Exploring the Cosmos - Degree Exam 2012 - Life and Death of Stars (Part 1)
1. If an object is measured to have a parallax of 1'', how far away is it?
1 parsec
10 parsecs
1000 parsecs
100 parsecs
2. How much faster does the Sun spin on its axis, at its equator, than the Earth does?
36 times
10 times
25 times
50 times
3. Which of the following lists the elements Carbon, Helium, Hydrogen and Oxygen in descending order of abundance in our universe?
Hydrogen, Helium, Carbon, Oxygen
Oxygen, Hydrogen, Carbon, Helium
Hydrogen, Oxygen, Carbon, Helium
Carbon, Helium, Hydrogen, Oxygen
4. The luminosity of a star is dependent on which of the following combinations of stellar radius (r) and surface temperature (T)?
r^2 * T^4
rT^2
r^2 * T^2
rT
5. The two-step process of the photodisintegration of elements, and the direct capture of helium nuclei, is known as what?
The alpha process.
The triple-alpha process.
The Helium capture process.
The neutron capture process.
6. Blackbody curves are drawn from two stars, A and B. If the peak emission frequency of star A is higher than that of star B, what can we infer about the relative temperatures of the stars?
Star A is colder than star B.
The two stars are at the same temperature.
Star B is colder than star A.
It is not possible to infer anything about the two stars temperature without knowing the mass of the star.
7. Which spectral class of stars shows strong levels of ionised helium in their spectra?
A
O
F
M
8. Which of the following lists the spectral classes of stars in order of increasing temperature?
MKGFABO
ABFGKMO
OBAFGKM
MABFGOK
9. Which of the following statements about the apparent brightness of a star is correct?
Changes in luminosity and distance do not affect the apparent brightness.
Increasing the luminosity increases the apparent brightness.
Decreasing the luminosity increases the apparent brightness.
Increasing the distance between star and observer increases the apparent brightness.
10. To which stellar luminosity class do Giant stars belong?
II
V
IV
III
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