Star Formation (first steps)

Which of the following elements are considered to be 'primordial', having existed since minutes after the Big Bang?

• Carbon

• Hydrogen

• Nitrogen

• Helium

What name is given to the vast clouds of gas and dust from which stars are born?

• Galaxies

• Constellations

• Nebulae

• Protostars

Which of the following energy transfers leads most directly to the birth of a star?

• Kinetic to Thermal

• Gravitational to Kinetic

• Gravitational to Light

• Kinetic to Gravitational

What name is given to the state of matter that is comprised of highly energetic, electrically charged particles (ions/nuclei and electrons) ?

• Dark matter

• Regolith

• Aurora

• Plasma

Which of the following is NOT a condition within a protostar?

• FUSION within a core.

• Temperature in excess of 10^5 KELVIN.

• Ongoing GRAVITATIONAL collapse.

• Radiating PLASMA.

Within what range of temperatures are fusion reactions likely to commence?

• 10^4K to 10^5K

• 10^5K to 10^6K

• 10^6K to 10^7K

• 10^7K to 10^8K

What type/class of star is our sun?

• Protostar

• White Dwarf

• Supernova

• Main Sequence

What force is 'balanced' by the thermal and radiation pressures caused by fusion within a star's core?

• Gravitation

• Strong Nuclear Force

• Electrostatic (Coulomb)

• Magnetic

In addition to the release of energy. what is most often formed from the fusion of two protons?

• A neutron

• A helium nucleus

• A gamma ray photon

• A deuteron

What type of star is most likely formed when the core of a main sequence star undergoes PARTIAL gravitational collapse?

• Red Giant

• Protostar

• White Dwarf

• Supernova