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1. Explain the meaning of the factors in Einstein's famous equation.
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2. Distinguish between nuclear fission and nuclear fusion. How is energy released in each case?
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3. What two quantities are in balance when a star is in hydrostatic equilibrium?
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4. Describe the three steps in the main branch of the proton-proton chain.
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5. Which stars produce their energy by the proton-proton chain and which stars use the carbon-nitrogen-oxygen cycle?
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6. In which stage of a star's life will the triple alpha process take place? What are the 2 steps in this process?
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7. What are the two most important methods of energy transport in most normal stars?
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8. Describe the solar neutrino problem and some suggested solutions to this problem.
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9. How does the method of stellar parallax allow astronomers to measure the distance to our close neighbor stars?
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10. Distinguish between a star's space velocity and its proper motion.
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11. What is a star's apparent magnitude? What quantity must be known to determine the star's absolute magnitude?
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12. What is the significance of the Harvard spectral sequence of stars?
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13. What two quantities are graphed to produce the standard Hertzsprung-Russell diagram?
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14. Describe the luminosity classes I through V. Which class does our Sun belong to?
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1. What is the difference between a visual binary and a spectroscopic binary?
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2. Why are visual binaries likely to be nearby stars?
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3. When could an astrometric binary become a visual binary?
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4. What is the difference between a single-line and double-line spectroscopic binary?
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5. Which of Kepler's laws can be used to determine the mass of a binary system?
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6. What kind of binary is particularly well suited to determining stellar radii?
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7. Around what do the stars in a binary system revolve?
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8. Why can we often get away with using Kepler's third law in the Solar System without correcting
for the center of mass, but usually cannot do so for binary stars?
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9. What is the difference between the parallax effect and the wobble in motion on the celestial
sphere for the visible star in an astrometric binary?
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10. On average, if we triple the mass of a main sequence star, by how much does the luminosity increase?
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11. What is the difference between an eclipsing binary and an accreting binary?
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12. What are the primary differences between globular clusters and open clusters?
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13. Which kind of cluster, open or globular, typically contains the oldest stars?
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14. Why does accretion in an accreting binary often occur through an accretion ring?
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15. What is the difference between a nova and a type 1A supernova? How are they similar?
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16. What is the difference between a nova and an X-ray burster?
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17. What are the primary differences between Pop I and Pop II?
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18. What are "blue stragglers"?
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19. How does an HR diagram for a typical globular cluster compare with the one for stars near the Sun?
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20. How does an HR diagram for an open cluster compare with the one for stars near the Sun?
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21. What is the "turnoff point" for a globular cluster. Why is it important?
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22. What kind of stars are the most luminous in open clusters? What about in globular clusters?
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