The Sun's layers and the fusion that powers it

Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. 1.

   Power about 3.8 × 10^26 W; c² ≈ 9.0 × 10^16 m²/s². The Sun gives off about 3.8 × 10^26 W (IAU). With E = mc² and c² ≈ 9.0 × 10^16 m²/s², about how much mass becomes energy each second, by Esme's math?

   • About 4 million metric tons
   • Zero, since mass is conserved
   • About 4 kilograms
   • About 4 billion metric tons
2. 2.

   Fusion turns about 0.7% of hydrogen's mass into energy. If 1 kg of hydrogen fuses into helium, about how much mass becomes energy, by Jun's math?

   • About 7 g
   • About 70 g
   • 0 g, since mass is conserved
   • About 0.7 g
3. 3.

   Why does the Sun become very slightly less massive over time, by Kira's reading?

   • Fission splits off pieces of the Sun
   • It burns and loses smoke into space
   • It does not; its mass stays exactly the same
   • Fusion turns some of its mass into energy that leaves as light
4. 4.

   Luz's friend says the Sun is a giant ball of burning gas, like a campfire. Which response is best?

   • Disagree: its energy comes from nuclear fusion in the core
   • Agree: fire and fusion are the same process
   • Agree: the Sun burns hydrogen with oxygen
   • Disagree: the Sun runs on fission of uranium
5. 5.

   A path from the core labeled about 170,000 years, then to Earth labeled about 8 minutes. Milo's cousin says the energy in today's sunlight was released in the core just 8 minutes ago. Which response is best (NASA)?

   • Disagree: it was released 8 hours ago
   • Disagree: it took about 170,000 years to leave the Sun first
   • Agree: the radiative zone is empty space
   • Agree: light leaves the core at once

6. Read this first

   Sun temperatures (NASA)

   Layer	Temperature
   core	about 15 million °C
   photosphere	about 5,500 °C

7. 6.

   Using kelvins (°C + 273), about how many times hotter is the Sun's core (15 million °C) than its photosphere (5,500 °C), by Pia's math?

   • About 3 times
   • About 2,600 times
   • About 2,700 times
   • The photosphere is the hotter one
8. 7.

   NASA lists the photosphere at about 5,500 °C and the corona, the Sun's outer atmosphere, at up to 2 million °C. Which statement is true, by Ren's reading?

   • The corona is cooler, since it is farther from the core
   • The corona is far hotter than the photosphere
   • The photosphere is the hottest layer outside the core
   • The corona is where fusion happens
9. 8.

   Why does fusion need the core's temperature of about 15 million °C, by Zee's reading?

   • Fusion needs oxygen, which only the core has
   • Positive nuclei repel; only very fast ones get close enough to fuse
   • Heat lights the hydrogen, as a match lights wood
   • Heat splits helium back into hydrogen
10. 9.

    Core density about 150 g/cm³. NASA gives the core's density as about 150 g/cm³. Why does such high density help fusion, by Ari's reading?

    • High density lets light escape the core at once
    • Packed nuclei collide more often
    • High density splits nuclei apart
    • Dense matter burns for longer
11. 10.

    What keeps the Sun from collapsing under its own gravity, by Bo's reading (NASA)?

    • Burning gases push outward like exhaust from a rocket engine
    • Fission blasts push it apart
    • Nothing; the Sun is collapsing quickly
    • Outward pressure from fusion-heated gas balances gravity