Sample MidTerm #2 Covers Chs.14-19 Exam date: Wed, N ov.

12 NOTE: There are 35 Multiple Questios worth 75% of the grade. There are 5 short-answer e problems, worth 5 pts. each, for a total of 25% of grade. For full credit on these short answer questions, please SHOW YOUR WORK. Name___________________________________

MULTIPLE CHOICE. Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. 1) What is the Sun made of? A) 98 percent hydrogen, 2 percent helium and other elements B) 50 percent hydrogen, 25 percent helium, 25 percent other elements C) 100 percent hydrogen and helium D) 70 percent helium, 28 percent hydrogen, 2 percent other elements E) 70 percent hydrogen, 28 percent helium, 2 percent other elements 2) The most distant stars we can measure stellar parallax for are approximately A) 100 parsecs away. B) 5 parsecs away. C) 10,000 parsecs away. D) in the Andromeda Galaxy. E) halfway across the Milky Way Galaxy. 3) Which of the following statements comparing open and globular star clusters is not true? A) Stars in open clusters are relatively young while stars in globular clusters are very old. B) For both open and globular clusters, we can assume that all the stars in a particular cluster are about the same age. C) Open clusters are found only in the disk of the galaxy while globular clusters may be found both in the disk and the halo of the galaxy. D) Open and globular clusters each typically contain a few hundred stars. 4) What happens when a star exhausts its core hydrogen supply? A) It contracts, becoming hotter and brighter. B) Its core contracts, but its outer layers expand and the star becomes bigger but cooler and therefore remains at the same brightness. C) It expands, becoming bigger but dimmer. D) It contracts, becoming smaller and dimmer. E) Its core contracts, but its outer layers expand and the star becomes bigger and brighter. 1)

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5) What is a protostar? A) a star that has planets B) a star that is still in the process of forming C) a star in its nal stage of life D) an intermediate-mass star 6) The more massive a white dwarf, the A) higher its luminosity. C) smaller its radius.

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6) B) higher its temperature. D) larger its radius. 7)

7) What kind of star is most likely to become a white-dwarf supernova? A) a white dwarf star with a red giant binary companion B) a star like our Sun C) a binary M star D) a pulsar E) an O star 8) From the center outward, which of the following lists the "layers" of the Sun in the correct order? A) core, corona, radiation zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere B) core, convection zone, radiation zone, photosphere, chromosphere, corona C) core, convection zone, radiation zone, corona, chromosphere, photosphere D) core, radiation zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere, corona E) core, radiation zone, convection zone, corona, chromosphere, photosphere 9) When is/was gravitational contraction an important energy generation mechanism for the Sun? A) It is important during periods when the Sun is going from solar maximum to solar minimum. B) It is the primary energy generation mechanism in the Sun today. C) It has played a role throughout the Sun's history, but it was most important right after nuclear fusion began in the Sun's core. D) It was important when the Sun was forming from a shrinking interstellar cloud of gas. 10) How is the lifetime of a star related to its mass? A) More massive stars live slightly longer lives than less massive stars. B) More massive stars live considerably shorter lives than less massive stars. C) More massive stars live considerably longer lives than less massive stars. D) More massive stars live slightly shorter lives than less massive stars. 11) Why did the solar nebula heat up as it collapsed? A) The shock wave from a nearby supernova heated the gas. B) As the cloud shrank, its gravitational potential energy was converted to kinetic energy and then into thermal energy. C) Radiation from other nearby stars that had formed earlier heated the nebula. D) Collisions among planetesimals generated friction and heat. E) Nuclear fusion occurring in the core of the protosun produced energy that heated the nebula. 2

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12) Why are neutrinos so difcult to detect? A) because they rarely interact with matter B) because they have no mass C) because they move at, or close to, the speed of light D) because there are so rare E) We don't know: this is the essence of the solar neutrino problem. Refer to the labels (a) through (e) on the following sketch of an HR diagram.

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13) Which group represents stars that are cool and dim? A) A B) B C) C

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14) Which of the following is closest in size (radius) to a white dwarf? A) a small city B) the Sun C) the earth D) a basketball E) a football stadium 15) After a massive-star supernova, what is left behind? A) always a white dwarf B) always a black hole C) always a neutron star D) either a neutron star or a black hole E) either a white dwarf or a neutron star

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16) Observationally, how can we tell the difference between a white-dwarf supernova and a massive-star supernova? A) A massive-star supernova happens only once, while a white-dwarf supernova can repeat periodically. B) A massive-star supernova is brighter than a white-dwarf supernova. C) We cannot yet tell the difference between a massive-star supernova and a white-dwarf supernova. D) The light of a white-dwarf supernova fades steadily, while the light of a massive-star supernova brightens for many weeks. E) The spectrum of a massive-star supernova shows prominent hydrogen lines, while the spectrum of a white-dwarf supernova does not. 17) What types of stars end their lives with supernovae? A) stars that are at least several times the mass of the Sun B) stars that have reached an age of 10 billion years C) all stars that are yellow in color D) stars that are similar in mass to the Sun E) all stars that are red in color 18) On a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram, where would we nd stars that have the largest radii? A) lower right B) upper right C) upper left D) lower left 19) Which element has the lowest mass per nuclear particle and therefore cannot release energy by either fusion or ssion? A) iron B) silicon C) hydrogen D) oxygen E) uranium 20) What is a planetary nebula? A) the expanding shell of gas that is no longer gravitationally held to the remnant of a low-mass star B) the molecular cloud from which protostars form C) what is left of the planets around a star after a low-mass star has ended its life D) the expanding shell of gas that is left when a white dwarf explodes as a supernova E) a disk of gas surrounding a protostar that may form into planets 21) How many helium nuclei fuse together when making carbon? A) 4 B) 3 C) 2 D) varies depending on the reaction E) none of the above

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22) When does a star become a main-sequence star? A) when a star becomes luminous enough to emit thermal radiation B) when the protostar assembles from a molecular cloud C) when hydrogen fusion is occurring throughout a star's interior D) the instant when hydrogen fusion rst begins in the star's core E) when the rate of hydrogen fusion within the star's core is high enough to sustain gravitational equilibrium 23) No stars have been found with masses greater than 100 times our Sun because A) they would generate so much power that they would blow themselves apart. B) molecular clouds do not have enough material to form such massive stars. C) they are not bright enough to be seen nearby. D) they would fragment into binary stars because of their rapid rotation. E) they shine exclusively at X-ray wavelengths and become difcult to detect. 24) Cluster ages can be determined from A) spectroscopic binaries. B) main sequence tting. C) visual binaries. D) main sequence turnoff. E) pulsating variable stars. 25) Suppose you see two main-sequence stars of the same spectral type. Star 1 is dimmer in apparent brightness than Star 2 by a factor of 100. What can you conclude? (Neglect any effects that might be caused by interstellar dust and gas.) A) Without rst knowing the distances to these stars, you cannot draw any conclusions about how their true luminosities compare to each other. B) The luminosity of Star 1 is a factor of 100 less than the luminosity of Star 2. C) Star 1 is 100 times nearer than Star 2. D) Star 1 is 10 times more distant than Star 2. E) Star 1 is 100 times more distant than Star 2. 26) Suppose you measure the parallax angle for a particular star to be 0.1 arcsecond. The distance to this star is A) 0.1 light-year. B) 0.1 parsec. C) 10 parsecs. D) 10 light-years. E) impossible to determine.

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27) If the distance between us and a star is doubled, with everything else remaining the same, the luminosity A) remains the same, but the apparent brightness is decreased by a factor of four. B) is decreased by a factor of four, but the apparent brightness remains the same. C) is decreased by a factor of four, and the apparent brightness is decreased by a factor of four. D) remains the same, but the apparent brightness is decreased by a factor of two. E) is decreased by a factor of two, and the apparent brightness is decreased by a factor of two. 28) A star's luminosity is the A) lifetime of the star. B) total amount of light that the star radiates each second. C) surface temperature of the star. D) apparent brightness of the star in our sky. E) total amount of light that the star will radiate over its entire lifetime. 29) Since all stars begin their lives with the same basic composition, what characteristic most determines how they will differ? A) time they are formed B) location where they are formed C) luminosity they are formed with D) color they are formed with E) mass they are formed with 30) Which statement best describes the solar neutrino problem? A) Our current understanding of fusion in the Sun suggests that all neutrinos should be destroyed before they arrive at the earth, yet neutrinos are being detected. B) Theoretical models predict that neutrinos should be produced in the Sun, but no neutrinos have ever been observed to be coming from the Sun. C) The term solar neutrino problem refers to the fact that neutrinos are extremely difcult to detect. D) No one understands how it can be possible for neutrinos to be produced in the Sun. E) Solar neutrinos have been detected, but in fewer numbers than predicted by theoretical models. 31) How do we know what goes on under the surface of the Sun? A) We have X-ray images from satellites of the interior of the Sun. B) Astronomers create mathematical models that use the laws of physics, the Sun's observed composition and mass, and computers to predict internal conditions. C) We have sent probes below the surface of the Sun. D) By measuring Doppler shifts, we observe vibrations of the Sun's surface that are created deep within the Sun. E) both B and D

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32) Suppose you put two protons near each other. Because of the electromagnetic force, the two protons will A) remain stationary. B) join together to form a nucleus. C) repel each other. D) attract each other. E) collide. 33) At the center of the Sun, fusion converts hydrogen into A) hydrogen compounds. B) helium, energy, and neutrinos. C) radioactive elements like uranium and plutonium. D) plasma. E) radiation and elements like carbon and nitrogen. 34) Sunspots are cooler than the surrounding solar surface because A) there is less fusion occurring there. B) magnetic elds lift material from the surface of the Sun, cooling off the material faster. C) strong magnetic elds slow convection and prevent hot plasma from entering the region. D) they are regions where convection carries cooler material downward. E) magnetic elds trap ionized gases that absorb light. 35) The core of the Sun is A) at the same temperature but denser than the surface. B) composed of iron. C) constantly rising to the surface through convection. D) hotter and denser than the surface. E) at the same temperature and density as the surface.

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SHORT ANSWER. Answer the question(s), showing the work of any calculations needed. 36) The escape speed from the surface of the sun is about 600 km/s. What is the escape speed 36) from the surface of a star wtth: a. Mass = 2 Msun and Radius = 1/2 Rsun? b. Mass= 1/2 Mun and Radius = 2 Rsun?

37) What is the mass (in solar masses) of a Black Hole with a (Schwarschild) radius of: a. Rbh = 1 Rsun b. Rbh = 1 AU (Rsun = 700, 000 km) ? ( 1AU = 150, 000, 000 km)?

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38) Which is brighter in our sky, a star with apparent magnitude 2 or a star with apparent magnitude 7? By how much is the star brighter?

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39) Two stars, Betty and Wilma, are both on the main sequence. Betty is more luminous than Wilma.

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Which one has a hotter surface temperature?

Which one is more massive?

Which one is bigger?

If they both formed at the same time, which one will evolve off the main sequence rst?

40) A star is observed to have an apparent magnitude of +5, a parallax of 0.01 arcsec, and a surface temperature of 5700 K (about the same as the sun). a. What is the star's distance, in parsec (pc)?

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b. What is the star's absolute magnitude?

c. What is the star's luminosity, in solar units (Lsun)?

d. What is the star's radius, in solar radii (Rsun)?

Answer Key Testname: MT2-SAMPLE2

1) 2) 3) 4) 5) 6) 7) 8) 9) 10) 11) 12) 13) 14) 15) 16) 17) 18) 19) 20) 21) 22) 23) 24) 25) 26) 27) 28) 29) 30) 31) 32) 33) 34) 35) 36)

E A D E B C A D D B B A D C D E A B A A B E A D D C A B E E E C B C D vesc = 600 km/s * sqrt[M/R] , where M and R are mass and radius in solar units. a. vesc = 600 sqrt(2/(1/2)] = 600 sqrt[4] = 1200 km/s b. vesc = 600 sqrt[(1/2)/2]= 600*sqrt[1/4] = 600/sqrt[4] = 300 km/s 37) Rbh = 3 km * (M/Msun) => M = (Rbh/3) Msun a. M = 700,000/3 km ~= 233,000 Msun b. M=150,000,000/3 = 50,000,000 Msun 38) A star with apparent magnitude 2 is 100 times brighter than a star with apparent magnitude 7. (Five magnitudes indicates a factor-of-100 difference; larger apparent magnitude stars are always fainter.) 39) Since they are both on the main sequence but Betty is more luminous than Wilma, Betty must be located higher up on the main sequence. Therefore, Betty has a hotter surface temperature, is more massive, and has a larger radius. Betty will also evolve faster than Wilma, and if they were formed at the same time Betty will turn off the main sequence rst.

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Answer Key Testname: MT2-SAMPLE2

40) a. d(pc) = 1/parallax angle in arcsec => d=1/.01 = 100 pc b. abs. mag. = app. mag. - 5 Log(D/10 pc) => abs. mag = +5 - 5*Log(10) = 5 - 5 = 0 c abs. mag. 0 is 5 mags. less than sun => 100 times brighter than sun => L = 100 Lsun. d. L//Lsun = (T/Tsun)^4 (R/Rsun)^2 ; since T/Tsun=1 => R/Rsun = sqrt(L//Lsun) = sqrt(100) = 10

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