Astronomy Exam 2 Part 3

2.

For a star with the sun’s mass, we expect that after all the hydrogen in the core is fused, the star will next become

a nova
A white dwarf
A red giant
A supergiant
A supernova

Correct Answer

A. A red giant

Explanation

When a star with the sun's mass exhausts all the hydrogen in its core, it will enter the next stage of its evolution, which is becoming a red giant. During this phase, the star's core contracts while the outer layers expand, causing the star to increase in size and become much brighter. Eventually, the red giant will shed its outer layers and form a white dwarf, which is a dense, hot remnant of the star's core.

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3.

Which spectral class star on the main sequence has the largest mass?

M star
O star
A star
G star
F star

Correct Answer

A. O star

Explanation

O stars are the hottest and most massive stars on the main sequence. They have temperatures above 30,000 Kelvin and can have masses more than 20 times that of the Sun. This makes them much larger and more massive than M, A, G, and F stars.

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4.

An observer far outside our galaxy would best describe our galaxy and the Sun’s position in it as a

A. disk of stars with our Solar System near the edge.
B. disk of stars centered on our Solar System.
C. disk of stars with a bulge containing our Solar System.
D. sphere of stars centered on our Solar System.
E. sphere of stars with our Solar System near the edge.

Correct Answer

A. A. disk of stars with our Solar System near the edge.

Explanation

An observer far outside our galaxy would see our galaxy as a disk of stars because most galaxies are disk-shaped. The observer would also see our Solar System near the edge of this disk because our Sun is located in one of the spiral arms of the galaxy, rather than in the center. Therefore, the correct answer is A. disk of stars with our Solar System near the edge.

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5.

For which of the following objects does Hubble’s Law work?

A. Clouds in the Milky Way
B. Distant galaxies
C. Local group galaxies
D. Nearby stars
E. All of the above

Correct Answer

A. B. Distant galaxies

Explanation

Hubble's Law states that the recessional velocity of a galaxy is directly proportional to its distance from us. This means that the farther a galaxy is from us, the faster it is moving away from us. Therefore, Hubble's Law only applies to distant galaxies, as they are the ones that are moving away from us at high velocities. Local objects such as clouds in the Milky Way, local group galaxies, and nearby stars are not moving away from us at such high velocities, so Hubble's Law does not apply to them.

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6.

. The Universe is said to be closed if

A. the density of the Universe is less than the critical density.
B. the Universe has a center and an edge.
C. gravity is strong enough to stop the expansion in a finite time.
D. the Hubble Constant is less than 50 km/s/Mpc.
E. holiday shopping hours are restricted.

Correct Answer

A. C. gravity is strong enough to stop the expansion in a finite time.

Explanation

The correct answer is C because in a closed universe, gravity is strong enough to eventually stop the expansion of the universe. This means that the expansion will eventually slow down and reverse, causing the universe to collapse in on itself. In contrast, an open universe would continue expanding forever, and a flat universe would expand at a constant rate. The density of the universe (option A), the existence of a center and edge (option B), and the value of the Hubble Constant (option D) are not indicative of whether the universe is closed or not. Option E is unrelated to the concept of a closed universe.

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7.

Which of the following is a characteristic of the halo component of the Milky Way?

A. circular stellar orbits
B. high metal abundance
C. young stars
D. randomly inclined stellar orbits
E. active star formation regions

Correct Answer

A. D. randomly inclined stellar orbits

Explanation

The halo component of the Milky Way is characterized by randomly inclined stellar orbits. This means that the stars in the halo do not all orbit in a single plane, but instead have orbits that are randomly oriented. This is in contrast to the disk component of the Milky Way, where the stars have more circular orbits that lie in a relatively flat plane. The randomly inclined stellar orbits in the halo are thought to be a result of the formation and accretion of smaller satellite galaxies over time.

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8.

Most of the mass of a galaxy is

A. contained in the massive O and B stars in the galaxy.
B. contained in the H I regions of the galaxy.
C. contained in the H II regions of the galaxy.
D. contained in the dark matter of the galaxy.
E. contained in the disk of the galaxy

Correct Answer

A. D. contained in the dark matter of the galaxy.

Explanation

The correct answer is D because dark matter is a type of matter that does not emit, absorb, or reflect light, making it invisible to direct observation. It is believed to make up the majority of the mass in a galaxy based on its gravitational effects on visible matter. Therefore, most of the mass of a galaxy is contained in the dark matter.

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9.

Where is the center of the universe

A. There is no center.
B. the Earth
C. the Sun
D. the Milky Way
E. the Big Bang

Correct Answer

A. A. There is no center.

Explanation

The answer is A. There is no center. This is because the concept of a center implies a fixed point from which everything else is measured, but in the case of the universe, there is no such fixed point. The universe is constantly expanding and there is no specific location that can be identified as the center. Additionally, the idea of a center goes against the principle of the universe being homogeneous and isotropic, meaning that it appears the same from any point of observation. Therefore, the correct answer is that there is no center of the universe.

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10.

Younger stars have more heavy elements because

A. old stars destroy heavy elements as they age.
B. the heavy elements were made in previous generations of stars.
C. young stars burn their nuclear fuels faster.
D. heavy elements haven’t had time to settle to the core of these younger stars.
E. all of the above.

Correct Answer

A. B. the heavy elements were made in previous generations of stars.

Explanation

Younger stars have more heavy elements because these heavy elements were made in previous generations of stars. As stars age and go through their life cycles, they undergo nuclear fusion reactions that create heavier elements. These heavier elements are then released into space when the stars explode as supernovae. The debris from these explosions can then become the building blocks for new stars, resulting in younger stars having a higher abundance of heavy elements.

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Astronomy Exam 2 Part 3

21. Compared to a cool red main sequence star, a hot blue main sequence star has

Quiz Preview

For a star with the sun’s mass, we expect that after all the hydrogen in the core is fused, the star will next become

Which spectral class star on the main sequence has the largest mass?

An observer far outside our galaxy would best describe our galaxy and the Sun’s position in it as a

For which of the following objects does Hubble’s Law work?

. The Universe is said to be closed if

Which of the following is a characteristic of the halo component of the Milky Way?

Most of the mass of a galaxy is

Where is the center of the universe

Younger stars have more heavy elements because