Deck 7: The Sun

Question 1

The proton-proton chain

A) combines two hydrogen nuclei to produce a single helium nucleus and energy.
B) splits a helium nucleus to produce 4 hydrogen nuclei and energy.
C) is the mechanism that increases the temperature between the photosphere and corona of the sun.
D) is the interactions between protons in Earth's atmosphere that produces auroras.
E) produces energy in the core of the sun in the form of gamma rays, positrons, and neutrinos.

Answer 1

produces energy in the core of the sun in the form of gamma rays, positrons, and neutrinos.

Question 2

Granulation is caused by

A) sunspots.
B) rising and sinking gases below the photosphere.
C) shock waves in the corona.
D) the solar wind flowing away from the corona.
E) heating in the chromosphere.

Answer 2

rising and sinking gases below the photosphere.

Question 3

Sunspots are dark because

A) regions of the photosphere are obscured by material in the chromosphere.
B) shock waves move through the photosphere.
C) the sun rotates differentially.
D) the strong magnetic field inhibits the currents of hot gas rising from below.
E) they radiate their energy into space faster than the rest of the photosphere.

Answer 3

the strong magnetic field inhibits the currents of hot gas rising from below.

Question 4

Helioseismology shows that deeper layers of gas in the sun rotate at different speeds. When different parts of an object rotate at different rates it is called

A) the dynamo effect.
B) lagging.
C) reconnection.
D) differential rotation.
E) the Zeeman effect.

Question 5

The sun's magnetic field is evident in the looped shapes of

A) solar flares.
B) sunspots.
C) the corona.
D) granules.
E) prominences.

Question 6

The ____ occurs when a rapidly rotating conductor is stirred by convection to produce a magnetic field.

A) dynamo effect
B) Zeeman effect
C) Babcock effect
D) proton-proton chain
E) aurora

Question 7

Sunspots are known to be magnetic phenomena because

A) Doppler shifts in spectral lines are observed.
B) the Zeeman effect is observed in sunspots.
C) collisional broadening is observed in spectral lines.
D) infrared observations indicate that the sunspots are cooler than their surroundings.
E) observations during eclipses reveal a very extensive photosphere.

Question 8

The strong force is the force that

A) binds electrons to the nucleus in an atom.
B) holds the moon in orbit around Earth.
C) creates the magnetic field associated with sunspots.
D) produces the extremely high temperatures in the solar corona.
E) binds protons and neutrons together to form a nucleus.

Question 9

Much of the solar wind comes from ____ where the magnetic field does not loop back into the sun.

A) prominences
B) coronal holes
C) spicules
D) granulation
E) auroras

Question 10

The ____ coincides with the period known as the "little ice age" of Europe and North America. This provides one piece of evidence that suggests a link between solar activity and the amount of solar energy Earth receives.

A) Maunder sunspot minimum
B) Babcock sunspot model
C) coronal hole
D) Coulomb barrier
E) weak solar force

Question 11

The corona and chromosphere of the sun are believed to be heated by

A) shock waves rising from below the photosphere.
B) the solar wind.
C) sunspots.
D) high energy particles being accelerated by the sun's magnetic field.
E) differential rotation.

Question 12

A filtergram is a photograph of the sun's surface made

A) in a band of wavelengths in the infrared.
B) in a band of wavelengths in the ultraviolet.
C) using the Zeeman effect.
D) with only those photons emitted in a specific spectral line.
E) none of the above.

Question 13

Astronomers can use ____ to measure magnetic fields on the sun.

A) helioseismology
B) perchloroethylene (C₂Cl₄)
C) neutrino detectors
D) a magnetic carpet
E) the Zeeman effect

Question 14

Most of the visible light we see coming from the sun originates from the

A) chromosphere.
B) photosphere.
C) corona.
D) sunspots.
E) magnetic field.

Question 15

The sun creates its energy by the process of

A) nuclear fission.
B) nuclear fusion.
C) convection.
D) conduction.
E) radiation.

Question 16

The chromosphere of the sun

A) is hotter than the photosphere.
B) appears yellow-white in color during total solar eclipse.
C) is the visible surface of the sun.
D) produces an absorption spectrum.
E) all of the above.

Question 17

The centers of granules

A) are hot material rising to the photosphere from below.
B) are cool material falling from the photosphere to the regions below.
C) are fainter and hotter than their surroundings.
D) are brighter and cooler than their surroundings.
E) show strong Zeeman effects.

Question 18

Differential rotation of the sun is

A) heating in the chromosphere and corona that makes them hotter than the photosphere.
B) the magnetic dynamo inside the sun.
C) the equatorial regions of the sun rotating more rapidly than the polar regions.
D) the origin (and subsequent disappearance of) sunspots first near the poles then closer to the sun's equator as the sunspot cycle progresses.
E) the rotation of the sun's southern and northern hemispheres in opposite directions.

Question 19

____ occur about 130 km above Earth's surface near the polar regions when energy in the solar wind guided by Earth's magnetic field excites gases in the upper atmosphere.

A) Coronas
B) Flares
C) Auroras
D) Coronal holes
E) Nuclear fission

Question 20

One sees differences in ________depending on the time in the sunspot cycle.

A) I & II
B) I & IV
C) II & III
D) I, II & III
E) I, II, & IV

Question 21

The capture of too few solar neutrinos by Davis in the solar neutrino experiment

A) has been disproved by the results of later experiments.
B) can be explained if the sun is not undergoing thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen in its core.
C) indicates that the sun's core is much hotter than expected.
D) indicates that the sun's core is convective.
E) none of the above.

Question 22

The proton-proton chain needs high temperature because

A) of the ground state energy of the hydrogen atom.
B) of the presence of helium atoms.
C) the protons must overcome the Coulomb barrier.
D) of the need for low density.
E) the neutrinos carry more energy away than the reaction produces.

Question 23

In the proton-proton chain

A) no neutrinos are produced.
B) energy is released because a helium nucleus has a greater mass than a hydrogen nucleus.
C) no photons are produced.
D) carbon serves as a catalyst for the nuclear reaction.
E) energy is produced in the form of gamma rays and the velocity of the created nuclei.

Question 24

The intensity of a sunspot is found to be 3 times smaller than the intensity emitted by the solar surface. What is the approximate temperature of this sunspot if the temperature of the solar surface is 5800 K?

A) 4400 K
B) 470,000 K
C) 1900 K
D) 7600 K
E) 1400 K

Question 25

What is the explanation for the pattern of granulation seen on the visible surface of the sun?

A) The granules form the base of a circulation pattern that extends from the photosphere to the outer corona.
B) The granules are regions of nuclear energy generation in the sun's photosphere.
C) Each granule contains a strong magnetic field, which compresses and heats the gas underneath it.
D) The granules are the tops of hot gas that have risen from the sun's convective zone.

Question 26

Spicules

A) are found in the photosphere.
B) are magnetic disturbances that push large loops of material off the solar surface.
C) are responsible for twisting the solar magnetic field and causing the sunspot cycle.
D) appear in the corona near the north and south poles of the sun during a total solar eclipse.
E) are visible in filtergrams of the solar chromosphere.

Question 27

If a sunspot has a temperature of 4,500 K and the surrounding solar surface has a temperature of 5,800 K, how many times brighter is the surface compared to the sunspot?

A) 0.28
B) 0.36
C) 2.8
D) 3.6
E) 36

Question 28

A recent sunspot maximum occurred in 2001. What is the year of the sunspot maximum that immediately follows the 2001 maximum if the solar cycle continues?

A) 2006 or 2007
B) 2012
C) 2018
D) 2023
E) The last cycle started a Maunder minimum and the next maximum cannot be predicted.

Question 29

Diagram 7-1
Diagram 7-1 shows a plot of the temperature of the sun as a function of distance above the bottom of the photosphere. What is the temperature of the sun at a distance of 2,000 km?

A) 500 K
B) 900 K
C) 5,000 K
D) 9,000 K
E) 100,000 K

Question 30

Sunspots

A) are cooler than their surroundings.
B) are regions where material is rising from below the photosphere.
C) are the result of convection.
D) produce spicules.
E) are generally found near the poles of the sun during sunspot maximum.

Question 31

A ____ is believed to occur when energy, stored in a twist in the solar magnetic field above a sunspot, is suddenly released.

A) solar flare
B) supergranule
C) spicule
D) coronal hole
E) none of the above

Question 32

Which of the following is evidence that convection occurs in the layers just below the sun's photosphere?

A) Sunspots appear to be cooler than their surroundings.
B) Solar prominences lift large loops of gas into the chromosphere and corona.
C) The solar wind emits large numbers of charged particles.
D) The sun rotates differentially.
E) The centers of granules are hot and moving upward away from the center of the sun.

Question 33

If the spectrum of a sunspot shows that it has a maximum intensity at 650 nm, what is the temperature of the sunspot?

A) 650 K
B) 5000 K
C) 1950 K
D) 4500 K
E) 10,000 K

Question 34

Diagram 7-1
Diagram 7-1 shows a plot of the temperature of the sun as a function of distance above the bottom of the photosphere. At what distance above the bottom of the photosphere is the temperature of the sun the smallest?

A) 1000 km
B) 2300 km
C) 2500 km to 4000 km
D) 500 km
E) a and c

Question 35

The corona of the sun can be observed

A) during a lunar eclipse.
B) with a coronagraph.
C) using filtergrams.
D) a and b above
E) none of the above

Question 36

The United States consumes 2.5*10¹⁹ J of energy each year. A typical solar flare releases 5.0*10²⁴ J of energy. How many years could we run the United States on the energy released by this solar flare if all of the released energy could be used?

A) 5*10^-6 years
B) 200,000 years
C) 1.25*10⁴⁴ years
D) about 12 years
E) 500 years

Question 37

____ is (are) produced by atomic transitions in the presence of a strong magnetic field.

A) Differential rotation
B) Granules
C) The Zeeman effect
D) Spicules
E) The coronal hole

Question 38

Which of the following is suggested as the best explanation of the missing solar neutrinos?

A) The sun is fusing helium but not hydrogen.
B) Nuclear reactions do not produce neutrinos as fast as theory predicts.
C) The sun may contain matter we haven't yet identified.
D) Neutrinos may oscillate between three different flavors.
E) None of the above

Question 39

The ____ is (are) the hot gases that are the moving extension of the sun's corona.

A) spicules
B) prominences
C) flares
D) supergranules
E) solar wind

Question 40

As the moon covers the solar disk during a solar eclipse, a flash spectrum of the sun's chromosphere can be recorded. This flash spectrum reveals an emission spectrum and provides information on the properties of the chromosphere. As the moon moves from the inner chromosphere to the outer chromosphere, the spectral lines present in the flash spectrum change. What is going on in the chromosphere that produces the changes in the flash spectrum?

A) I & III
B) I & IV
C) II & III
D) II & IV
E) I

Question 41

The figure shows the sun and pairs of sunspots. One could say that there is really a 22-year sunspot cycle because

A) the time between sunspot number maxima is 22 years.
B) the time between maxima of the same magnetic polarity of sunspot pairs is 22 years.
C) it takes sunspots 22 years to move from the poles to the equator.
D) at maximum there are 22 sunspots per year.

Question 42

Modern astronomers suspect the corona is heated by

A) shock waves rising from below the photosphere.
B) the solar wind.
C) the solar magnetic field.
D) all of these
E) none of these

Question 43

____ occur(s) because photons we receive from the edge of the solar disk are emitted further from the base of the photosphere than the photons we receive from the center of the solar disk.

A) The Zeeman Effect
B) Sunspots
C) Solar flares
D) Solar prominences
E) Limb darkening

Question 44

The gas motions within granules on the solar surface are

A) upward in the centers of some cells and downward in others; the gas cools as it passes between individual granules.
B) actually motionless. The dark regions are absorption features from gases in the photosphere.
C) upward in the bright cell centers and downward around the darker edges.
D) downward in the bright cell centers and upward around the darker edges.

Question 45

Most of the light we see coming from the sun originates in the

A) chromosphere.
B) photosphere.
C) corona.
D) sunspots.
E) magnetic field.

Question 46

If one kilogram of hydrogen is converted to helium, how much energy will be generated?

A) 9*10¹⁶ J
B) 3*10⁸ J
C) 6.3*10¹⁴ J
D) 2.2*10⁶ J
E) 3.2*10⁷ J

Question 47

Spicules

A) are found in the photosphere.
B) are magnetic disturbances that push large loops of material off the solar surface.
C) are responsible for twisting the solar magnetic field and causing the sunspot cycle.
D) appear in the corona near the north and south poles of the sun during a total solar eclipse.
E) are visible in filtergrams of the solar chromosphere.

Question 48

The energy generated by the sun is released by the ____ to make ____ nuclei.

A) fusion of H nuclei; He
B) fusion of He nuclei; H
C) fission of H nuclei; He
D) fission of He nuclei; H

Question 49

The sunspot cycle affects

A) I & II
B) I & IV
C) II & III
D) I, II & III
E) I, II, & IV

Question 50

Fusion is promoted in the core of the sun by the ____ there.

A) low temperature and low density
B) high temperature and high density
C) low temperature and high density
D) high temperature and low density

Question 51

High temperatures are required to get H nuclei to fuse because they ____ one another because of their ____ electric charges.

A) attract; negative
B) attract; positive
C) repel; negative
D) repel; positive

Question 52

In some regions of the corona, the magnetic field does not loop back to the sun, and the gas escapes unimpeded. These regions are called ____ and are believed to be the source of the solar wind.

A) prominences
B) flares
C) granules
D) auroras
E) coronal holes

Question 53

Why is the temperature at the region of a sunspot cooler than the photosphere?

A) They are holes in the photosphere that reveal the lower temperature gases in the deeper layers.
B) They represent points where streams of cool gas from the corona lower the temperature in those regions of the photosphere.
C) Powerful magnetic fields in the sunspots act upon the atoms of the photosphere to prevent them from emitting light.
D) Powerful magnetic fields inhibit the convective flow of the gases of the photosphere downward, allowing them to cool for longer than would normally be permitted.

Question 54

Most of the energy emitted by the sun is generated in the

A) corona.
B) photosphere.
C) chromosphere.
D) core.

Question 55

Sunspots

A) are hotter than their surroundings.
B) are regions where material is rising from below the photosphere.
C) show the Zeeman effect indicating the presence of strong magnetic fields.
D) produce spicules.
E) are generally found near the poles of the sun during sunspot maximum.

Question 56

The Zeeman effect can be used to determine the _______ our sun and other stars.

A) rotation speed of
B) mass of
C) color of
D) magnetic field on
E) radial velocity toward or away from

Question 57

The solar constant is a measure of

A) the amount of solar energy reaching Earth.
B) the length of the sunspot cycle.
C) the period of rotation of the sun's equator.
D) the average number of sunspots seen during the Maunder minimum.
E) the sun's mass.

Question 58

The rotation of the sun's photosphere is

A) fastest at the equator, slower at mid-latitudes, and slowest near the poles.
B) slowest at the equator, faster at mid-latitudes, and fastest near the poles.
C) fastest at the equator, slowest at mid-latitudes and the poles which travel at the same speed.
D) the same regardless of latitude.

Question 59

Neutrinos are created in reactions in the ____ of the sun.

A) corona
B) chromosphere
C) photosphere
D) core

Question 60

What are the three layers of the sun's atmosphere, in order of increasing distance from the surface?

A) corona, chromosphere, photosphere
B) photosphere, corona, chromosphere
C) photosphere, chromosphere, corona
D) chromosphere, photosphere, corona

Question 61

The chromosphere of the sun has a higher temperature than the photosphere.

Question 62

Solar prominences have twisted and looped shapes because of the solar magnetic field.

Question 63

Solar flares have no known effect on Earth.

Question 64

____________ of hydrogen atom nuclei replace the heat the sun ____________ to keep it in equilibrium.

A) Nuclear fusion reactions; loses into space
B) Nuclear fusion reactions; gains from empty space
C) Chemical reactions; loses into space
D) Chemical reactions; gains from empty space
E) Nuclear fission; loses into space

Question 65

If energy is carried by the bulk motion of matter, that is called ____________________.

Question 66

The ____________________ shows that sunspots are associated with magnetic activity.

Question 67

In the sun, rising currents of hot gas below the photosphere cause granulation.

Question 68

Most of the visible light from the sun originates in the photosphere.

Question 69

The sun has a continuous visual spectrum with dark absorption lines. The continuous spectrum is produced by the ____________ layer while the dark absorption lines are produced by ____________layers.

A) inner chromosphere; outer photosphere
B) inner photosphere; outer chromosphere
C) inner chromosphere; outer corona
D) inner corona, outer chromosphere

Question 70

The Babcock model employs differential rotation of the solar surface and a magnetic dynamo to describe the formation of sunspots.

Question 71

The dynamo effect is believed to produce the ____________________ of the sun.

Question 72

Helioseismology is the study of the differential rotation and magnetic field of the sun.

Question 73

Uranium serves as the source of the sun's energy because

A) uranium atoms can be fissioned into lighter atoms and energy.
B) uranium atoms can be fused into helium and energy.
C) uranium atoms can be fused into hydrogen and energy.
D) none of the above because fusion of hydrogen atoms serves as the sun's source of energy.
E) none of the above because fusion of helium atoms serves as the sun's source of energy.

Question 74

A filtergram is used to study layers below the photosphere.

Question 75

The study of the oscillations of the surface and interior of the sun is known as ____________________.

Question 76

Sunspots are hotter than the photosphere.

Question 77

Most of the light we see coming from the sun originates in the ____________________.

Question 78

A(n) ____________________ is a subatomic particle produced in nuclear fusion that can travel through the sun and escape to space without interacting with any particles in the sun.

Question 79

The Zeeman effect shows that sunspots contain magnetic fields.

Question 80

The ____________________ of the sun is composed of ionized gas and produces a continuous spectrum with a superimposed emission spectrum.