Sun's Power Source
What is the process that converts matter into energy in the Sun's core?
Nuclear Fusion
The sun formed from a collapsing cloud of
gas and dust
The missing mass during nuclear fusion is converted into
energy
Energy from the sun's core eventually reaches earth as
radiation
Energy moves through the convective zone through the process of
convection
Where does nuclear fusion occur?
Sun's core
gravity
How many hydrogen nuclei combine to form one helium nucleus?
4
Radiation travels through space at the speed of
light
In the convection zone, what rises to the surface, cools, and sinks back down?
hot plasma
The sun is currently classified as a ___________________ star
main sequence
Fusion began when the core temperature is the sun reached ____ billion degrees
10
What is initially released as gamma rays and heat?
Fusion energy
gamma rays
What zone extends from 70% of the Earth's radius to the visible surface?
What is the temperature in the Sun's core?
15 million degrees celsius
What type of atoms fuse to from helium during nuclear fusion?
hydrogen
How do scientists determine the Sun's life cycle?
By observing the masses and lifetimes of other stars
70%
In the convective zone, energy has transformed from gamma rays to
heat and light
The pressure in the sun is _______ billion times Earth's atmospheric pressure
250
How many million tons of matter does the sun convert to energy every second?
4
Does a helium nucleus has more or less mass then 4 hydrogen nuclei?
less
How long does it take a single photon to cross the radiative zone?
170,000 years
How long does it take for sunlight to reach Earth form the Sun's surface?
8 minutes and 20 seconds