Exploring the Cosmos - Degree Exam 2012 - Life and Death of Stars (Part 2)
1. Synchrotron radiation is
caused by radioactive decay in a Type-II supernova.
a pulsed source of radio interference.
a feature of radiation from a neutron star.
a feature of the heat from a red giant.
2. Supermassive black holes are
found at the centre of nearly every galaxy.
only found in distant galaxies.
usually violent sources of energy that can destroy galaxies.
thought to be very rare in the universe.
3. The best evidence of black holes comes from
x-ray sources which are always black holes.
evidence of their extreme magnetic fields.
direct observation of black areas in space.
signs of the effect of strong gravitational fields.
4. Pulsars typically spin
many times per second.
about once a year.
about once a day.
many thousands of times per second.
5. Neutron degeneracy
causes supernova explosions.
stops collapse in a supernova.
prevents the collapse of a white dwarf in a supernova.
leads to the formation of heavy metals like gold in supernovae.
6. An emission nebula is
usually dark as it blocks the light from stars.
blue as it scatters the light from stars.
internally heated by stars.
red as it scatters the light from stars.
7. A protostar forms due to
collapse of a low density region containing hydrogen.
collapse of a high density region of gas.
gravitational attraction due to a nearby star.
changes in the early stage of a main sequence star.
8. Main sequence stars
are continuously contracting.
stay approximately constant in size.
are continuously cooling.
are hydro-dynamically unstable.
9. If 4 hydrogen nuclei fuse to form a helium nucleus
the mass is conserved.
the mass drops by about 1 %.
energy is absorbed.
the mass-energy increases by about 1 %.
10. Given that the radius of the Sun is about 700,000 km
energy from fusion appears almost instantly at the photosphere.
it takes a few hours for light to travel from the core to the photosphere.
light takes 2 to 3 seconds to travel from the core to the photosphere.
energy from fusion takes about 1 million years to travel this distance.
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