Astronomy Test Choose the option that best describes the answer to the question. Mark your answer clearly on the answer sheet. Answers that are not readable will be marked incorrect. Tie breaker questions are labeled on the test (T1-T10). You will have 50 minutes to correctly answer as many questions as you can. 1. Neutron stars are formed from what type of event? a. Type Ia Supernova b. Type II Supernova c. Carbon detonation in white dwarf binary d. Ionization of helium in a Red Giant 2. T-Tauri variables are located where on the H-R diagram? a. below the main sequence but above the white dwarfs b. above the main sequence but below the red supergiants c. within the white dwarf range d. within the blue supergiants range 3. Mira has a white dwarf companion star that could eventually experience a. Type II supernova event b. planetary nebula explosion c. Type Ia Supernova event d. none of the above 4. SS Cygni is best described as a a. Dwarf Nova b. RR Lyrae Variable c. Type Ia Supernova d. Planetary Nebula 5. An example of a Cephied Variable would be a. T Pyxidis b. VI c. 47 Tucanae d. The Trapezium 6. Abell 30 underwent an interesting event, which caused a. 2 white dwarfs to coalesce b. the accretion disk to reach a critical temperature at which point matter fell on to the stellar surface c. a nova event d. a planetary nebula to form within another planetary nebula.
7. True or False: Eta Carinae is a T-Tauri star that contains several X-Ray binary systems and has a period of around 1 day. 8. True or False: Eta Carinae falls under the classification of Extrinsic Variable Stars, specifically, Eclipsing Binaries. 9. T-Tauri stars are stars that a. have temperatures in the O range b. have temperatures in the O-F range c. have temperatures in the G to M range. d. all of the above 10. A massive star s final evolutionary stages will most likely be a. a Type II Supernova event b. a Type Ia Supernova event c. a Type Ib Supernova event d. a Type Ic Supernova event Figure 1 11. The image in Figure 1 depicts a. Abell 30+SS Cygni b. G1.9+0.3 c. GRS 1915+105 d. RX J0806.3+1527 12 (T9). If the two stars in Figure 1 were to eventually coalesce, what will happen? a. The Chandrasekhar limit will be reached, causing a Type II supernova event. b. The Chandrasekhar limit will be reached, causing a Type Ia supernova event. c. The stars will from a red giant. d. The two stars will form a larger white dwarf.
Figure 2 A. B. C. 13 (T10). Which of the light curves in Figure 2 would best match the light curve of V1? a. A b. B c. C d. None of the above 14. Which of the light curves in Figure 2 would best match the light curve of a Semiregular Variable? a. A b. B c. C d. None of the above
15 (T8). In Figure 2, light curve A is produced by a. old variable stars that are common in globular clusters b. younger, high-mass, high luminosity variables c. variable stars with periods ranging from 1 to 100 days d. all of the above 16. The Trapezium is a. a recurrent nova with a white dwarf approaching the Chandrasekhar limit. b. an x-ray binary with 2 white dwarfs orbiting each other c. a supernova remnant that burst in 1572 d. a stellar nursery located within the Orion Nebula 17. True or False: Cepheids with low luminosities have short periods. 18. Which best describes T Pyxidis? a. Dwarf nova b. Type II Supernova c. Recurring nova d. Supernova Remnant 19. The Red Giant branch on the H-R diagram a. lies below the Main Sequence and has a classification range of O-A b. lies to the right of the Main Sequence and has a classification range of K to M c. lies along the Main Sequence d. lies to the right of the Main Sequence and has a classification range of O-A
Science Olympiad UW- Milwaukee Regional Figure 3 (a) (b) 20 (T2). Looking at the curves in Figure 3, light curve (a) is produced by a a. Type Ia Supernova b. Type II Supernova c. Eclipsing Binaries d. Mira Variables 21. Looking at the curves in Figure 3, light curve (b) is a. similar to the light curves of a nova b. produced by a Type Ia Supernova c. is the product of a carbon-detonation event in a white dwarf d. All of the above Figure 4 Use the following images to answer questions 22-27 (a) (b) (c) (d)
22. The object in image (a) of Figure 4 is a. W49B b. Tycho s SNR c. Vela SNR d. None of the above 23. The object in image (b) of Figure 4 is a. the result of a Type II Supernova b. a planetary nebula c. located in the Milky Way d. None of the above 24. Image (c) of Figure 4 depicts a. Vela SNR b. W49B c. G1.9+0.3 d. None of the above 25. The object in image (d) of Figure 4 is a. Vela SNR b. Tycho s SNR c. G1.9+0.3 d. Abell 30 26 (T7). Which of the images resulted from a Type II Supernova? a. (a) & (b) b. (b) & (d) c. (a) & (d) d. (c) & (a) 27. Which of the images resulted from a Type Ia Supernova? a. (b) & (d) b. (a) & (d) c. (c) & (d) d. (b) & (c) 28. At a given time, a Cepheid variable has an apparent magnitude of 10.0 and an absolute magnitude of 2.5. Calculate its distance (in parsecs). a. 1450 pc b. 316 pc c. 14.3 pc. d. 516pc..
Figure 5 Use the following diagram to answer questions 29-30. 29. A Cepheid variable star has a spectral class K and a Luminosity of around 1000. Using the H-R diagram, estimate its absolute magnitude. a. -2.5 b. +7.5 c. -7.5 d. +2.5 30 (T3). The same Cepheid variable from Question 29 has an apparent magnitude of 1.5. Calculate an estimate of the star s distance (in parsecs). a. 6.30 pc b. 1.58 pc c. 63.0 pc d. 158 pc 31. S Doradus and Eta Carinae belong to a group of variable stars called a. Luminous Red Variables b. Low Luminosity Variables c. High Luminosity Variables d. Luminous Blue Variables
Figure 6 32. The image in Figure 6 was produced by Chandra and depicts the Deep Space Object called a. Tycho SNR b. T Tauri c. 47 Tucanae d. SS Cygni 33. The object in Figure 6 is a. a planetary nebula within a planetary nebula b. part of a globular cluster and contains over 100 X-ray sources c. a binary system with a white dwarf and a black hole d. a stellar nursery Figure 7 (a) (b)
34. The Deep Space Object in image (a) of Figure 7 is a. T Pyxidis b. SS Cygni c. Eta Carinae d. Mira 35. The Deep Space Object in image (b) of Figure 7 is a. SS Cygni b. T Pyxdis c. Mira d. Eta Carinae 36. The objects in images (a) and (b) of Figure 7 are similar in that a. they are both protostars b. they are both supernova remnants c. they are both recurrent novas d. all of the above 37. Which object can be described as an x-ray binary system with a black hole located within the Milky Way? a. VI b. GRS 1915+105 c. NCG 1846 d. 47 Tucanae 38. True or False: All pulsars are neutron stars and all neutron stars are pulsars. 39. True or False: High mass stars experience Type Ia supernovae and low-mass stars experience Type II supernovae. 40. is a that is no more than 1 million years old. a. NGC 1846, stellar nursery b. The Trapezium, RR Lyrae variable c. Eta Carinae, RR Lyrae variable d. V1647 Ori, protostar 41. has a mass 100 times that of the sun, a luminosity 5 million times solar values, and is on the verge of exploding in the near astronomical future. a. VI b. Abell 30 c. G1.9+0.3 d. Eta Carinae
42 (T4). One difference between Type Ia and Type II supernovae is that a. Type Ia supernovae are hydrogen-rich and Type II supernovae contain very little hydrogen b. Type Ia supernovae contain very little hydrogen and Type II supernovae are hydrogenrich. c. Type II supernovae produce light curves similar to those of novae and Type Ia do not. d. There is no difference between the two. 43. True or False: All high-mass stars become Type II supernovae, but only a fraction of low-mass stars evolve into white dwarfs that explode as Type Ia supernova. 44. T-Tauri stars represent an intermediate stage between protostar and living star. 45. In order for neutron stars to form into pulsars, the neutron star must have a. a strong magnetic field and rapid rotation b. a weak magnetic field and rapid rotation c. a strong magnetic field and slow rotation d. a weak magnetic field and slow rotation 46 (T6). A neutron star is about the same size as a. a house b. the Earth c. a large city d. Eta Carinae 47 (T5). Which of the following is TRUE? a. Cepheid variables are located above RR Lyrae variables on the H-R diagram. b. Cepheid variables are less massive than RR Lyrae variables. c. Cepheid variables are located below RR Lyrae variables on the H-R diagram. d. Cepheid variables are less luminous than RR lyrae variables. 48. By using Cepheid variable stars, astronomers can measure distances out to around a. 200 pc b. 1AU c. 10,000 pc d. 25 million pc 49. Along the stages of stellar evolution, a star ascends the red giant branch and then eventually reaches an equilibrium state on, what is known as, the a. Vertical Branch b. Horizontal Branch c. White Dwarf Branch d. Red Supergiant Branch 50 (T1). List the Deep Space Objects for this competition in order from closest to Earth to farthest from Earth. Be clear in labeling your answer. If I cannot determine your order, the answer will be incorrect. If two or more DSO s lie at very similar distances, you may write them in either order (they are interchangeable).
Team name: Total Points Earned: Student Answer Sheet Question 1 Answer Question 20 (T2) Answer Question 39 Answer 2 21 40 3 22 41 4 23 42 (T4) 5 24 43 6 25 44 7 26 (T7) 45 8 27 46 (T6) 9 28 47 (T5) 10 29 48 11 30 (T3) 49 12 (T9) 13 (T10) 31 32 50 (T1). 14 33 15 (T8) 34 16 35 17 36 18 37 19 38
Answer Key Question Answer 1 B 2 B 3 C 4 A 5 B 6 D 7 False 8 False 9 C 10 A 11 D 12 (T9) D 13 (T10) C 14 B 15 (T8) A 16 D 17 True 18 C 19 B Question Answer 20 (T2) B 21 D 22 A 23 C 24 D 25 A 26 (T7) C 27 D 28 B 29 A 30 (T3) C 31 D 32 C 33 B 34 A 35 A 36 C 37 B 38 False 50 (T1) Question Answer 39 False 40 D 41 D 42 (T4) B 43 True 44 True 45 A 46 (T6) C 47 (T5) A 48 D 49 B Closest to Earth 1. SS Cygni (370 lyr) 2. Mira (420 lyr) 3. T Tauri (462 lyr) 4. Vela SNR (800 lyr) 5. V1647 Ori (1,300 lyr) 6. The Trapezium OR - RX J0806.3+1527 (~1,600 lyr) 7. The Trapezium OR RX J0806.3+1527 (~1,600 lyr) 8. NGC 3132 (2,000 lyr) 9. Abell 30 (5,500 lyr) 10. Eta Carinae (7,500 lyr) 11. Tycho s SNR (9,000 lyr) 12. T Pyxidis (15, 600 lyr) 13. 47 Tucanae (16,700 lyr) 14. W49B (26,000 lyr) 15. G1.9+0.3 (28,000 lyr) 16. GRS 1915+105 (40,000 lyr) 17. NGC 1856 (160,000 lyr) 18. V1 (2.5 million lyr)