Exam 12: Stellar Evolution

Degenerate matter has two peculiar properties that can affect a star.  One is that the degenerate gas resists compression, and the other is that the degenerate gas ____.

Astronomers can determine the interiors of main sequence stars by _____.

As a main sequence star evolves off the main sequence, the helium core is contracting while the outer envelope is _______________.

What is degenerate matter?

Define nuclear fusion.

If you observe a variable star with a period of 50 days as a yellow, supergiant star, then you most likely have seen a(n) ____.

Giant and supergiant stars are rare because they do not form as often as main sequence stars.

When the Sun moves off the main sequence, it will initially become a red supergiant.

Explain how one of the four laws of stellar structure works.

Briefly explain why there is a main sequence on the H-R Diagram.

Astronomers determine the internal structure of a star by using stellar models, since they cannot "see" into the interior of a star.

When a gas is so dense that most of its electrons are not free to change their energies, it is called _______________.

The period-luminosity relation for Cepheid and RR Lyrae variable stars can be used for ______________.

Observing star clusters will give astronomers needed data for stellar evolution because all the stars in the cluster have the same ____.

List the two basic types of intrinsic variable stars.

As a one-solar-mass star evolves off the main sequence, it will probably undergo a _____.

Cepheid variable stars are classified as either ____.

The age of a star cluster can be approximated by finding its turnoff point in the distribution of data points that represent stars on the H-R Diagram.

Why is there an upper end in the main sequence of the H-R diagram?

There is a mass-luminosity relationship because stars support their weight by generating energy, and more massive stars have more weight to support.