Astr 104, Spring 2008 – Quiz 7

1. What is a neutron star?
a. The remnant of a massive star after a supernova explosion.
b. A star that is too small to start burning hydrogen in its core.
c. The hottest and brightest kind of star on the main sequence.
d. A star in which the atoms are not ionized and remain neutral.

2. How massive are neutron stars, compared to the Sun?
a. Less than 8% of the Sun's mass.
b. About 1.4 to 3 solar masses.
c. More than 100 solar masses.
d. They can have any mass.

3. Which of these could be the radius of a neutron star?
a. 10 km.
b. 10,000 km.
c. 10 million km.
d. 10 million light years.

4. What is a pulsar?
a. A neutron star that blows up into a burst of X-rays.
b. A rotating neutron star emitting a beam of radio waves.
c. A neutron star that pulsates by expanding and contracting.
d. A neutron star orbiting around a white dwarf and eclipsing it.

5. What kind of object is at the center of the Crab nebula?