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Astronomy 105 - Homework 5 Chapter 12 and 13

Complete before May 25th at 9:00 AM
Chapter 12 1. The interstellar clouds called molecular clouds are _________. A) the hot clouds of gas expelled by dying stars B) another name for Herbig-Haro objects C) clouds that contain little hydrogen and instead are made predominantly of complex molecules such as carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide D) the cool clouds in which stars form 2. What is a protostar? A) A star in its final stage of life B) A star that has planets C) An intermediate-mass star D) A very young star (relative to its lifespan) 3. What two physical forces oppose each other in a starforming cloud? A) Gravity and thermal pressure. B) Gravity and degeneracy pressure C) Thermal pressure and radiation pressure. D) Stellar winds and gravity. 4. Which part of the electromagnetic spectrum generally gives us our best views of stars forming in dusty clouds? A) Infrared B) Optical. C) Ultraviolet. D) Blue. 5. What kind of gas cloud is most likely to give birth to stars? A) A hot, dense gas cloud. B) A cold, dense gas cloud. C) A cold, low-density gas cloud. D) A hot, low-density gas cloud. 6. What temperature is the threshold for hydrogen fusion in a star? A) 10 billion K. B) 10 thousand K C) 10 trillion K D) 10 million K. 7. What can we learn about a star from a life track on an H-R diagram? A) What surface temperature and luminosity the star will have at each stage of its life. B) When the star was born. C) The star's current stage of life. D) Where the star is located 8. The vast majority of stars in a star cluster are _________. A) about the same mass as our Sun B) very high-mass, type O and B stars C) red giants D) less massive than the Sun 9. When does a star become a main-sequence star? A) A star becomes a main-sequence star when it becomes
luminous enough to emit thermal radiation. B) A star becomes a main-sequence star when a piece of a molecular cloud first begins to contract into a star. C) A star becomes a main-sequence star when the rate of hydrogen fusion within the star's core becomes high enough to balance the rate at which the star radiates energy into space. D) A star becomes a main-sequence star the instant that hydrogen fusion first begins in the star's core.

10. Which of the following lists the stages of life for a low-mass star in the correct order? A) Protostar, main-sequence star, red giant, planetary nebula, white dwarf B) Protostar, main-sequence star, red giant, supernova, neutron star C) Protostar, main-sequence star, planetary nebula, red giant D) Main-sequence star, white dwarf, red giant, planetary nebula, protostar 11. When a main-sequence star exhausts its core hydrogen fuel supply _________. A) the core shrinks while the rest of the star expands B) the entire star shrinks in size C) the core immediately begins to fuse its helium into carbon D) the star becomes a neutron star 12. The main source of energy for a star as it grows in size to become a red giant is _________. A) hydrogen fusion in the core B) helium fusion in the core C) hydrogen fusion in a shell surrounding the central core D) gravitational contraction 13. The overall helium fusion reaction is _________. A) two helium nuclei fuse to form one beryllium nucleus B) three helium nuclei fuse to form one carbon nucleus C) two hydrogen nuclei fuse to form one helium nucleus D) Four helium nuclei fuse to form one oxygen nucleus 14. What is a helium flash? A) A sudden brightening of a low-mass star, detectable from Earth by observing spectral lines of helium B) The ignition of helium shell burning in a high-mass star with a carbon core C) The sudden onset of helium fusion in the core of a lowmass star D) It is another name for the helium fusion reaction. 15. What is a planetary nebula? A) Interstellar gas from which planets are likely to form in the not-too-distant future B) Gas created from the remains of planets that once orbited a dead star C) Gas ejected from a low-mass star in the final stage of its life D) The remains of a high-mass star that has exploded 16. The ultimate fate of our Sun is to _________. A) become a black hole B) explode in a supernova C) become a rapidly spinning neutron star D) become a white dwarf that will slowly cool with time

17. Why is iron significant to understanding how a supernova occurs? A) Iron is the heaviest of all atomic nuclei, and thus no heavier elements can be made. B) Iron cannot release energy either by fission or fusion, so a star with an iron core has no way to generate additional energy to counteract the crush of gravity. C) Supernovae often leave behind neutron stars, which are made mostly of iron. D) The fusion of iron into uranium is the reaction that drives a supernova explosion. 18. After a supernova explosion, the remains of the stellar core _________. A) will always be a neutron star B) may be either a neutron star or a black hole C) will always be a black hole D) may be either a white dwarf, neutron star, or black hole 19. Why is Supernova 1987A particularly important to astronomers? A) It provided the first evidence that supernovae really occur. B) It was the first supernova detected in nearly 400 years. C) It is the nearest supernova to have occurred at a time when we were capable of studying it carefully with telescopes. D) It occurred only a few light-years from Earth. 20. In order to predict whether a star will eventually fuse oxygen into a heavier element, you mainly want to know what fact about the star? A) The star's luminosity. B) The star's mass. C) The star's constellation. D) The star's heavy element abundance. 21. Our Sun is considered to be a _________. A) low-mass star B) intermediate-mass star C) high-mass star D) brown dwarf 22. Where would a brown dwarf be located on an H-R diagram? A) It would be located in the upper right of the H-R diagram. B) It would be located above and to the left of the highest part of the main sequence. C) It would be located below and to the right of the lowest part of the main sequence. D) It would be located in the lower left of the H-R diagram. Chapter 13 23. The white dwarf that remains when our Sun dies will be mostly made of ______. A) hydrogen. B) helium. C) neutrons. D) carbon. 24. What is an accretion disk? A) Any flattened disk, such as the disk of the Milky Way Galaxy B) A disk of hot gas swirling rapidly around a white dwarf, neutron star, or black hole C) A disk around a young star in which planets can form D) A disk of material found around every white dwarf in the Milky Way Galaxy

25. According to our modern understanding, what is a nova? A) The sudden formation of a new star in the sky B) The explosion of a massive star at the end of its life C) An explosion occurring on the surface of a white dwarf in a close binary system D) A rapidly spinning neutron star 26. Suppose that a white dwarf is gaining mass because of accretion in a binary system. What happens if the mass someday reaches the 1.4 solar mass limit? A) The white dwarf will collapse in size, becoming a neutron star. B) The white dwarf will explode completely as a white dwarf supernova. C) The white dwarf will undergo a nova explosion. D) The white dwarf will collapse to become a black hole. 27. A neutron star is _________. A) the remains of a star that died by expelling its outer layers in a planetary nebula B) the remains of a star that died in a massive star supernova (if no black hole was created) C) a star made mostly of elements with high atomic mass numbers, so that they have lots of neutrons D) an object that will ultimately become a black hole 28. A typical neutron star is more massive than our Sun and about the size of _________. A) the Moon B) Earth C) a small asteroid (10 km in diameter) D) Jupiter 29. Pulsars are thought to be _________. A) rapidly rotating neutron stars B) accreting white dwarfs C) unstable high-mass stars D) accreting black holes 30. What is the basic definition of a black hole? A) A black hole is a dead star that has faded from view. B) A black hole is an object with gravity so strong that not even light can escape. C) A black hole is any object made from dark matter. D) A black hole is a compact mass that emits no visible light. 30. Based on current understanding, the minimum mass of a black hole that forms during a massive star supernova is roughly _________. A) 0.5 solar masses B) 1.4 solar masses C) 10 solar masses D) 3 solar masses 32. Imagine that our Sun were magically and suddenly replaced by a black hole of the same mass (1 solar mass). What would happen to Earth in its orbit? A) Nothing --- Earth's orbit would remain the same. B) Earth would orbit faster, but at the same distance. C) Earth would slowly spiral inward until it settled into an orbit about the size of Mercury's current orbit. D) Earth would almost instantly be sucked into oblivion in the black hole.

TRUE/FALSE. Write 'T' if the statement is true and 'F' if the statement is false. 1) The upper limit to the mass of a white dwarf is 1.4 solar masses. 2) All pulsars are neutron stars, but not all neutron stars are pulsars. 3) There is no upper limit to the mass of a neutron star. 4) We can see most of the galaxy with visible light. 5) The Sun is located at the edge of the galaxy, approximately 50,000 light-years from the galactic center. 6) Almost all elements heavier than hydrogen and helium were made inside stars. 7) Most of the current star formation in the Milky Way occurs in spiral arms. 8) No galaxies are observed to have a blueshift. 9) The larger the value of Hubble's constant, the more rapid the expansion of the universe and hence the younger the universe. 10) Massive-star supernovae and white-dwarf supernovae work equally well as standard candles for measuring cosmic distances. MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. 11) Degeneracy pressure is the source of the pressure that stops the crush of gravity in all the following except A) a neutron star. B) a very massive main-sequence star. C) the central core of the Sun after hydrogen fusion ceases but before helium fusion begins. D) a white dwarf. E) a brown dwarf. 12) White dwarfs are so called because A) it amplifies the contrast with red giants. B) the are both very hot and very small. C) they are the opposite of black holes.

D) they are supported by electron degeneracy pressure. E) they are the end-products of small, low-mass stars. 13) A teaspoonful of white dwarf material on Earth would weigh A) about the same as the Earth. B) about the same as Mt. Everest. C) the same as a teaspoonful of Earth-like material. D) a few million tons. E) a few tons. 14) Suppose a white dwarf is gaining mass because of accretion in a binary system. What happens if the mass someday reaches the 1.4-solar-mass limit? A) The white dwarf, which is made mostly of carbon, suddenly becomes much hotter in temperature and therefore is able to begin fusing the carbon. This turns the white dwarf back into a star supported against gravity by ordinary pressure. B) A white dwarf can never gain enough mass to reach the limit because a strong stellar wind prevents the material from reaching it in the first place. C) The white dwarf immediately collapses into a black hole, disappearing from view. D) The white dwarf undergoes a catastrophic collapse, leading to a type of supernova that is somewhat different from that which occurs in a massive star but is comparable in energy. 15) What kind of pressure supports a white dwarf? A) radiation pressure B) electron degeneracy pressure C) thermal pressure D) neutron degeneracy pressure E) all of the above 16) What is the diameter of the disk of the Milky Way? A) 1,000,000 light years B) 1,000 light years C) 100,000 light years D) 10,000 light years E) 100 light years 17) What kinds of objects lie in the halo of our galaxy? A) open clusters B) globular clusters C) gas and dust D) O and B stars

E) all of the above 18) Which of the following comprise the oldest members of the Milky Way? A) Cepheid variables B) O stars C) globular clusters D) red giant stars in spiral arms E) the Sun and other solar mass stars 19) Approximately how far is the Sun from the center of the galaxy? A) 2,800 light-years B) 28 light-years C) 280 light-years D) 28,000 light-years E) 28 million light-years 20) What produces the 21-cm line that we use to map out the Milky Way Galaxy? A) helium B) atomic hydrogen C) molecular hydrogen D) ionized hydrogen E) carbon monoxide 21) The disk component of a spiral galaxy includes which of the following parts? A) halo B) spiral arms D globular clusters C) bulge D) all of the above 22) Why are Cepheid variables important? A) Cepheids are pulsating variable stars, and their pulsation periods are directly related to their true luminosities. Hence, we can use Cepheids as "standard candles" for distance measurements. B) Cepheids are a type of young galaxy that helps us understand how galaxies form. C) Cepheid variables are stars that vary in brightness because they harbor a black hole. D) Cepheids are supermassive stars that are on the verge of becoming supernovae and therefore allow us to choose candidates to watch if we hope to observe a supernova in the near future. 23) Why is the Hyades Cluster important for building up a catalog of the true luminosities of main-sequence stars? A) It is an old globular cluster that has been around our galaxy for several billion years. B) It is close enough to us that the distance to the cluster stars can be found by stellar parallax. C) It is an extremely bright cluster.

D) It contains many Cepheid variables. E) We have brightness measurements for the stars in the cluster over many decades, so we know how the stars vary in brightness. 24) What is the Tully-Fisher relation? A) the longer the period of a galaxy's variable stars, the more luminous it is B) the faster a spiral galaxy's rotation speed, the more luminous it is C) the smaller a galaxy appears, the further away it is D) the further away a galaxy is, the faster its recession velocity E) the redder a galaxy's color, the further away it is 25) What is the most accurate way to determine the distance to a nearby galaxy? A) using Cepheid variables B) Hubble's law C) radar ranging D) the Tully-Fisher relation E) stellar parallax 1) Answer: TRUE 2) Answer: TRUE 3) Answer: FALSE 4) Answer: FALSE 5) Answer: FALSE 6) Answer: TRUE 7) Answer: TRUE 8) Answer: FALSE 9) Answer: TRUE 10) Answer: FALSE 11) Answer: B 12) Answer: B 13) Answer: E 14) Answer: D 15) Answer: B 16) Answer: C 17) Answer: B 18) Answer: C 19) Answer: D 20) Answer: B 21) Answer: B 22) Answer: A 23) Answer: B 24) Answer: B 25) Answer: A