Exam2 Ch. 11
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Which of these things poses the greatest hazard to communications satellites?
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Particles from the sun
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Why do sunspots appear darker than their surroundings?
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They are cooler than their surroundings
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All but one of the following statements describe why scientists doubt the solar sunspot cycle affects global climate. Identify which statement is irrelevant to the explanation
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Solar winds can affect satellite communications.
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Where in the Sun do fusion reactions happen?
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Only in the core
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Which of the following quantities is equal to the energy per second generated by the Sun's nuclear reactions?
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The luminosity of the suns photosphere
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The light radiated from the Sun's surface reaches Earth in about 8 minutes. However, the energy of this light was released by fusion in the Sun's core about
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several hundred thousand years ago
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Which of the following is not a method astronomers use to determine the physical conditions inside the Sun?
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Observing X-ray images of the solar interior using satellites.
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Suppose you try to bring two protons close together. Because of the electromagnetic force, the two protons will
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Repel one another
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Which of the following is the phase of matter in the Sun?
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Plasma
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Which is closest to the temperature of the Sun's core?
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10 million k
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Based on its surface temperature of 6,000 K, most photons that leave the Sun's surface lie in which region of the electromagnetic spectrum?
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Visible
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By what process does the Sun generate energy?
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Nuclear Fusion
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By what process do nuclear power plants on the Earth generate energy?
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Nuclear Fission
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Hydrogen fusion in the Sun requires a temperature (in Kelvin) of
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Millions of degrees
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At the center of the Sun, nuclear fusion converts hydrogen into
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helium, gamma rays, and neutrinos.
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The light radiated from the Sun's surface reaches Earth in about 8 minutes, but the energy of that light was released by fusion in the solar core about ________.
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Few hundred thousand years ago
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Why are neutrinos so difficult to detect?
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They have a tendency to pass through just about any material without any interactions.
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Which of the following choices is not a way by which we can study the inside of the Sun?
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We can send a space probe into the Sun's photosphere.
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The Sun's surface seethes and churns with a bubbling pattern. Why?
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We are seeing hot gas rising and cool gas falling due to the convection that occurs beneath the surface.
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Which of the following correctly compares the Sun's energy generation process to the energy generation process in human-built nuclear power plants?
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The Sun generates energy by fusing small nuclei into larger ones, while our power plants generate energy by the fission (splitting) of large nuclei.
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Which of the following best explains why nuclear fusion requires bringing nuclei extremely close together?
answer
Nuclei normally repel because they are all positively charged and can be made to stick only when brought close enough for the strong force to take hold.
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