Homework Assignment #4
Main topics: The Interstellar Medium; the Life and Times of Stars
This assignment is due at the beginning of class on Friday, March 28. Late homework will not be accepted.
Homework should be written on paper. Please copy the problem statement onto the page above your solution. Remember to put your name at the top of the page. If you require more than one page, multiple pages must be stapled together. I will take off three points if you do not staple the homework. The homework will be returned once it has been graded in the boxes on the ninth floor of the Physics building, opposite the elevator.
Problems involve either a calculation, or a short answer. Where a calculation is called for, show your work. Where a short answer is called for, a few sentences is sufficient. In either case, be sure to make your reasoning clear, and draw diagrams if that helps you explain your answer.
Chapter 14, Question 5 in the text (page 373).
Chapter 14, Question 7 in the text (page 374).
Chapter 15, Question 4 in the text (page 399).
Chapter 16, Question 11 in the text (page 431).
Chapter 16, Question 13 in the text (page 431).,
Type Ia and Type II Supernovae are each explosions that signify the death of a star and which are briefly as luminous as an entire galaxy. However, they are very different sorts of objects. What is the original source of the energy which powers each type of explosion? (I.e. where did the energy come from that allowed the energy in the explosion to be released?)