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- 1. Multiple Choice
1) The light we see from the Sun comes from which layer?
A) troposphere
B) chromosphere
C) photosphere
D) ionosphere
E) corona
- 2. Multiple Choice
2) The temperature of the layer of gas that produces the visible light of the Sun is:
A) 3,500 K.
B) 5,800 K.
C) 12,300 K.
D) 300,000 K.
E) 15 million K.
- 3. Multiple Choice
3) Why couldn't you stand on the Sun's surface?
A) The Sun has no surface at all...the photosphere is an illusion.
B) You could stand on the surface.
C) The Sun doesn't have a solid surface.
D) The Sun's surface is too highly magnetized for anything to survive there.
E) You could stand on it, if a sufficiently protective spacesuit could be designed.
- 4. Multiple Choice
4) How many planet Earths could fit inside the Sun?
A) 110
B) about a thousand
C) a little over a million
D) almost ten million
E) close to a billion
- 5. Multiple Choice
5) The density of the Sun is most similar to which object?
A) Halley's Comet's nucleus
B) the Earth
C) Mercury
D) the Moon
E) Jupiter
- 6. Multiple Choice
6) The area in the Sun's atmosphere located above the chromosphere (1,500-10,000 km) where the temperature rises dramatically is called the:
A) photosphere.
B) corona.
C) solar wind.
D) transition zone.
E) convection zone.
- 7. Multiple Choice
7) About what percent of the incoming energy from the Sun reaches Earth's surface?
A) 80-100%
B) 70-90%
C) 60-80%
D) 50-70%
E) 30-60%
- 8. Multiple Choice
8) The solar constant is a measure of:
A) the energy received by the Sun on Earth's surface.
B) the energy received by the Sun at the location of Earth.
C) the energy received by the Sun at any location in the solar system.
D) the energy emitted by the Sun at the photosphere.
E) the total energy emitted by the Sun in all directions.
- 9. Multiple Choice
9) The luminosity of the Sun is a measure of:
A) the energy received by the Sun on Earth's surface.
B) the energy received by the Sun at the location of Earth.
C) the energy received by the Sun at any location in the solar system.
D) the energy emitted by the Sun at the photosphere.
E) the total energy emitted by the Sun in all directions.
- 10. Multiple Choice
10) From inside out, which is in the correct order for the structure of the Sun?
A) core, convective zone, radiative zone
B) photosphere, radiative zone, corona
C) radiative zone, convective zone, chromosphere
D) core, chromosphere, photosphere
E) convective zone, radiative zone, granulation
- 11. Multiple Choice
11) By what mechanism does solar energy reach the Sun's photosphere from the layer just underneath it?
A) differentiation
B) ionization
C) radiation
D) convection
E) conduction
- 12. Multiple Choice
12) Hydrostatic equilibrium in our Sun is the balance between:
A) convection and radiation.
B) convection and gravitation.
C) pressure and radiation.
D) radiation and gravitation.
E) gravitation and pressure.
- 13. Multiple Choice
13) The vibrations of the Sun reveal information about:
A) the temperature of the core of the Sun.
B) the structure of the atmosphere of the Sun.
C) the interior structure of the Sun.
D) the production of energy in the Sun.
E) the magnetic field of the Sun.
- 14. Multiple Choice
The above diagram indicates that:
A) the Sun is most dense somewhere between its surface and its core.
B) the Sun is least dense somewhere between its surface and its core.
C) the Sun is more dense at its surface than at its core.
D) the Sun is more dense at its core than at its surface.
E) the Sun has about the same density throughout its interior.
- 15. Multiple Choice
The above diagram indicates that:
A) the Sun is hottest somewhere between its surface and its core.
B) the Sun is coolest somewhere between its surface and its core.
C) the Sun is hotter at its surface than at its core.
D) the Sun is hotter at its core than at its surface.
E) the Sun has about the same temperature throughout its interior.
- 16. Multiple Choice
16) What two energy transport mechanisms, in order from outside the core to the surface, are found in the Sun?
A) convection, conduction
B) radiative diffusion, convection
C) conduction, radiative diffusion
D) radiative diffusion, conduction
E) conduction, convection
- 17. Multiple Choice
17) What is the size of a typical granule or convection cell seen in the photosphere?
A) 10,000 km
B) 1,000 km
C) 100 km
D) 10 km
E) 1 km
- 18. Multiple Choice
18) The pattern of rising hot gas cells all over the photosphere is called:
A) filaments.
B) granulation.
C) sunspots.
D) convective projections.
E) prominences.
- 19. Multiple Choice
19) The outward pressure of hot gas in the Sun:
A) is balanced by the inward gravitational pressure.
B) is increasing the Sun's diameter.
C) is cooling the photosphere.
D) is responsible for variations in the sunspot cycle.
E) weakens the magnetic field.
- 20. Multiple Choice
20) Studies by the Global Oscillations Network Group, along with satellite observations, indicate:
A) that the standard solar model requires substantial modification.
B) that all stars show the same kind of vibrations that our Sun does.
C) that there is an unknown energy transport mechanism in the Sun.
D) that there is less convection in the Sun than predicted by the standard solar model.
E) that the standard solar model accurately models the observed solar vibrations.
- 21. Multiple Choice
21) Large circulation patterns in the Sun, dubbed "Conveyor Belts," transport material from the equator to the poles, then back to the equator at a depth of 300,000 km, take how long to complete a cycle?
A) Less than a day
B) A few years
C) A few decades
D) A few centuries
E) Tens of millions of years, comparable to the convection cycle in Earth's mantle
- 22. Multiple Choice
22) The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) is positioned:
A) in a geosynchronous orbit around the Earth.
B) in near-Earth orbit.
C) about 1.5 million kilometers from Earth at the L1 Lagrangian Point.
D) on the far side of the Sun at the L3 Langrangian Point.
E) on the far side of the Moon.
- 23. Multiple Choice
23) When the chromosphere can be seen during a solar eclipse, it appears:
A) invisible.
B) violet.
C) blue.
D) yellow.
E) red.
- 24. Multiple Choice
24) From where does most of the solar wind flow?
A) granules
B) sunspots
C) flares
D) prominences
E) coronal holes
- 25. Multiple Choice
25) What is it about the Sun's corona that astronomers don't understand?
A) No one knows why that part of the Sun's atmosphere does not drift away into space.
B) During total solar eclipses, the corona sometimes disappears from view.
C) The corona seems to absorb 2/3 of the neutrinos that pass through it.
D) The corona is much hotter than layers of the Sun that are closer to the solar interior.
E) The Sun's corona extends to the outer reaches of the solar system.
- 26. Multiple Choice
26) When we glimpse the chromosphere at the start and end of totality, its color is:
A) green (the famous flash).
B) yellow, like the photosphere below it.
C) red, due to ionized hydrogen at lower pressure.
D) blue, due to the ionization of nitrogen by the magnetic fields.
E) white from the moonlight.
- 27. Multiple Choice
27) The percentage (by mass) of the Sun that is Hydrogen is about:
A) 91%.
B) 71%.
C) 27%.
D) 9%.
E) less than 1%.
- 28. Multiple Choice
28) The percentage (by number of atoms) of the Sun that is Hydrogen is about:
A) 91%.
B) 71%.
C) 27%.
D) 9%.
E) less than 1%.
- 29. Multiple Choice
29) The percentage (by mass) of the Sun that is helium is about:
A) 91%.
B) 71%.
C) 27%.
D) 9%.
E) less than 1%.
- 30. Multiple Choice
30) A loop of gas following the magnetic field lines between sunspots' poles is:
A) a flare.
B) a ray.
C) a coronal hole.
D) a prominence.
E) a coronal mass ejection.
- 31. Multiple Choice
31) How long does the sunspot cycle last, on average?
A) between 25 and 35 days
B) 365.25 days
C) about seven years
D) about 11 years
E) about 76 years
- 32. Multiple Choice
32) Visible sunspots lie in the:
A) chromosphere.
B) transition zone.
C) corona.
D) radiative zone.
E) granulation in the photosphere.
- 33. Multiple Choice
33) As the Sun rotates, an individual sunspot can be tracked across its face. From eastern to western limb, this takes about:
A) 12 hours.
B) a week.
C) two weeks.
D) a month.
E) 5.5 years.
- 34. Multiple Choice
34) The most striking example of solar variability was:
A) the Dust Bowl drought of the 1930s.
B) the Maunder Minimum from 1645-1715.
C) the Sporer Minimum that doomed the Anasazi.
D) the fall of Rome.
E) Joseph's seven lean years in the Old Testament.
- 35. Multiple Choice
35) Sunspots:
A) are always found close to the Sun's poles.
B) come in pairs, representing the north and south magnetic fields.
C) were most numerous during the Maunder Minimum.
D) travel over the surface of the Sun from pole to pole.
E) are relatively constant in number every year.
- 36. Multiple Choice
36) Sunspots are dark splotches on the Sun. Which statement is true?
A) They are hotter than the surrounding areas of the Sun.
B) They are extremely cold objects, as cold as Pluto.
C) They are extremely hot, but cooler than the surrounding areas of the Sun.
D) They are solid bodies floating on the surface of the Sun.
E) They are associated with areas of very low magnetic fields.
- 37. Multiple Choice
37) How would sunspots appear if you could magically remove them from the Sun?
A) They would appear blue-white, like Sirius but brighter.
B) Because sunspots are dark spots, they would be invisible against the blackness of space.
C) They would shine bright orange in color, like Arcturus.
D) They would not appear any differently than on the surface of the Sun.
E) They would shine only with reflected sunlight, appearing similar to Venus.
- 38. Multiple Choice
38) While observing the Sun, you note a large number of sunspots. What can you conclude?
A) The Sun is less luminous than usual.
B) This is a period of low solar activity.
C) Earth's climate will be unusually cold.
D) The Sun's rotation is slower than average.
E) There are likely to be an above average number of flares and prominences.
- 39. Multiple Choice
39) The number of sunspots and their activity peak about every:
A) 36 days.
B) six months.
C) year.
D) eleven years.
E) 76 years.
- 40. Multiple Choice
40) Loops of glowing hydrogen seen hanging over the solar limb during totality are:
A) solar rainbows.
B) haloes.
C) prominences.
D) filaments.
E) flares.
- 41. Multiple Choice
41) During a period of high solar activity, the corona:
A) disappears.
B) is more irregular.
C) cools almost to the temperature of the photosphere.
D) becomes smooth and even.
E) shrinks to half its normal size.
- 42. Multiple Choice
42) The solar winds blow outward from:
A) sunspots.
B) flares.
C) the entire photosphere.
D) coronal holes.
E) the Sun's poles only.
- 43. Multiple Choice
43) Which of these are NOT associated with the active Sun?
A) sunspots
B) prominences
C) granulation
D) flares
E) aurora
- 44. Multiple Choice
44) Suppose a large flare is detected optically. How long until radio interference arrives?
A) simultaneously
B) 8.5 minutes later
C) about 12 hours
D) about four days
E) no relation between the two
- 45. Multiple Choice
45) On the Sun, what takes approximately 22 years to happen?
A) The Sun takes that time to rotate on its axis.
B) The complete sunspot cycle, including magnetic field reversals.
C) Solar vibrations begin every 22 years.
D) Solar activities goes from its maximum to minimum.
E) The corona reaches its maximum temperature and ejects gas every 22 years.
- 46. Multiple Choice
46) There appears to be a correlation between the 22-year solar cycle and:
A) droughts in North America.
B) asteroid impacts on Earth.
C) change of which political party has the majority in the U.S. Congress.
D) the length of Mercury's day.
E) the length of Saturn's year.
- 47. Multiple Choice
47) Which of the following is NOT a property of neutrinos?
A) can change forms in the eight minutes from the Sun's core to us
B) almost massless
C) can travel very close to the speed of light
D) neutral in charge
E) cannot interact at all with normal matter
- 48. Multiple Choice
48) The critical temperature the core must reach for a star to shine by fusion is:
A) 5,800 K.
B) 11,000 K.
C) 127,000 K.
D) 10 million K.
E) 100 million K.
- 49. Multiple Choice
49) In the proton-proton cycle, the helium atom and neutrino have less mass than the original hydrogen. What happens to the "lost" mass?
A) It is recycled back into hydrogen.
B) It is ejected into space.
C) It is converted to energy.
D) It is transformed into electrons.
E) Conservation of mass dictates no mass can be lost.
- 50. Multiple Choice
50) The primary source of the Sun's energy is:
A) oxidation of carbon in the core.
B) gravitational collapse of the helium coreward.
C) dark energy.
D) the strong force fusing hydrogen into helium.
E) the weak force creating energy from uranium decay.
- 51. Multiple Choice
51) In the proton-proton cycle, the positron is:
A) massless.
B) a spin conservation particle.
C) an anti-electron.
D) the chief means energy reaches the photosphere.
E) intermediate between the proton and neutron in mass.
- 52. Multiple Choice
52) What natural barrier tries to prevent two protons from combining?
A) dark energy
B) antigravity
C) electromagnetic repulsion
D) the weak nuclear force
E) the strong nuclear force
- 53. Multiple Choice
53) The critical temperature to initiate the proton-proton cycle in the cores of stars is:
A) 3,000 K.
B) 5,800 K.
C) 2,300,000 K.
D) 10 million K.
E) 100 million K.
- 54. Multiple Choice
54) Which is the net result of the proton-proton chain?
A) 4 protons = 1 helium 4 + a positron + a neutrino + gamma rays
B) 2 protons = deuterium + a positron + an antineutrino + X-rays
C) 4 protons = 2 heliums 2 + 2 positrons + ultraviolet radiation
D) 4 protons = 1 helium 4 + 2 neutrinos + gamma rays
E) 6 protons = 2 heliums + 3 positrons + 3 neutrinos + gamma rays
- 55. Multiple Choice
55) The speed of light is 3.00 × 108 m/s. If 2.00 kg of mass is converted to energy, how much energy will be produced?
A) 1.80 × 1017 J
B) 6.00 × 108 J
C) 1.50 × 108 J
D) 6.00 × 104 J
E) 9.00 × 1016 J
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