Chapter 14- The Bizarre Stellar Graveyard

Where do gamma-ray bursts tend to come from?

Extremely distant galaxies

Which of these binary systems is most likely to contain a black hole?
A.An x-ray binary containing an O star and another object of equal mass
B.A binary with an X-ray burster
C. An X-ray binary containing a G star and another object of equal mass

A. An X-ray binary containing an O star and another object of equal mass

What would happen if the Sun suddenly became a black hole without changing its mass?
A. The black hole would quickly suck in the Earth.
B. Earth would gradually spiral into the black hole.
C. Earth’s orbit would not change.

C. Earth’s orbit would not change.

Which of these black holes exerts the weakest tidal forces on an object near its event horizon?
A. A 10Msun black hole
B. A 100Msun black hole
C. A 10^6 Msun black hole

C. A 10^6 Msun black hole

Viewed from a distance, how would a flashing red light appear as it fell into a black hole?
A. It would appear to flash more quickly.
B. Its flashes would appear bluer.
C. Its flashes would shift to the infrared part of the spectrum.

C. Its flashes would shift to the infrared part of the spectrum.

Which of these objects has the largest radius?
A. a 1.2 Msun white dwarf
B. a 1.5 Msun neutron star
C. a 3.0 Msun black hole

A. a 1.2Msun white dwarf

What would happen to a neutron star with an accretion disk orbiting in a direction opposite to the neutron star’s spin?
A. its spin would speed up
B. its spin would slow down
C. its spring would stay the same

B. its spin would slow down

Which of these isolated neutron stars must have had a binary companion?
A. a pulsar inside a supernova remnant that pulses 30 times per second
B. an isolated pulsar that pulses 600 times per sec
C. A neutron star that does not pulse at all

B. an isolated pulsar that pulses 600 times per sec

If we see a nova, we know that we are observing
A. a rapidly rotation neutron star
B. a gammy ray-emitting supernova
C. a white dwarf in a binary system

C. a white dwarf in a binary system

Which of these objects has the smallest radius?
A. a 1.2 Msun white dwarf
B. a 0.6 Msun white dwarf
C. Jupiter

A. a 1.2Msun white dwarf

The radius of a white dwarf is determined by a balance between the inward force of gravity and the outward push of ___________

electron degeneracy pressure

A(n) __________ occurs when hydrogen fusion ignites on the surface of a white dwarf in a binary system.

nova

A(n) __________________ occurs when fusion creates iron in the core of star

massive star supernova

A white dwarf in a close binary system will explode as a supernova if it gains enough mass to exceed the __________

white dwarf limit (1.4 solar masses)

A(n) ____________ consists of hot, swirling gas captured by a white dwarf (or neutron star or black hole) from a binary companion star.

accretion disk

A(n) _____________ white dwarf supernova can occur only in a binary system, and all such events are thought to have the same luminosity.

white dwarf supernova