Explorations: Introduction to Astronomy (Arny), 6th Edition

Chapter 12: The Sun, Our Star

Online Quiz

1
The Sun is composed of about ______ and _______ plus 2% other elements.
A)71% helium / 27% hydrogen
B)50% hydrogen / 50% helium
C)71% hydrogen / 27% helium
D)77% nitrogen / 22% oxygen
2
The Sun is about how far from Earth?
A)380,000 km
B)93,000,000 km.
C)150,000,000 km.
D)One light year.
3
What holds the Sun together?
A)Electrostatic forces between ions in its interior.
B)Gas pressure.
C)Its gravitational force.
D)Nothing: the Sun is actually expanding very slowly.
4
The surface of the Sun is about ______ and the core is about _______.
A)6000K / 15 million K
B)11000K / 27 million K.
C)Depleted / to explode
D)all of the above
5
The Sun produces its energy through
A)the fusion of neutrinos into helium.
B)the fusion of positrons into hydrogen.
C)the fusion of hydrogen into helium.
D)electric currents generated in its core.
6
What is the specific 3-step energy generating process in the Sun called?
A)Hydrostatic equilibrium
B)Thermography.
C)The proton-proton chain.
D)Radiative transfer.
7
The sun's energy comes from
A)the release of magnetic energy.
B)the conversion of mass into energy.
C)its rotation slowing down.
D)meteors and asteroids striking its surface.
8
What is the visible surface of the Sun called?
A)The corona
B)The chromosphere
C)The photosphere
D)The radiative zone
9
What is the Sun's outermost atmosphere called?
A)The corona
B)The chromosphere
C)The photosphere
D)The radiative zone
10
Why do sunspots appear dark?
A)They are made of different material than the surrounding gas.
B)They are hotter than the surrounding gas.
C)They are cooler than the surrounding gas.
D)Their magnetic fields block light.
11
How do a prominence and a flare differ?
A)A prominence is a huge plume of glowing gas trapped in the Sun's magnetic field; a flare is a brief, bright eruption in the chromosphere.
B)A prominence is brief, bright eruption in the chromosphere; a flare is a tenuous flow of hydrogen and helium that sweeps across the Solar System.
C)A prominence is a jet of hot gas thousands of kilometers long; a flare is an immense bubble of hot gas rising from deep within the Sun.
D)There is no difference.
12
Whay are astronomers interested in detecting neutrinos from the Sun? Neutrinos
A)can reveal the Sun's inner magnetic field.
B)give information about the nuclear reactions in the Sun's core.
C)prove the Sun will explode in a few thousand years
D)prove the Sun is only about 2 million years old.
13
What is solar seismology?
A)The study of the Sun's atmosphere by analyzing waves in the Sun's interior.
B)The study of the Sun's interior by analyzing waves in the Sun's atmosphere.
C)The study of gravitational waves from the Sun.
D)The study of the Sun's changing size.
14
About how long is the solar cycle (evidenced by sunspots)?
A)3 years
B)5 days
C)11 years
D)33 years
15
Which of the following is evidence that solar activity affects Earth's climate?
A)The Maunder minimum - a period of abnormally low sunspot numbers - coincided with abnormally cold northern winters
B)The Schwab Cycle - a period of abnormally numerous and large sunspots - preceded a 250 year drought in Africa.
C)The dust bowl of the 1930's in the United States coincided with the complete disappearance of sunspots during that time.
D)All of the above.
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