Question
1) What two forces are balanced in what we call gravitational equilibrium?
A) the electromagnetic force and gravity B) outward pressure and the strong force
C) outward pressure and inward gravity D) the strong force and gravity
2) How does the Sun generate energy today?
A) nuclear fission B) nuclear fusion
C) chemical reactions D) gravitational contraction
3) Which of the following quantities is equal to the energy per second generated by fusion in the Sun's core?
A) the force of gravity holding the Sun together B) the temperature of the Sun's core
C) the temperature at the Sun's photosphere D) the luminosity of the Sun's photosphere
4) We say that the matter in the Sun's interior is a plasma, which mean it is
A) a low-density gas. B) an ionized gas.
C) a thick liquid, like blood. D) a freely flowing liquid, like water.
5) What temperature is required to fuse hydrogen?
A) thousands of Kelvin B) millions of Kelvin
C) billions of Kelvin D) trillions of Kelvin
6) The Sun's composition (by mass) is approximately
A) 100 percent hydrogen and helium.
B) 50 percent hydrogen, 25 percent helium, 25 percent other elements.
C) 70 percent helium, 28 percent hydrogen, 2 percent other elements.
D) 70 percent hydrogen, 28 percent helium, 2 percent other elements.
7) What is the approximate average temperature of the surface of the Sun?
A) 1 million K B) 580,000 K C) 58,000 K D) 5800 K
8) Which of the following properties of the Sun tells us the rate at which energy is being generated in its core?
A) surface temperature B) apparent brightness
C) mass D) luminosity
9) Which layer of the Sun do we see with our eyes?
A) photosphere B) corona C) chromosphere D) convection zone
10) Based on its surface temperature of 5800 K, most photons that leave the Sun's surface lie in the ________ region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
A) microwave B) infrared C) visible D) ultraviolet
11) Which of the following is the best answer to the question "Why does the Sun shine?"
A) The Sun initially began generating energy through nuclear fusion as it formed, but today, it generates energy primarily through the sunspot cycle.
B) The young Sun became hotter through gravitational contraction. Once the core was hot enough, nuclear fusion began and has kept the Sun shining ever since.
C) The Sun initially began making energy through chemical reactions. These heated the interior enough to allow gravitational contraction and nuclear fusion to occur.
D) As the Sun was forming, nuclear fusion reactions in the shrinking clouds of gas slowly became stronger and stronger, until the Sun reached its current luminosity.
12) If the Sun's surface were cooler, how would its appearance change?
A) It would appear more red. B) It would appear more blue.
C) It would become bright white. D) It would stay the same.
13) What is the approximate temperature of the Sun's core?
A) 5800 K B) 10,000 K C) 1 million K D) 15 million K
14) About how much mass does the Sun lose through nuclear fusion per second?
A) 4 tons B) 4 million tons C) 600 tons D) 600 million tons
15) Which of the following is the overall fusion reaction by which the Sun currently produces energy?
A) 3 He ⇒ 1 C + energy B) 4 H ⇒ 4 He + energy
C) 6 H ⇒ 1 He + energy D) 4 H ⇒ 1 He + energy
16) What would happen in the Sun if the temperature of the core decreased?
A) The fusion rate increases, then the core expands and cools.
B) The fusion rate increases, then the core shrinks and heats.
C) The fusion rate decreases, then the core shrinks and heats.
D) The fusion rate decreases, then the core expands and heats.
17) Most energy produced in the Sun is released as visible light from the photosphere. However, some energy is released from the upper layers of the solar atmosphere. Which of the following best describes where other forms of light are released?
A) The chromosphere is the source of ultraviolet light, and the corona is the source of x-rays.
B) The chromosphere is the source of infrared light, and the corona is the source of ultraviolet light.
C) The chromosphere is the source of x-rays, and the corona is the source of radio waves.
D) The convection zone is the source of ultraviolet light, and the upper photosphere is the source of x-rays.
18) What causes the bubbling pattern of granulation that we see in the Sun's photosphere?
A) underlying convection B) sunspots C) dust particles
D) dark areas of the pattern have larger concentrations of carbon
19) Why are sunspots cooler than the surrounding solar surface?
A) They are regions where convection carries cooler material downward.
B) Strong magnetic fields slow convection and prevent hot plasma from entering the region.
C) Magnetic fields trap ionized gases that absorb light.
D) There is less fusion occurring there.
20) The intricate patterns visible in an x-ray image of the Sun generally show
A) extremely hot plasma flowing along magnetic field lines.
B) granulation on the photosphere.
C) helioseismological fluctuations.
D) structure within sunspots
21) What processes are involved in the sunspot cycle?
A) gravitational contraction of the Sun B) wave motions in the solar interior
C) variations of the solar thermostat D) the winding of magnetic field lines due to differential rotation
22) According to modern science, approximately how old is the Sun?
A) 4.5 billion years B) 25 million years C) 10,000 years D) 400 million years
23) The source of energy that keeps the Sun shining today is
A) nuclear fission. B) nuclear fusion. C) gravitational contraction. D) chemical reactions.
24) Energy balance in the Sun refers to a balance between
A) the rate at which fusion generates energy in the Sun's core and the rate at which the Sun's surface radiates energy into space.
B) the mass that the Sun loses each second and the amount of mass converted into energy each second.
C) the force of gravity pulling inward and the force due to pressure pushing outward.
D) the amount of energy the Sun radiates into space and the amount of energy that reaches Earth.
25) From the center outward, which of the following lists the "layers" of the Sun in the correct order?
A) core, radiation zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere, corona
B) core, radiation zone, convection zone, corona, chromosphere, photosphere
C) core, convection zone, radiation zone, corona, chromosphere, photosphere
D) core, corona, radiation zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere
26) What is the solar wind?
A) a stream of charged particles flowing outward from the surface of the Sun
B) the uppermost layer of the Sun, which lies just above the corona
C) the strong wind that blows sunspots around on the surface of the Sun
D) the wind that causes huge arcs of gas to rise above the Sun's surface
27) What happens to energy in the Sun's convection zone?
A) Energy is transported outward by the rising of hot plasma and sinking of cooler plasma.
B) Energy is produced in the convection zone by thermal radiation.
C) Energy slowly leaks outward through the radiative diffusion of photons that repeatedly bounce off ions and electrons.
D) Energy is produced in the convection zone by nuclear fusion.
28) What do sunspots, solar prominences, and solar flares all have in common?
A) They are all strongly influenced by magnetic fields on the Sun.
B) They all have about the same temperature.
C) They are all shaped by the solar wind.
D) They all occur only in the Sun's photosphere.
29) If the Sun's core suddenly shrank a little bit, what would happen in the Sun?
A) The core would heat up, fusion rates would increase, the core would re-expand.
B) The core would cool off and continue to shrink as its density increased.
C) The density of the core would decrease, causing the core to cool off and expand.
D) The core would heat up, causing it to radiate so much energy that it would shrink even more.
30) Why do sunspots appear dark in pictures of the Sun?
A) They actually are fairly bright, but appear dark against the even brighter background of the surrounding photosphere.
B) They are too cold to emit any visible light.
C) They are holes in the solar surface through which we can see through to deeper, darker layers of the Sun.
D) They are extremely hot and emit all their radiation as X rays rather than visible light.
31) How can we best observe the Sun's chromosphere and corona?
A) The chromosphere is best observed with ultraviolet telescopes and the corona is best observed with X-ray telescopes.
B) The chromosphere is best observed with infrared telescopes and the corona is best observed with ultraviolet telescopes.
C) The chromosphere and corona are both best studied with visible light.
D) The chromosphere and corona are both best studied with radio telescopes.
32) This photograph shows a small portion of the Sun's photosphere. What is going on in the bright regions (such as the bright region indicated by the arrow)?
A) Hot gas is rising up from the solar interior.
B) Cool gas is falling back down into the solar interior.
C) The bright spots are regions of unusually intense magnetic fields.
D) The bright spots are what we call sunspots.
33) This x-ray image shows a loop of hot gas above the surface of the Sun. If we took a visible light photo that looked in the Sun's photosphere just under the two points where the loop of gas comes down (arrows), what would we find?
A) sunspots B) bright prominences
C) coronal holes D) radiation zones
A) the electromagnetic force and gravity B) outward pressure and the strong force
C) outward pressure and inward gravity D) the strong force and gravity
2) How does the Sun generate energy today?
A) nuclear fission B) nuclear fusion
C) chemical reactions D) gravitational contraction
3) Which of the following quantities is equal to the energy per second generated by fusion in the Sun's core?
A) the force of gravity holding the Sun together B) the temperature of the Sun's core
C) the temperature at the Sun's photosphere D) the luminosity of the Sun's photosphere
4) We say that the matter in the Sun's interior is a plasma, which mean it is
A) a low-density gas. B) an ionized gas.
C) a thick liquid, like blood. D) a freely flowing liquid, like water.
5) What temperature is required to fuse hydrogen?
A) thousands of Kelvin B) millions of Kelvin
C) billions of Kelvin D) trillions of Kelvin
6) The Sun's composition (by mass) is approximately
A) 100 percent hydrogen and helium.
B) 50 percent hydrogen, 25 percent helium, 25 percent other elements.
C) 70 percent helium, 28 percent hydrogen, 2 percent other elements.
D) 70 percent hydrogen, 28 percent helium, 2 percent other elements.
7) What is the approximate average temperature of the surface of the Sun?
A) 1 million K B) 580,000 K C) 58,000 K D) 5800 K
8) Which of the following properties of the Sun tells us the rate at which energy is being generated in its core?
A) surface temperature B) apparent brightness
C) mass D) luminosity
9) Which layer of the Sun do we see with our eyes?
A) photosphere B) corona C) chromosphere D) convection zone
10) Based on its surface temperature of 5800 K, most photons that leave the Sun's surface lie in the ________ region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
A) microwave B) infrared C) visible D) ultraviolet
11) Which of the following is the best answer to the question "Why does the Sun shine?"
A) The Sun initially began generating energy through nuclear fusion as it formed, but today, it generates energy primarily through the sunspot cycle.
B) The young Sun became hotter through gravitational contraction. Once the core was hot enough, nuclear fusion began and has kept the Sun shining ever since.
C) The Sun initially began making energy through chemical reactions. These heated the interior enough to allow gravitational contraction and nuclear fusion to occur.
D) As the Sun was forming, nuclear fusion reactions in the shrinking clouds of gas slowly became stronger and stronger, until the Sun reached its current luminosity.
12) If the Sun's surface were cooler, how would its appearance change?
A) It would appear more red. B) It would appear more blue.
C) It would become bright white. D) It would stay the same.
13) What is the approximate temperature of the Sun's core?
A) 5800 K B) 10,000 K C) 1 million K D) 15 million K
14) About how much mass does the Sun lose through nuclear fusion per second?
A) 4 tons B) 4 million tons C) 600 tons D) 600 million tons
15) Which of the following is the overall fusion reaction by which the Sun currently produces energy?
A) 3 He ⇒ 1 C + energy B) 4 H ⇒ 4 He + energy
C) 6 H ⇒ 1 He + energy D) 4 H ⇒ 1 He + energy
16) What would happen in the Sun if the temperature of the core decreased?
A) The fusion rate increases, then the core expands and cools.
B) The fusion rate increases, then the core shrinks and heats.
C) The fusion rate decreases, then the core shrinks and heats.
D) The fusion rate decreases, then the core expands and heats.
17) Most energy produced in the Sun is released as visible light from the photosphere. However, some energy is released from the upper layers of the solar atmosphere. Which of the following best describes where other forms of light are released?
A) The chromosphere is the source of ultraviolet light, and the corona is the source of x-rays.
B) The chromosphere is the source of infrared light, and the corona is the source of ultraviolet light.
C) The chromosphere is the source of x-rays, and the corona is the source of radio waves.
D) The convection zone is the source of ultraviolet light, and the upper photosphere is the source of x-rays.
18) What causes the bubbling pattern of granulation that we see in the Sun's photosphere?
A) underlying convection B) sunspots C) dust particles
D) dark areas of the pattern have larger concentrations of carbon
19) Why are sunspots cooler than the surrounding solar surface?
A) They are regions where convection carries cooler material downward.
B) Strong magnetic fields slow convection and prevent hot plasma from entering the region.
C) Magnetic fields trap ionized gases that absorb light.
D) There is less fusion occurring there.
20) The intricate patterns visible in an x-ray image of the Sun generally show
A) extremely hot plasma flowing along magnetic field lines.
B) granulation on the photosphere.
C) helioseismological fluctuations.
D) structure within sunspots
21) What processes are involved in the sunspot cycle?
A) gravitational contraction of the Sun B) wave motions in the solar interior
C) variations of the solar thermostat D) the winding of magnetic field lines due to differential rotation
22) According to modern science, approximately how old is the Sun?
A) 4.5 billion years B) 25 million years C) 10,000 years D) 400 million years
23) The source of energy that keeps the Sun shining today is
A) nuclear fission. B) nuclear fusion. C) gravitational contraction. D) chemical reactions.
24) Energy balance in the Sun refers to a balance between
A) the rate at which fusion generates energy in the Sun's core and the rate at which the Sun's surface radiates energy into space.
B) the mass that the Sun loses each second and the amount of mass converted into energy each second.
C) the force of gravity pulling inward and the force due to pressure pushing outward.
D) the amount of energy the Sun radiates into space and the amount of energy that reaches Earth.
25) From the center outward, which of the following lists the "layers" of the Sun in the correct order?
A) core, radiation zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere, corona
B) core, radiation zone, convection zone, corona, chromosphere, photosphere
C) core, convection zone, radiation zone, corona, chromosphere, photosphere
D) core, corona, radiation zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere
26) What is the solar wind?
A) a stream of charged particles flowing outward from the surface of the Sun
B) the uppermost layer of the Sun, which lies just above the corona
C) the strong wind that blows sunspots around on the surface of the Sun
D) the wind that causes huge arcs of gas to rise above the Sun's surface
27) What happens to energy in the Sun's convection zone?
A) Energy is transported outward by the rising of hot plasma and sinking of cooler plasma.
B) Energy is produced in the convection zone by thermal radiation.
C) Energy slowly leaks outward through the radiative diffusion of photons that repeatedly bounce off ions and electrons.
D) Energy is produced in the convection zone by nuclear fusion.
28) What do sunspots, solar prominences, and solar flares all have in common?
A) They are all strongly influenced by magnetic fields on the Sun.
B) They all have about the same temperature.
C) They are all shaped by the solar wind.
D) They all occur only in the Sun's photosphere.
29) If the Sun's core suddenly shrank a little bit, what would happen in the Sun?
A) The core would heat up, fusion rates would increase, the core would re-expand.
B) The core would cool off and continue to shrink as its density increased.
C) The density of the core would decrease, causing the core to cool off and expand.
D) The core would heat up, causing it to radiate so much energy that it would shrink even more.
30) Why do sunspots appear dark in pictures of the Sun?
A) They actually are fairly bright, but appear dark against the even brighter background of the surrounding photosphere.
B) They are too cold to emit any visible light.
C) They are holes in the solar surface through which we can see through to deeper, darker layers of the Sun.
D) They are extremely hot and emit all their radiation as X rays rather than visible light.
31) How can we best observe the Sun's chromosphere and corona?
A) The chromosphere is best observed with ultraviolet telescopes and the corona is best observed with X-ray telescopes.
B) The chromosphere is best observed with infrared telescopes and the corona is best observed with ultraviolet telescopes.
C) The chromosphere and corona are both best studied with visible light.
D) The chromosphere and corona are both best studied with radio telescopes.
32) This photograph shows a small portion of the Sun's photosphere. What is going on in the bright regions (such as the bright region indicated by the arrow)?
A) Hot gas is rising up from the solar interior.
B) Cool gas is falling back down into the solar interior.
C) The bright spots are regions of unusually intense magnetic fields.
D) The bright spots are what we call sunspots.
33) This x-ray image shows a loop of hot gas above the surface of the Sun. If we took a visible light photo that looked in the Sun's photosphere just under the two points where the loop of gas comes down (arrows), what would we find?
A) sunspots B) bright prominences
C) coronal holes D) radiation zones
Answers
GPT-4o mini
Here are the answers to the questions you provided:
1) C) outward pressure and inward gravity
2) B) nuclear fusion
3) D) the luminosity of the Sun's photosphere
4) B) an ionized gas.
5) B) millions of Kelvin
6) D) 70 percent hydrogen, 28 percent helium, 2 percent other elements.
7) D) 5800 K
8) D) luminosity
9) A) photosphere
10) C) visible
11) B) The young Sun became hotter through gravitational contraction. Once the core was hot enough, nuclear fusion began and has kept the Sun shining ever since.
12) A) It would appear more red.
13) D) 15 million K
14) B) 4 million tons
15) D) 4 H ⇒ 1 He + energy
16) C) The fusion rate decreases, then the core shrinks and heats.
17) A) The chromosphere is the source of ultraviolet light, and the corona is the source of x-rays.
18) A) underlying convection
19) B) Strong magnetic fields slow convection and prevent hot plasma from entering the region.
20) A) extremely hot plasma flowing along magnetic field lines.
21) D) the winding of magnetic field lines due to differential rotation
22) A) 4.5 billion years
23) B) nuclear fusion.
24) A) the rate at which fusion generates energy in the Sun's core and the rate at which the Sun's surface radiates energy into space.
25) A) core, radiation zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere, corona
26) A) a stream of charged particles flowing outward from the surface of the Sun
27) A) Energy is transported outward by the rising of hot plasma and sinking of cooler plasma.
28) A) They are all strongly influenced by magnetic fields on the Sun.
29) A) The core would heat up, fusion rates would increase, the core would re-expand.
30) A) They actually are fairly bright, but appear dark against the even brighter background of the surrounding photosphere.
31) A) The chromosphere is best observed with ultraviolet telescopes and the corona is best observed with X-ray telescopes.
32) A) Hot gas is rising up from the solar interior.
33) A) sunspots
Let me know if you need further assistance!
1) C) outward pressure and inward gravity
2) B) nuclear fusion
3) D) the luminosity of the Sun's photosphere
4) B) an ionized gas.
5) B) millions of Kelvin
6) D) 70 percent hydrogen, 28 percent helium, 2 percent other elements.
7) D) 5800 K
8) D) luminosity
9) A) photosphere
10) C) visible
11) B) The young Sun became hotter through gravitational contraction. Once the core was hot enough, nuclear fusion began and has kept the Sun shining ever since.
12) A) It would appear more red.
13) D) 15 million K
14) B) 4 million tons
15) D) 4 H ⇒ 1 He + energy
16) C) The fusion rate decreases, then the core shrinks and heats.
17) A) The chromosphere is the source of ultraviolet light, and the corona is the source of x-rays.
18) A) underlying convection
19) B) Strong magnetic fields slow convection and prevent hot plasma from entering the region.
20) A) extremely hot plasma flowing along magnetic field lines.
21) D) the winding of magnetic field lines due to differential rotation
22) A) 4.5 billion years
23) B) nuclear fusion.
24) A) the rate at which fusion generates energy in the Sun's core and the rate at which the Sun's surface radiates energy into space.
25) A) core, radiation zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere, corona
26) A) a stream of charged particles flowing outward from the surface of the Sun
27) A) Energy is transported outward by the rising of hot plasma and sinking of cooler plasma.
28) A) They are all strongly influenced by magnetic fields on the Sun.
29) A) The core would heat up, fusion rates would increase, the core would re-expand.
30) A) They actually are fairly bright, but appear dark against the even brighter background of the surrounding photosphere.
31) A) The chromosphere is best observed with ultraviolet telescopes and the corona is best observed with X-ray telescopes.
32) A) Hot gas is rising up from the solar interior.
33) A) sunspots
Let me know if you need further assistance!