. Temperature
2. In a main sequence star, equilibrium is reached when matter pulled inward by the
gravitational force is pushed outward by
A. immense pressure created by energy in the core.
B. convection of stellar material from the core.
C. coronal mass ejections originating from the core.
D. endothermic cooling of hydrogen fuel in the core.
3. When a star is on the main sequence, it is
A. burning hydrogen and oxygen to make heavier elements.
B. burning radioactive elements to create lighter elements.
C. converting hydrogen into helium through nuclear fusion.
D. converting uranium into helium through nuclear fission.
4. What is the name given to a star as it is initially forming?
A. Protostar
B. Nebula
C. Star cluster
D. White dwarf
5. The force that dominates the formation of a star is
A. pressure.
B. magnetism.
C. gravity.
D. electricity.
Depth of Knowledge Level 2
6. As a star leaves its main sequence stage, it gets
A. cooler, larger, redder, and brighter.
B. cooler, smaller, bluer, and dimmer.
C. hotter, smaller, bluer, and dimmer.
D. hotter, larger, redder, and brighter.
7. What happens to cause a star to leave the main sequence? The gravitational pull inward
becomes
A. less than the outward pressure, so the core and the outer layers of the star both
expand, creating a black hole.
B. less than the outward pressure, so the core and the outer layers of the star both
expand, creating a red giant.
C. greater than the outward pressure, so the core and the outer layers of the star both
shrink, creating a black hole.
D. greater than the outward pressure, so the core of the star shrinks while the outer layers
expand, creating a red giant.
2nd Item Specification: Recognize the life-cycles of mid-size and massive stars and their
stellar remnants.
Depth of Knowledge Level 1
8. When fusion of hydrogen ceases in our Sun’s core, the Sun will
A. explode as a supernova.
B. collapse into white dwarf star.
C. contract into a black hole.
D. expand into a red giant star.
9. Stellar black holes are remnants of very high-mass stars. These black holes will
A. pull in matter from distant star systems with their huge gravitational attraction.
B. periodically explode and contract as matter is pulled into the black hole.
C. capture light that comes within its small (few kilometers-wide) event horizon.
D. form wormholes that allow matter to travel great distances in a short time.
10. Which of the following lists the stages of life of a high-mass star in correct order?
A. Red giant, white dwarf, black hole, main sequence
B. Red giant, main sequence, planetary nebula, neutron star
C. Main sequence, black hole, supernova, planetary nebula
D. Main sequence, red giant, supernova, neutron star
Depth of Knowledge Level 2
11. Star 1 will have a lifetime of 10 million years, while star 2 will have a lifetime of 300 million
years. What can you say about the masses of these stars?
A. Star 1 is more massive.
B. Star 2 is more massive.
C. Stars 1 and 2 have about the same mass.
D. A star’s lifetime is unaffected by its mass.
12. The red and yellow line (also indicated by an arrow) on the diagram below shows a how a
single star is changing with time. Note that the star is about the same mass as our Sun.
Red and yellow line
Blue line
(From http://chandra.harvard.edu/edu/formal/stellar_cycle/)
Which of the following statements is most correct? The red and yellow line shows
A. the star after it has fused all of it hydrogen and is expanding into a red giant.
B. the protostar stage before sustained nuclear fusion has begun in the star’s core.
C. when the star becomes a white dwarf stellar remnant, near the end of its life.
D. how the star moves through space after it has formed from a cloud of gas.
Content Benchmark E.12.B.4
Students know the on-going processes involved in star formation and destruction. W/L
Answers to Sample Test Questions
1. B, DOK level 1
2. A, DOK level 1
3. C, DOK level 1
4. A, DOK level 1
5. C, DOK level 1
6. A, DOK level 2
7. D, DOK level 2
8. D, DOK level 1
9. C, DOK level 1
10. D, DOK level 1
11. B, DOK level 2
12. B, DOK level 2