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WorksheetsThe Sun Unit Review
Total questions: 111
Worksheet time: 1hrs 4mins
The first layer in the Sun’s interior.
Enormous amounts of energy are produced here through nuclear fusion.
Corona
Core
Photosphere
Convection Zone
A region of very tightly packed plasma where energy moves in the form of electromagnetic waves.
Radiation Zone
Corona
Convection Zone
Photosphere
Gases of the sun both rise and
sink here as energy is transported out of the core into space
Radiation Zone
Core
Photosphere
Convection Zone
The visible layer on the surface of the
sun that gives off light.
Core
Convection Zone
Photosphere
Corona
The part of the sun's atmosphere that has a reddish glow only visible during a total solar eclipse
Core
Corona
Photosphere
Chromosphere
The outermost layer of the sun's atmosphere that appears as a bright halo.
Core
Corona
Photosphere
Convection Zone
Areas of gas on the sun’s surface that are cooler than the gases around them.
Solar flare
Solar wind
Prominences
Sunspots
Reddish loops of gas that link parts of sunspot regions.
Helium
Prominences
Solar flare
Hydrogen bonds
Eruptions that occur when the loops in the sunspot regions suddenly connect.
Solar flare
Hydrogen bonds
Helium
Prominences
A stream of charged particles produced by the corona.
Prominences
Helium
Sunspots
Solar winds
Energy is created in the core when _____________ atoms fuse to form a ______________ atom.
What is one thing that makes the sun different from the other stars?
It is the largest star
It gives off the most heat energy
It is the farthest star
It is the closest star to Earth
Dark regions on the sun's "surface" that are cooler than the rest of the sun?
What is the hottest layer of the sun’s atmosphere called?
Different parts of the Sun rotate at different rates because
The sun is solid and heavy
The sun is made of water and is unstable
The sun is made of gas
Coronal Mass Ejections "CME's"
massive emissions of electrically charged material
Explosions that occur when multiple loops suddenly connect
hydrogen and nitrogen together
Sun spots
How might sun spots affect Earth?
Sun spots are linked to solar winds, which blow particles onto Earth
They don't affect Earth
They can cause sand storms.
How does the Sun's Corona affect Earth
It can blind people during lunar eclipses
It doesn't affect Earth.
The Coronal Mass Ejections (CME's) throw particles into space which cause solar winds. Leads to Auroras
Leads to colder sun spots.
When did the sun form?
4.6 billion years ago
2.6 billion years ago
46 years ago
5 million years ago
Like other stars, the Sun produces energy in its core by
fusing hydrogen into helium.
burning plasma gas.
mostly unknown chemical reactions.
fusing helium into hydrogen.
The _____ is the "surface of the Sun or the lowest part of the Sun's atmosphere.
corona
chromosphere
photosphere
exosphere
Above the photosphere is the _____ - which is the thinnest of the Sun's layers.
radiative layer
chromosphere
corona
solar wind
The _____ is the single largest part of the Sun's atmosphere and extends millions of Km into space.
chromosphere
photosphere
exosphere
corona
Charged particles continuously escape from the corona and move through the solar system as
space debris.
charged particles.
solar storms
solar wind
Sunspots appear & disappear over several days, weeks or months and usually
reappear on the other side.
increase or decrease in cycles.
not come back.
behave like magnetic solar storms or flares.
Maximum sunspot activity normally occurs every 11 years or so, with sunspot minimum activity
rarely occurring at all.
every 21 years or so.
occurring in between.
having a minimum effect.
Sunspots are related to several other features on the Sun including
prominences.
the corona.
the main magnetic field.
flares.
Coronal mass ejections (CME's) occur during solar max activity and can cause
great damage to life on Earth.
satellites to malfunction.
mass power outages on Earth.
mass hysteria on Earth.
In which process does a heavy nucleus split into two lighter nuclei?
freezing
condensation
fission
fusion
What occurs in both fusion and fission reactions?
Small amounts of energy are converted into large amounts of matter.
Small amounts of matter are converted into large amounts of energy.
Heavy nuclei are split into lighter nuclei.
Light nuclei are combined into heavier nuclei.
Nuclear fusion differs from nucleus fission because nucleus fusion reactions
form heavier isotopes from lighter isotopes
form lighter isotopes from heavier isotopes
convert mass to energy
convert energy to mass
Which reaction represents fusion?
When hydrogen is "fused" together on the Sun, what new element is created?
Helium
Carbon Dioxide
Oxygen
Light
The process of fusion happens in a star's
Corona
Convection Zone
Radiative Zone
Core
The process of fusion requires
High heat and high pressure
Cool temperatures and no gravity
A snack
High heat and low pressure
In fusion lower mass elements are used to create. Check all that apply
higher mass elements
Lots of energy
Cookies
Low energy amounts
Smaller elements
What is the process by which the Sun produces its energy?
How many Earths can fit inside the Sun?
one thousand
(1000)
one hundred
(100)
one million
(1,000,000)
infinite
How do astronomers know what the outer layers of the Sun are made of?
. several spacecraft with good shielding have approached the Sun and obtained samples
the surface layers of Mercury have been laid down by the Sun and are thus made of the same material as the Sun
the Sun's wind gives us an accurate measure of all the different elements in the Sun
we take an absorption line spectrum of the Sun, and the absorption lines tell us what elements are present in the outer layers
The most common element in the Sun is
helium
hydrogen
nitrogen
iron
Astronomers first detected the presence of a wind of particles coming from the Sun by
sending a spacecraft much closer to the Sun than the planet Mercury
by dramatic and sudden changes in the spectrum of coronium
using the experiments aboard Sputnik 1, the first spacecraft to go above the Earth's atmosphere
by noting the wind's effects on the tails of comets
Solar wind particles can be captured by the Earth's magnetosphere. When these particles spiral down along the magnetic field into the atmosphere, they are responsible for:
aurorae (northern and southern lights)
the reddish color we see during sunsets
the greenhouse effect
tropical storms (regions of rapidly rotating air)
Sunspots are darker than the regions of the Sun around them because
they move much faster around the Sun than other material and thus heat up
they are the shadows of the planets and asteroids seen on the bright surface of the Sun
they are cooler than the material around them (although still very hot compared to Earth temperatures)
they consist of different elements than the rest of the Sun
Which statement about the Sun’s rotation is TRUE?
The Sun does not rotate; only planets rotate
The Sun rotates once a day
The Sun rotates only at the equator, where the sunspots are found; the rest of the Sun does not rotate
The Sun rotates at different rates at different latitudes on the Sun (differential rotation)
Astronomers have found that the level of the Sun's activity varies over the centuries. How did they come to realize that this is so
historical records of the number of sunspots seen on the Sun
measuring the amount of radioactive carbon in tree rings
historical records of auroral activity
They don't know, they just made it up.
5) Sunspots are cooler than the surrounding gas in the photosphere because
they are regions where convection carries cooler material downward.
strong magnetic fields slow convection and prevent hot plasma from entering the region.
magnetic fields trap ionized gases that absorb light.
there is less fusion occurring there
At the time the hypothesis was suggested, what major problem was identified with the idea that the Sun was powered by gravitational contraction?
Contracting objects cool down rather than heat up
This process would power the Sun for only about 25 million years, but geologists already had evidence the Earth was much older than that
This process could not possibly lead to the observed power output of the Sun
) 19th century astronomers should have been able to measure the required change in the Sun's size.
What keeps the Sun's outer layers from continuing to fall inward in a gravitational collapse?
outward pressure due to super-heated gas
the strong force between protons
electromagnetic repulsion between protons
neutrinos produced by nuclear fusion drag gas outward
By what process do nuclear power plants on the Earth generate energy?
nuclear fission
nuclear fusion
chemical reactions
converting gravitational potential energy into electricity
What is the only force that can overcome the repulsion between two positively charged nuclei and bind them together?
the strong nuclear force
the weak nuclear force
the electromagnetic force
the gravitational force
What would happen to the core of the sun if its temperature rose slightly?
The rate at which fusion occurs would decrease, leading to a contraction of the core, which would in turn cause the temperature to rise even further
The rate at which fusion occurs would increase, leading to a contraction of the core, which would in turn cause the temperature to rise even further
The rate at which fusion occurs would increase, leading to an expansion of the core, which would in turn cause the temperature to drop back down
The rate at which fusion occurs would decrease, leading to an expansion of the core, which would in turn cause the temperature to drop back down
Studies of solar vibrations have revealed that
the Sun vibrates only on the surface
they are caused by processes similar to those that create earthquakes
our mathematical models of the solar interior are fairly accurate
neutrinos from the solar core reach the solar surface easily
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
8 minutes ago.
11 years ago.
several hundred thousand years ago.
last week
Approximately how many neutrinos pass through your body each second?
about a thousand trillion
about one thousand
about 10^23
None; they are blocked by the Earth's atmosphere
Which of the following statements about the sunspot cycle is not true?
The number of sunspots peaks approximately every 11 years.
The magnetic polarity of the Sun reverses approximately every 11 years
The rate of nuclear fusion in the Sun peaks about every 11 years
The number of solar flares peaks about every 11 years
Which of the following processes is involved in the sunspot cycle?
a slight gravitational contraction of the Sun
an imbalance in the operation of the solar thermostat
the winding up of magnetic field lines inside the Sun due to its differential rotation
a large change in the amount of visible light emitted by the Sun
What observations characterize solar maximum?
The Sun becomes much brighter
There are many sunspots visible on the surface of the Sun.
The Sun rotates faster at its poles
all of the above
) It takes ________ for the sun to progress through one sunspot cycle from a maximum area covered with sunspots, to a minimum, and back to a maximum. Refer to the graph above
about 110 years
about 11 years
about 1 year
none of the above
Why does the Sun emit neutrinos?
Convection releases neutrinos, which random walk through the radiation zone
The Sun does not emit neutrinos
Fusion in the Sun's core creates neutrinos as a byproduct
Solar flares create neutrinos with magnetic fields
If the sun's surface cooled, how would its appearance change?
It would appear more red.
It would appear more blue
It would become bright white.
It would stay the same.
According to modern science, approximately how old is the Sun?
4.5 billion years
25 million years
10,000 years
400 million years
The Sun will exhaust its nuclear fuel in about ________.
5000 AD
5 billion years
5 million years
50 billion years
What two physical processes balance each other to create the condition known as hydrostatic equilibrium or gravitational equilibrium in stars?
the strong force and the weak force
gravitational force and outward gas pressure
gravitational force and surface tension
the strong force and the electromagnetic force
When we say that the Sun is a ball of plasma, we mean that ________.
the Sun is made of material that acts like a liquid acts on Earth
the Sun is made of atoms and molecules
the Sun consists of gas in which many or most of the atoms are ionized (missing electrons
the Sun has roughly the same composition as blood
Approximately, what is the Sun made of (by mass)?
70% hydrogen, 28% helium, 2% other elements
100% hydrogen and helium
50% hydrogen, 25% helium, 25% other elements
90% dark matter, 10% ordinary matter
From center outward, which of the following lists the "layers" of the Sun in the correct order?
core, radiation zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere, corona
core, radiation zone, convection zone, corona, chromosphere, photosphere
core, convection zone, radiation zone, corona, chromosphere, photosphere
core, corona, radiation zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere
What gives the Sun its slightly mottled appearance when viewed in visible light under high magnification?
We are seeing the tops of convection cells in the photosphere
We are seeing the tops of convection cells in the chromosphere
We are seeing tiny sunspots spread evenly throughout the photosphere
We are seeing through the photosphere to brighter regions that lie deeper down in the Sun.
The proton-proton chain is ________.
the specific set of nuclear reactions through which the Sun fuses hydrogen into helium
the linkage of numerous protons into long chains
another name for the force that holds protons together in atomic nuclei
an alternative way of generating energy that is different from the fusion of hydrogen into helium
The overall result of the proton-proton chain is ________.
4 H becomes 1 He + energy + neutrinos
6 H becomes 1 He + energy
p + p becomes 2H + energy
individual protons are joined into long chains of protons
Why are neutrinos so difficult to detect?
They have a tendency to pass through just about any material without any interactions
They are extremely rare
They have no mass
They are negatively charged, which allows them to pass through most material.
The particles ejected from the Sun during a coronal mass ejection, if directed at Earth, will reach us
in about 8 minutes
in about 8 hours
in several days
in about a year.
What do sunspots, solar prominences, and solar flares all have in common?
They are all strongly influenced by magnetic fields on the Sun
They all have about the same temperature
They are all shaped by the solar wind
They all occur only in the Sun's photosphere
How is the sunspot cycle directly relevant to us here on Earth?
Coronal mass ejections and other activity associated with the sunspot cycle can disrupt radio communications and disrupt or destroy our sensitive electronic equipment
The sunspot cycle strongly influences Earth's weather
The Sun's magnetic field, which plays a major role in the sunspot cycle, affects compass needles that we use on Earth
The brightening and darkening of the Sun that occurs during the sunspot cycle affects plant photosynthesis here on Earth.
How does the Sun's mass compare to Earth's mass?
The Sun's mass is about 300,000 times the mass of the Earth
The Sun's mass is about 300 times the mass of the Earth
The Sun's mass is about 30 times the mass of the Earth
Both have approximately the same mass
Recent claims that global warming is due to changes in solar irradiance related to sunspot activity are
unlikely since global temperatures have continued to rise even though solar irradiance has not.
unlikely since the sun actually produces less energy during sunspot maximum
likely because there is a correlation between recent global temperatures and solar irradiance
likely because global warming is not being caused by human activity.
The diagram shows the position of structure X on the Sun. Which one is X?
Core
Convection zone
Radiation zone
Conduction zone
A giant arch that explodes off of the sun’s surface is a
Sun Flare
Sun Spot
Corona
Solar Prominence
The plasma clouds with charged particles and magnetic fields moving away from the Sun, and creates Auroras when interacting with Earth’s atmosphere...is known as
Solar wind
Prominence
Sun Spots
The Prominence
Solar flares, prominences, coronal holes, and coronal mass ejections are all due to disturbances in _____ on the sun.
the convective zone
the radiative zone
the core
magnetic fields
What is layer that is responsible for the orange colour of the Sun that can be seen everyday?
radiation zone
photosphere
chromosphere
corona
