Briefly explain the evidence behind planetlike masses orbiting pulsars.
What will be an ideal response?
Question 2Briefly explain how mass transferred from one star to another in a binary system flows into a rapidly rotating whirlpool called an accretion disk.
What will be an ideal response?
Question 3The expansion of a star to giant or supergiant size _____, and so the stars move toward the upper right in the Hertzsprung-Russell (H-R) diagram.
A) contracts the star drastically
B) cools the star's outer layers
C) dims the star
D) makes the star less luminous
Question 4Instead of calling a white dwarf a star, you could call it a compact object because it:
A) generates ample nuclear energy.
B) is formed when a low-mass star is born.
C) has several layers that contain gas.
D) is almost completely degenerate matter.
Question 5In the context of black holes, if an object collapses to zero radius, its density and gravity _____.
A) remain constant
B) increase
C) become infinite
D) decrease
Question 6Which of the following lets you conclude that a compact object cannot be a neutron star and that it must be a black hole?
A) If the mass of the compact object is greater than about 0.5 solar masses
B) If the mass of the compact object is greater than about 3 solar masses
C) If the mass of the compact object is greater than about 1.5 solar masses
D) If the mass of the compact object is greater than about 2 solar masses
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