MCQ Practice review:

Astronomers estimate that new stars form in our galaxy at the rate of about A) a few (2-3) per year. B) ten per year. C) 100 per year. D) 20-30 per year. E) one per year By mass, the interstellar medium in our region of the Milky Way consists of A) 70% Hydrogen, 20% Helium, 10% heavier elements. B) 70% Hydrogen, 28% Helium, 2% heavier elements. C) 50% Hydrogen, 30% Helium, 20% heavier elements. D) 70% Hydrogen, 30% Helium. E) 50% Hydrogen, 50% Helium What percentage of a molecular cloud's mass is interstellar dust? A) 50% B) 1% C) 28% D) 1-50%, depending on the mass of the molecular cloud E) 2% What is interstellar reddening? A) Interstellar dust absorbs more red light than blue light, making stars appear redder than their true color. B) Interstellar dust absorbs more red light than blue light, making stars appear bluer than their true color. C) Interstellar dust absorbs more blue light than red light, making stars appear redder than their true color. D) The spectral line shift due to a star's motion through the interstellar medium. E) Interstellar dust absorbs more blue light than red light, making stars appear bluer than their true color. The thermal pressure of a gas depends on A) density only. B) temperature only. C) gravity. D) density and temperature. E) composition What prevents the pressure from increasing as a cloud contracts due to its gravity? A) As the cloud becomes denser, gravity becomes stronger and overcomes the pressure buildup. B) Excess pressure is released in jets of material from the young stars. C) Thermal energy is converted to radiative energy via molecular collisions and released as

photons. D) The pressure is transferred from the center of the cloud to its outer edges where it can dissipate. E) Once the cloud reaches a critical density, the pressure becomes degenerate and independent of temperature. How do astronomers infer the presence of magnetic fields in molecular clouds? A) by measuring the infrared light emitted by the cloud B) by measuring the Doppler shifts of emission lines from gas clumps in the cloud C) by measuring the polarization of starlight passing through the cloud D) by measuring the amount by which gravity is reduced E) by measuring the amount of interstellar reddening What is the likely reason that we cannot find any examples of the first generation stars? A) The first generation stars were all very massive and exploded as supernova. B) The first generation stars are too faint to be visible now. C) The first generation stars formed with only H and He and therefore have no spectral features. D) We do not know how the first generation stars were formed. E) The first generation stars formed such a long time ago that the light from them has not yet had time to reach us. Which of the following may be caused by a protostellar disk? A) protostellar winds B) protostellar jets C) relatively slow protostellar rotation D) accretion of material onto the star E) all of the above What is the range of timescales for star formation? A) from 1 million years for the most massive stars up to 100 million years for the least massive stars B) from 1 million years for the least massive stars up to 10 million years for the most massive stars C) about 30 million years for all stars, whatever mass D) from 1 million years for the least massive stars up to 100 million years for the most massive stars E) from 1 million years for the most massive stars up to 10 million years for the least massive Stars When does a star become a main-sequence star? A) the instant when hydrogen fusion first begins in the star's core B) when the protostar assembles from a molecular cloud C) when hydrogen fusion is occurring throughout a star's interior D) when the rate of hydrogen fusion within the star's core is high enough to maintain gravitational equilibrium E) when a star becomes luminous enough to emit thermal radiation

What happens to the surface temperature and luminosity when gravity first assembles a protostar from a collapsing cloud? A) Its surface temperature and luminosity decrease. B) Its surface temperature decreases and its luminosity increases. C) Its surface temperature and luminosity remain the same. D) Its surface temperature remains the same and its luminosity decreases. E) Its surface temperature and luminosity increase. What is the smallest mass a newborn star can have? A) about 1/80 the mass of our Sun B) 800 times the mass of Jupiter C) 8 times the mass of Jupiter D) 80 times the mass of Jupiter E) about 1/800 the mass of our Sun What is the greatest mass a newborn star can have A) 10 solar masses. B) 20 solar masses. C) 100 solar masses. D) 200 solar masses. E) 50 solar masses What do we mean by the interstellar medium? A) The gas and dust that lies in between the stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. B) The middle section of the Milky Way Galaxy. C) The name of an oracle who can channel messages from beings that live near the star called Vega. D) The dust that fills the halo of the Milky Way Galaxy. The interstellar clouds called molecular clouds are ________. A) clouds that are made mostly of complex molecules such as carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. B) the cool clouds in which stars form C) the clouds in which elements such as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen are made D) the hot clouds of gas expelled by dying stars Interstellar dust consists mostly of ________. A) ozone "smog" B) tiny grains of water ice C) microscopic particles of carbon and silicon D) hydrogen and helium atoms E) the same tiny particles found in household dust Which of the following statements is probably true about the very first stars in the universe?

A) They were made approximately of 98% hydrogen and helium, and 2% of heavier elements. B) They were made from pure energy. C) They were made only from hydrogen and helium. D) They were probably orbited only by terrestrial planets, but no jovian planets. What is a protostar? A) a star that is still in the process of forming B) an intermediate-mass star C) a star in its final stage of life D) a star that has planets Which two processes can generate energy to help a star or gas cloud maintain its internal thermal pressure? A) nuclear fusion and gravitational contraction B) nuclear fusion and supernovae C) nuclear fission and supernovae D) nuclear fusion and nuclear fission Why are neutrinos so difficult to detect? A) because there are so rare B) because they rarely interact with matter C) because they are so small D) because they have no mass E) because they move at nearly the speed of light In the late 1800s, Kelvin and Helmholtz suggested that the Sun stayed hot thanks to gravitational contraction. What was the major drawback of this idea? A) It is physically impossible to generate heat simply by making a star shrink in size. B) It predicted that the Sun could last only about 25 million years, which is far less than the age of Earth. C) It predicted that the Sun would shrink noticeably as we watched it, and the Sun appears to be stable in size. D) It predicted that Earth would also shrink, which would make it impossible to have stable geology on our planet. What do we mean when we say that the Sun is in gravitational equilibrium? A) The Sun maintains a steady temperature. B) The Sun always has the same amount of mass, creating the same gravitational force. C) There is a balance within the Sun between the outward push of pressure and the inward pull of gravity. D) This is another way of stating that the Sun generates energy by nuclear fusion. E) The hydrogen gas in the Sun is balanced so that it never rises upward or falls downward. The phase of matter in the Sun is A) gas. B) liquid. C) plasma.

D) solid. E) a mixture of all of the above What are the appropriate units for the Sun's luminosity? A) kilograms B) watts C) meters D) Newtons E) joules B) From the center outward, which of the following lists the "layers" of the Sun in the correct order? C) A) core, convection zone, radiation zone, corona, chromosphere, photosphere D) B) core, convection zone, radiation zone, photosphere, chromosphere, corona E) C) core, corona, radiation zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere F) D) core, radiation zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere, corona G) E) core, radiation zone, convection zone, corona, chromosphere, photosphere Which is closest to the temperature of the core of the Sun? A) 100,000 K B) 1 million K C) 10 million K D) 100 million K E) 10,000 K

Which layer of the Sun do we normally see? A) radiation zone B) corona C) convection zone D) chromosphere E) photosphere Hydrogen fusion in the Sun requires a temperature (in Kelvin) of A) millions of degrees. B) thousands of degrees. C) billions of degrees. D) trillions of degrees. E) any temperature, as long as gravity is strong enough At the center of the Sun, fusion converts hydrogen into A) radioactive elements like uranium and plutonium. B) plasma. C) hydrogen compounds. D) radiation and elements like carbon and nitrogen. E) helium, energy, and neutrinos Suppose you put two protons near each other. Because of the electromagnetic force, the two protons will A) collide. B) remain stationary.

C) repel each other. D) join together to form a nucleus. E) attract each other Which is the strongest of the fundamental forces in the universe? A) electromagnetic force B) strong force C) weak force D) gravitational force E) none of the above The overall fusion reaction by which the Sun currently produces energy is A) 3 He 1 C + energy. B) 6 H 1 He + energy. C) 4 H 4 He + energy. D) 4 H 1 He + energy. E) 3 H 1 Li + energy.