Question 1

Explain the role of convection on the Sun's surface.

Accepted Answer

Energy flowing toward the Sun's surface backs up like water behind a dam, and the gas begins to churn in convection currents. Hot blobs of gas rise, and cool blobs sink. In this region, known as the convective zone, the energy is carried outward not as photons but as circulating gas. Rising hot gas carries energy outward, but sinking cool gas is a necessary part of the cycle.  
Heat flows upward as rising currents of hot gas and downward as sinking currents of cool gas. The rising currents heat the solar surface in small regions seen from Earth as granules.

Question 2

Gas flows away from the Sun in the _______________, which can be considered an extension of the corona.

Accepted Answer

solar wind

Question 3

The visible surface of the Sun is composed of solid matter.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False  False

Question 4

Which is the correct order of the Sun's atmospheric layers, from the innermost to outermost?

Accepted Answer

A)  chromosphere → corona → photosphere 
B)  corona → chromosphere → photosphere 
C)  chromosphere → photosphere → corona 
D)  photosphere → chromosphere → corona 
E)  photosphere → corona → chromosphere 
A)  chromosphere → corona → photosphere 
B)  corona → chromosphere → photosphere 
C)  chromosphere → photosphere → corona 
D)  photosphere → chromosphere → corona 
E)  photosphere → corona → chromosphere

Question 5

What causes granulation on the photosphere?

Accepted Answer

A)  convection 
B)  solar cycle 
C)  magnetic fields 
D)  bursts of energy 
E)  differential rotation 
A)  convection 
B)  solar cycle 
C)  magnetic fields 
D)  bursts of energy 
E)  differential rotation

Question 6

Astronomers can measure the magnetic fields of sunspots using the ____, which splits spectral lines into multiple components.

Accepted Answer

A)  Zeeman effect 
B)  Maunder effect 
C)  Babcock effect 
D)  Galileo effect 
E)  Payne effect 
A)  Zeeman effect 
B)  Maunder effect 
C)  Babcock effect 
D)  Galileo effect 
E)  Payne effect

Question 7

Match between columns
                        Premises: Arches of magnetic field visible in the chromosphere and corona
Subatomic particles released from the proton-proton chain of nuclear fusion
The outermost part of the Sun's atmosphere
Cool, relatively dark spots on the Sun's photosphere, usually appearing in group
Arches of magnetic field visible in the chromosphere and corona
Violent bursts of ionized gas ejected from magnetic fields that flow outward in the solar wind
Subatomic particles released from the proton-proton chain of nuclear fusion
Violent bursts of ionized gas ejected from magnetic fields that flow outward in the solar wind
A breeze of low-density ionized gas streaming away from the Sun
The layer in the Sun from which visible photons most easily escape
Flame-like structures that extend upward into the lower corona
Cool, relatively dark spots on the Sun's photosphere, usually appearing in group

Accepted Answer

The Answer of solar wind and spicules and prominences and is...

Question 8

Galileo proposed that the Sun is a rotating sphere after he ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  timed a full rotation of the Sun's equator 
B)  observed sunspots move across the surface of the Sun 
C)  measured different spectral lines of emission on different days 
D)  noted how the Sun rose in the east and set in the west 
E)  discovered the parallax of the Sun 
A)  timed a full rotation of the Sun's equator 
B)  observed sunspots move across the surface of the Sun 
C)  measured different spectral lines of emission on different days 
D)  noted how the Sun rose in the east and set in the west 
E)  discovered the parallax of the Sun

Question 9

The layer above the chromosphere is the photosphere.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

Why does the temperature of the corona rise with latitude?

Accepted Answer

A)  Atoms within the corona become more ionized at higher altitudes. 
B)  Atoms are forced upward from the chromosphere to the corona. 
C)  Atoms become neutralized as they dissipate in higher altitudes. 
D)  Atoms undergo fission when repelled by the corona. 
E)  Atoms are less excited as they move from the photosphere to the corona. 
A)  Atoms within the corona become more ionized at higher altitudes. 
B)  Atoms are forced upward from the chromosphere to the corona. 
C)  Atoms become neutralized as they dissipate in higher altitudes. 
D)  Atoms undergo fission when repelled by the corona. 
E)  Atoms are less excited as they move from the photosphere to the corona.

Question 11

Which two elements are most abundant within the Sun?

Accepted Answer

A)  hydrogen and oxygen 
B)  hydrogen and helium 
C)  helium and carbon 
D)  helium and nitrogen 
E)  hydrogen and carbon 
A)  hydrogen and oxygen 
B)  hydrogen and helium 
C)  helium and carbon 
D)  helium and nitrogen 
E)  hydrogen and carbon

Question 12

What causes auroras and where are they most prominent on Earth?

Accepted Answer

Coronal mass ejections erupt from Sun's

Question 13

The corona can reach temperatures of up to ____.

Accepted Answer

A)  5800 K 
B)  10,000 K 
C)  500,000 K 
D)  1,000,000 K 
E)  2,000,000 K 
A)  5800 K 
B)  10,000 K 
C)  500,000 K 
D)  1,000,000 K 
E)  2,000,000 K

Question 14

What is the average distance between the Sun and Earth?

Accepted Answer

A)  1 AU 
B)  2 AU 
C)  5 AU 
D)  10 AU 
E)  20 AU 
A)  1 AU 
B)  2 AU 
C)  5 AU 
D)  10 AU 
E)  20 AU

Question 15

During nuclear fusion, four hydrogen nuclei fuse into how many helium?

Accepted Answer

A)  one 
B)  two 
C)  three 
D)  four 
E)  eight 
A)  one 
B)  two 
C)  three 
D)  four 
E)  eight

Question 16

What occurs during nuclear fusion within the Sun and how much energy is produced?

Accepted Answer

The fusion of hydrogen into helium in th

Question 17

Why do sunspots occur darker than the rest of the Sun's surface?

Accepted Answer

Sunspots are cooler than the photosphere

Question 18

The upper chromosphere is hot enough to emit X-rays.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 19

Astronomers often record solar images in the ____ part of the electromagnetic spectrum because the gaseous layers high in the Sun's atmosphere are very hot and emit most of their light at short wavelengths.

Accepted Answer

A)  visible light 
B)  microwave 
C)  ultraviolet 
D)  gamma 
E)  infrared 
A)  visible light 
B)  microwave 
C)  ultraviolet 
D)  gamma 
E)  infrared

Question 20

When mapping the interior of the Sun, astronomers must measure _____ as the photosphere moves up and down.

Accepted Answer

A)  sunspots 
B)  magnetic fields 
C)  supergranules 
D)  limb darkening 
E)  Doppler shifts 
A)  sunspots 
B)  magnetic fields 
C)  supergranules 
D)  limb darkening 
E)  Doppler shifts

Exam 8: The Sun

Explain the role of convection on the Sun's surface.

Gas flows away from the Sun in the _______________, which can be considered an extension of the corona.

The visible surface of the Sun is composed of solid matter.

Which is the correct order of the Sun's atmospheric layers, from the innermost to outermost?

What causes granulation on the photosphere?

Astronomers can measure the magnetic fields of sunspots using the ____, which splits spectral lines into multiple components.

Galileo proposed that the Sun is a rotating sphere after he ____.

The layer above the chromosphere is the photosphere.

Why does the temperature of the corona rise with latitude?

Which two elements are most abundant within the Sun?

What causes auroras and where are they most prominent on Earth?

The corona can reach temperatures of up to ____.

What is the average distance between the Sun and Earth?

During nuclear fusion, four hydrogen nuclei fuse into how many helium?

What occurs during nuclear fusion within the Sun and how much energy is produced?

Why do sunspots occur darker than the rest of the Sun's surface?

The upper chromosphere is hot enough to emit X-rays.

Astronomers often record solar images in the ____ part of the electromagnetic spectrum because the gaseous layers high in the Sun's atmosphere are very hot and emit most of their light at short wavelengths.

When mapping the interior of the Sun, astronomers must measure _____ as the photosphere moves up and down.

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