UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO Faculty of Arts and Science AST201H1 Final Examination December Examinations 2001 Duration: 2 Hours

No exam aids allowed.

Student Surname: __________________Given Names: ___________ Student Number: _______________________ Section Number: _______ Instructions
1. DO NOT turn the page or begin the exam until instructed to do so. 2. Please write your name, student number, and section number (L0101 for Tuesday lecture; L0201 for Thursday lecture) in the space provided above. 3. Answers to all questions are to be written on the test paper. 4. This exam is divided into two sections: A (multiple choice), and B (long answer). The exam is worth a total of 100 marks. 5. No additional aids or materials are needed or allowed. This is a closed book exam.

Question

Part A

B1

B2

B3

B4

B5

MARK

Section A: Multiple Choice [50 questions; 1 mark each]

A total of 50 multiple choice questions are given in this section. Please circle the best answer for each question.
1. After it experiences a helium flash a star like the sun will have a brief period of stability, fusing helium into carbon (and sometimes oxygen). During this brief, stable stage, the star: a) gets to be even larger in diameter than it was as a red giant. b) returns to the position on the HR diagram that the star had in its main sequence stage. c) increases in luminosity. d) is able to fuse many of the heaviest elements (such as iron and gold) in its very hot core. e) none of the above. 2. The distances to the most remote galaxies can be determined using: a) b) c) d) e) galactic parallax. spectroscopic parallax. proper motion. Cepheids. none of the above.

3. Generally stars that have low metallicities are considered to be: a) b) c) d) near the end of their lives. very young. very old. a, b, or c its impossible to say.

4. The evidence for the small size of quasars comes from: a) b) c) d) e) the amount of energy they release. their distance from us. the rapidity of their luminosity changes. comparison with Cepheid variables. the magnitude of their redshift.

5. Which of the following stages will the Sun definitely go through as it gets older? a) b) c) d) e) red giant. source of a planetary nebula. white dwarf. black dwarf. all of the above.

6. A star whose temperature is increasing but whose luminosity is roughly constant moves in what direction on the H-R diagram? a) b) c) d) e) to the right. to the left. upwards. downwards. none of the above, the star doesnt move on the H-R diagram.

7. Which type of galaxy is observed to contain mostly older stars? a) b) c) d) e) spiral elliptical dwarf elliptical irregular none of the above

8. What remains after a supernova? a) b) c) d) e) a main sequence star. a white dwarf. a neutron star. a black hole. either c) or d), depending on the mass of the star.

9. The Andromeda Galaxy (our nearest spiral neighbour) has spectral lines that show a blue shift. From this we may conclude that: a) b) c) d) e) the universe is no longer expanding. The particular galaxy is moving towards us. This galaxy has merged with the Milky Way and is now a part of it. This particular galaxy is moving away from us. This galaxy has an unusual number of very bright and blue (i.e. hot) stars in it.

10. What is the difference between the sun and a one solar mass white dwarf? a) b) c) d) e) the sun has a larger radius. the sun has more hydrogen. they have different energy sources. all of the above. a) and c) above.

11. In a flat universe (where the density equals the critical density), the curvature of the universe: a) b) c) d) e) is positive is zero is negative is undefined is infinite

12. Which of the following is the most common type of star? a) b) c) d) e) white dwarf red giant main sequence supergiants none of the above

13. What does the Hubble constant measure? a) b) c) d) e) The age of galaxies. How light gets fainter with increasing distance. The curvature of spacetime. The average density of the Universe. The rate of expansion of the Universe.

14. What is the single most important characteristic in determining the course of a stars evolution? a) b) c) d) e) luminosity distance surface temperature mass chemical composition

15. Which of the following are true for the cosmic microwave background radiation? a) b) c) d) e) It implies that the Universe began in a hot, dense state. Its spectrum matches that for a blackbody at a temperature of 2.7 K. Its spectrum contains many absorption lines. All of the above. a) and b) are correct.

16. Pulsars are known to be a) b) c) d) e) pulsating white dwarfs. pulsating neutron stars. rotating white dwarfs. rotating neutron stars. rotating black holes.

17. Which of the following is NOT found in the Galaxys disk? a) b) c) d) e) young star clusters O and B stars globular clusters emission nebulae dust lanes

18. Some regions of the Milky Way appear dark because: a) b) c) d) e) there are no stars there. stars in that direction are obscured by interstellar gas. stars in that direction are obscured by interstellar dust. there are numerous black holes that capture all the star light behind them. the Milky Way is full of holes.

19. According to the Big Bang model: a) b) c) d) e) the Universe expanded from a hot, dense state. radiation fills the Universe. matter formed from radiation. all of the above. a) and c) are correct.

20. Nearly all the elements found in our environment were formed inside of stars. The major exceptions are: a) b) c) d) e) iron and nickel. oxygen and carbon. hydrogen and helium. silver and technetium. gold and platinum.

21. What effect does dust have on visible light passing through it? a) b) c) d) e) it completely blocks all visible light from passing through. it dims and reddens it. all light is turned bluish in colour. it makes the light coming from stars appear to twinkle. it has no effect.

22. What is a planetary nebula? a) a planet surrounded by a glowing shell of gas. b) the disc of gas and dust surrounding a young star that will soon form a solar system. c) the ejected envelope of a red giant star surrounding a stellar core remnant. d) a type of young, medium mass star. e) a planet surrounded by a cool shell of molecular gas. 23. How does comparing the H-R diagram of different open and globular clusters confirm astronomers general ideas about stellar evolution? a) The diagrams for different clusters are all the same. b) The diagrams indicate that all stars have the same age. c) The diagrams show that the top end of the main sequence turns off at different points, indicating that more massive stars evolve faster. d) The diagrams show the observed path that stars take through space. 24. The heaviest element that can be created in stellar fusion (i.e. whose creation also releases energy) is: a) b) c) d) e) uranium. iron. helium. carbon. silicon.

25. Basically, stars evolve because they: a) b) c) d) e) are made of hydrogen. are gases. lose energy via radiation. are larger then planets. get bored with the status quo.

26. O and B type stars (i.e. recently formed, massive stars) are most commonly found in: a) b) c) d) e) elliptical galaxies irregular galaxies. the arms of spiral galaxies. galaxies of all type. globular clusters.

27. H-R diagrams of very young clusters of stars: a) have all their stars on the main sequence. b) Have only their high mass stars on the main sequence while the low-mass protostars are still contracting (and hence are not on the main sequence yet). c) Have only their low mass stars on the main sequence while the high-mass protostars are still contracting (and hence are not on the main sequence yet). d) Have only giant stars and white dwarfs. 28. A supernova is produced when: a) any star reaches the carbon fusion limit. b) the collapse of a stars iron nucleus causes a shock wave that blows off the envelope of the star. c) an O and B main sequence star evolves explosively to the red supergiant stage. d) an intermediate mass star reaches the helium flash stage in its evolution. 29. The basic property of the molecular cloud that causes it to collapse and form a star is: a) b) c) d) its own gravitational forces. the pressure from surrounding clouds. nuclear forces that are as yet not understood. gas pressure forces and turbulence that tend to make such clouds condense.

30. What is the expected total main sequence lifetime of the Sun? a) b) c) d) e) about 4.6 billion years. about 1 billion years. about 10 billion years. about 100 billion years. its impossible to calculate the lifetime of the Sun.

31. Which one of the following is the primary difference between the observed spectra of most stars? a) b) c) d) the presence or absence of a continuous spectrum. the differing strengths and patterns of absorption lines. the differing strengths and patterns of emission lines. spectra of all stars have approximately the same appearance.

32. An H-R diagram is a plot of a) b) c) d) e) heat versus radius. luminosity versus radius. mass versus temperature. luminosity versus temperature. mass versus luminosity.

33. Stars that are more luminous and cooler than the Sun a) b) c) d) have smaller radii than the Sun. have radii equal to that of the Sun. have larger radii than the Sun. are white dwarfs.

34. Cepheid variable stars are important to astronomy primarily because they allow us to determine stellar a) b) c) d) distance. mass. temperature. pulsation period.

35. What are the two most important intrinsic properties used to classify stars? a) b) c) d) e) luminosity and distance. luminosity and surface temperature. distance and surface temperature. distance and colour. colour and surface temperature.

36. Which one of the following is the most complete statement of the Cosmological Principle? a) b) c) d) e) Dwarf star of spectral class G. Main sequence star of spectral class O. Giant star of spectral class K. White dwarf star of spectral class A. Dwarf star of spectral class M.

37. A black hole is really a) b) c) d) densely packed matter. at the centre of most stars and provides the stars energy. a black star of temperature 0 K. strongly curved space.

38. Which of the following is the Hubble Law? a) b) c) d) e) The more distant a galaxy is, the younger is appears. Most galaxies belong to a cluster; most clusters are part of a super cluster. On large scales, the Universe appears the same to all observers. The greater the distance to a galaxy, the greater its recession velocity. The greater the distance to a galaxy, the fainter it is.

39. When a massive stars core hydrogen is depleted: a) the star cools and eventually ceases to radiate. b) the core contracts and its temperature increases to the point where higher order reactions can occur. c) the core collapses, explodes and produces a planetary nebula. d) the core collapses, explodes, and produces a supernova. e) nothing happens. 40. A galaxy is at a distance of one billion light years. Which of the following is true? a) b) c) d) We see the galaxy the way it will be in one billion years. We see the galaxy the way it was one billion years ago. We see the galaxy the way it was when the Universe was one billion years old. We see what our galaxy will be like in one billion years.

41. The observed difference between stellar spectra are caused primarily by differences in a) b) c) d) e) luminosity. chemical composition. temperature. motions. locations in space.

42. Because all of the distant galaxies are redshifted, we know that: a) b) c) d) e) We are at the centre of the Universe. The Universe is expanding. The sky is dark at night. all of the above. none of the above.

43. A star spends most of its life: a) b) c) d) as a protostar. in explosions lasting millions of years. as a red giant or supergiant. as a main sequence star.

44. The redshift of galaxies in the Universe is correctly interpreted as: a) A Doppler shift due to the motions of the galaxies through space. b) An aging of the light. c) Space itself is expanding with time; the wavelengths of photons are stretched while they travel through space. d) The difference in temperatures of distant and nearby galaxies. e) Photons shifting their frequency due to the presence of dark matter. 45. The fact that the cosmic microwave background has almost exactly the same spectrum in all directions in the sky is evidence that the Universe is: a) b) c) d) e) isotropic. expanding. redshifted. filled with dust clouds. filled with stars.

46. What characteristic of a star cluster is used to determine its age? a) b) c) d) e) the number of red giants. the faintest stars in the cluster. the main sequence turnoff. the cluster birth certificate. the total number of stars in the cluster.

47. The rotation curve of the Galaxy: a) is a plot of rotation velocity versus distance from the galactic centre. b) indicates that the Galaxy could be imbedded in a halo of dark matter. c) shows that at large distances from the galactic centre, i.e. beyond the Suns distance, objects are orbiting faster than theory predicts. d) all of the above. e) a) and c) are correct. 48. Which statement is true, in terms of stellar evolution? a) b) c) d) e) sooner or later, gravity loses. sooner or later, gravity wins. sometimes gravity wins and sometimes gravity loses. gravity lets up under certain circumstances. its not whether you win or lose, its how you play the same.

49. Where in the sun does fusion of hydrogen occur? a) b) c) d) only near the surface. only in the core. anywhere in the sun. only in convective gas layers.

50. The region around a black hole where everything is trapped, and nothing can get out to the rest of the universe, is called: a) b) c) d) e) the singularity. the neutron star radius. the gravitational redshift zone. the Hawking radius. the event horizon.

Section B: Long Answer Questions [5 questions; 10 marks each] Please answer all of the following questions in the space provided. Please read the questions carefully.
1. a) Draw a Hersprung-Russell diagram, label the axes, indicate the regions of the white dwarfs, main sequence and red giant stars. (2 marks) HR diagram: must have axes indicating luminosity (or absolute magnitude) with bright up at the top and surface temperature (or spectral type or colour), with temperature increasing to the left. b) Indicate the positions of a K-type supergiant star, a K-type main sequence star, an A-type main sequence star and an A-type white dwarf star. (2 marks) The K stars and A stars should roughly line up in temperature. c) Of the stars in b) above, which is the most luminous? Which star is the hottest? (2 marks) The K-type supergiant is the most luminous and the A stars are the hottest. d) Of the stars in b) above, which star has the largest radius? Which star has the smallest radius? (2 marks) The K-type supergiant has the largest radius and the A-type white dwarf the smallest. e) Of the stars in b) above, which star is the most massive main sequence star? Which star is the coolest? (2 marks) The A-type main sequence is most massive. The coolest stars are the K-type stars.

2. a) Stars are said to be in equilibrium or stable while on the main sequence. Explain why this is so (i.e. what are the opposing forces?). (3 marks) Stars on the main sequence are in equilibrium because two opposing forces are balanced. The mass of a star produces a certain gravity that always tries to collapse the star the outer layers are always trying to fall into the centre. This is balanced by a pressure force which is generated by nuclear fusion reactions in the core. This force always tries to expand the star. (Note that on the main sequence, the nuclear fusion reactions are the conversion of hydrogen into helium.) b) Explain why a star evolves away from the main sequence. (3 marks) While on the main sequence, stars generate energy by converting hydrogen into helium. It is the pressure from this specific set of reactions which balances the gravitational force and keeps the star in equilibrium. Stars evolve away from the main sequence when they have consumed all the hydrogen in their cores and thus they have to readjust their overall structure and find a new equilibrium state. In effect, the core is contracting and heating up and the star is adjusting itself till a new source of energy is available in the core. This new source of energy will be the conversion of helium into carbon. c) Explain how a Type II supernova occur. (4 marks) (Note: Type II supernovae only occur for massive stars) Over the course of the stars life, it builds up heavier and heavier elements in its core through a series of fusion reactions. These reactions produce energy for the star. Eventually, the reactions make iron. However, iron is so compact that it cant combine with anything else to make heavier elements without putting energy in to the reaction. Thus, energy generation in the core suddenly stops, the star loses its equilibrium and gravity causes the core to collapse. Since the core is so hot, high energy photons break up the heavy elements that have been produced and the collapse accelerates. The high densities pound electrons and protons together to form neutrons and neutrinos and the neutrinos carry away lots of energy which again accelerates the collapse. Material from the upper layers rains down on the justformed extremely dense neuron star and is bounced back out in a shock-wave that destroys the star. So: fusion stops at iron; core collapses; neutron star forms; shock wave destroys star.

3. a) Contrast in as many ways as you can think of (kinds of stars, H-R diagrams, ages, distributions in the Galaxy, chemical composition, etc) the two basic types of star clusters that we find in our Galaxy. (6 marks) Globular clusters are all very old (1015 billion years old) and live in the halo of the galaxy. They have a low metal abundance. All globular clusters H-R diagrams look about the same, i.e. the same turnoff point, and have a welldefined horizontal branch. They contain perhaps some million stars. Open clusters come in a variety of ages and live in the disk of the Galaxy. They have a high metal abundance (in comparison to globulars). Their H-R diagrams show various main sequence turnoff points and thus show that open clusters have a variety of ages. They contain up to a few thousand stars. b) Why are clusters so important in understanding stellar evolution? (4 marks) Clusters are important because all the member stars have the same age and formed under the same conditions. Since the stars are all at about the same distance, differences between them must be due to their mass.

4. a) Briefly describe the Big Bang model. (4 marks) The Big Bang model says that the Universe began in a hot, dense state 1020 billion years ago and has been expanding and cooling ever since. The earliest stages were so hot that there was only radiation and as the Universe cooled, matter formed from the radiation. b) Explain what the cosmic background radiation is. (3 marks) The cosmic microwave background radiation is radiation that comes to us uniformly from all directions (hence it is cosmic) and its spectrum is measured to be a blackbody at a temperature of 2.7 K which peaks in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum. c) Explain why the temperature of the cosmic background falls as the universe expands. (3 marks) The cosmic microwave background radiation is blackbody radiation. As the universe expands, the wavelength of the radiation increases (this is because the photons are attached to the expanding space). Thus, according to Wiens law, as the wavelength increases, the temperature must decrease. One could say that the universe was simply a hot gas and as the universe expands its temperature must cool.

5. a) What is the Doppler effect? Explain how this affects electromagnetic waves, and give one example of how this might be used by an astronomer. (6 marks) The Doppler effect refers to the phenomenon by which the relative motion of an observer and an object emitting a wave affects the way in which the observer will perceive the wave. In particular, if the relative motion is toward each other, waves will appear to have shorter wavelengths and higher frequencies (and vice versa). The strength of the Doppler effect is proportional to the relative velocity of observer and object. In addition, it is inversely proportional to the wave speed. For electromagnetic waves, the Doppler effect shifts the spectrum of light, and can therefore change the observed colour of an object. However, since the speed of light is so large, the effect is noticeable only for large relative velocities. The Doppler effect can be used to measure the speed of a star or galaxy, with respect to us. It can also be used to measure the rotation of a star or galaxy. b) How is the cosmological redshift different from the Doppler effect? (4 marks) Cosmological redshift differs from the Doppler effect in the sense that the cosmological redshift is caused by the expansion of space while the Doppler effect is due to the relative motion between the source and observer.