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Astronomy DANTES Practice Test
1) What types of black holes are believed to be at the center of most galaxies?
A) Horizontal
B) Light-emitting
C) Stellar
D) Supermassive
The correct answer is D:) Supermassive. There are two types of black holes: stellar and
supermassive. Supermassive black holes are similar to stellar black holes, but they are
much larger. Although their origins are unclear, what is known is that supermassive
black holes lie at the centers of galaxies.
2) The focus point of a black hole is called what?
A) Event Horizon
B) Singularity
C) Foci
D) Centrum
The correct answer is B:) Singularity. The singularity of a black hole is the single point
at which all of its mass is centered. All of the mass contained within a black hole is
drawn to the singularity, and it continues to be drawn inwards towards it. Ultimately a
black hole will move towards having an infinite mass concentrated at this single point.
3) Quasars are powered by
A) Helium fusion
B) Gamma radiation
C) Black holes
D) Binary systems
The correct answer is C:) Black holes. Quasars, or quasi-stellar radio sources, are
formed when particles near the edges of the black hole are ejected away from the black
hole in streams called jets that move outward for millions of light years above and
below the supermassive black hole.
4) Which of the following characterizes red giant star?
A) Extremely rapid rotation speed
B) Regular emission of pulses of light
C) Theorized future existence, although none have yet been discovered
D) Helium fusion resulting in star expansion
The correct answer is D:) Helium fusion resulting in star expansion. The ending of
hydrogen fusion allows gravitational pressures to pull the star inwards. This results in
increasing pressures and temperatures at its core which generate helium fusion. As fusion
renews, pressures again push outward causing the star to expand several times its
original size.
5) Which of the following is NOT true of blue dwarfs?
A) They begin as red dwarfs
B) They are still only theoretical
C) They expand and cool after hydrogen fusion
D) They heat to very high temperatures
The correct answer C:) They expand and cool after hydrogen fusion. The theory behind
blue dwarf stars is that once hydrogen fusion stops in a red dwarf star, rather than progressing
to a red giant stage like main sequence stars, the star will maintain its size and
increase in temperature instead.
6) A star that is too small to begin Hydrogen fusion, but still emits its own light, is called what?
A) Red Dwarf
B) Brown Dwarf
C) Blue Dwarf
D) White Dwarf
The correct answer is B:) Brown Dwarf. Brown dwarf stars are sometimes considered
to be failed stars. The pressure levels in a brown dwarf star are never high enough to
ignite hydrogen fusion at the core. Despite the lack of fusion, however, brown dwarfs
are considered stars because they still generate their own light.
7) What is the sun's total expected lifespan?
A) 12 billion years
B) 8 billion years
C) 5 billion years
D) 100 million years
The correct answer is A:) 12 billion years. A star of the sun's mass will remain in the
main sequence phase for approximately 10 billion years. Beyond that it will take another
2 billion for it to move through the red giant phase, and eventually morph into a
white dwarf.
8) What is the main component of the sun?
A) Magnesium
B) Iron
C) Hydrogen
D) Helium
The correct answer is C:) Hydrogen. The sun is approximately 75% hydrogen, 23%
helium, and 2% heavier metals.
9) Which of the following planets has the coolest average temperature?
A) Saturn
B) Mars
C) Neptune
D) Uranus
The correct answer is C:) Neptune. Neptune is the furthest planet from the sun, giving
it the coolest average temperature of any of the planets, and earning it the nickname as
an ice giant.
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