Tag: the stars

Questions Related to the stars

Which of the following properties make flare stars so active?

  1. fast rotation rates

  2. deep convection zones

  3. convecting cores

  4. both A and B


Correct Option: D
Explanation:

Flare stars have deep convection zone which help in rapid transition of energy produced in the star and also has convecting cores thus both deep convection zone and convecting cores make flare stars so active.

Compared to the star it evolved from, a red giant is 

  1. hotter and brighter.

  2. hotter and dimmer.

  3. cooler and brighter.

  4. cooler and dimmer.


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

A red giant has lesser temperature and glows brighter and hence c is the correct option

Which of the following sequences correctly describes the stages of life for a low-mass star? 

  1. red giant, protostar, main-sequence, white dwarf

  2. protostar, main-sequence, red giant, white dwarf

  3. protostar, red giant, main-sequence, white dwarf

  4. protostar, main-sequence, white dwarf, red giant


Correct Option: C

Why is iron significant to understanding how a supernova occurs? 

  1. Iron is the heaviest of all atomic nuclei, and thus no heavier elements can be made.

  2. Supernovae often leave behind neutron stars, which are made mostly of iron.

  3. The fusion of iron into uranium is the reaction that drives a supernova explosion.

  4. Iron cannot release energy either by fission or fusion.


Correct Option: D

What happens after a helium flash?

  1. The core quickly heats up and expands.

  2. The star breaks apart in a violent explosion.

  3. The core suddenly contracts.

  4. The core stops fusing helium.


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

A helium flash is a very brief thermal runaway nuclear fusion of large quantities of helium into carbon through the triple-alpha process in the core of low mass stars (between 0.8 solar masses ( M ) and 2.0 M ) during their red giant phase . This results in heating up the core and expansion of the core takes place as a result

How many helium nuclei fuse together when making carbon?

  1. 2

  2. 3

  3. 4

  4. None of the above


Correct Option: B
Explanation:

At sufficiently high temperatures and densities, a 3-body reaction called the triple alpha process can occur: Two helium nuclei ("alpha particles") fuse to form unstable beryllium.

If another helium nucleus can fuse with the beryllium nucleus before it decays, stable carbon is formed along with a gamma ray.

Which of the following stars will certainly end its life in a supernova? 

  1. the Sun

  2. a red giant star

  3. a 10-solar-mass star

  4. a neutron star


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

Supernova being the last stages of a star, will happen only if the mass of the star exceeds the solar mass and hence a 10 solar mass star will have a high probability of becoming a supernova

What is a carbon star? 

  1. a red giant star whose atmosphere becomes carbon-rich through convection from the core

  2. a star that fuses carbon in its core

  3. another name for a white dwarf, a remnant of a star made mainly of carbon

  4. a star that is made at least 50 percent of carbon


Correct Option: A
Explanation:

Due to triple helium process, helium fusion takes place and carbon is formed due to convection from the core

What is a planetary nebula

  1. a disk of gas surrounding a protostar that may form into planets

  2. what is left of the planets around a star after a low-mass star has ended its life

  3. the expanding shell of gas that is no longer gravitationally held to the remnant of a low-mass star

  4. the molecular cloud from which protostars form


Correct Option: C
Explanation:

A ring-shaped gaseous structure formed by an expanding shell of gas round an ageing star is known as nebula

Why does a star grow larger after it exhausts its core hydrogen?

  1. The outer layers of the star are no longer gravitationally attracted to the core.

  2. Hydrogen fusion in a shell outside the core generates enough thermal pressure to push the upper layers outward.

  3. Helium fusion in the core generates enough thermal pressure to push the upper layers outward.

  4. Helium fusion in a shell outside the core generates enough thermal pressure to push the upper layers outward.


Correct Option: A,C