Astronomy Chapter 5

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The absorption line spectrum shows what we see when we

look at a hot light source (such as a star or light bulb)
directly behind a cooler cloud of gas. Suppose instead that
we are looking at the gas cloud but the light source is off to
the side instead of directly behind it. In that case, the
spectrum would __________.: be an emission spectrum
Any spectrum can be displayed either in photographic form
as shown to the left or as a graph. Which of the following
graphs could represent a portion of the Sun's visible light
spectrum?: The smooth part of the curve represents the graph
of the background rainbow of color; the dips in the curve
represent the black lines where light is missing from the
rainbow.
Blue light has higher frequency than red light. Thus, blue
light has:: higher energy and shorter wavelength than red
light.
Click "show" for the emission line spectrum, then click
"choose gases" and study the emission line spectrum for
neon. The neon "OPEN" sign appears reddish-orange
because __________.: neon atoms emit many more yellow and
red photons than blue and violet photons
From shortest to longest wavelength, which of the following
correctly orders the different categories of electromagnetic
radiation?: gamma rays, X rays, ultraviolet, visible light,
infrared, radio
If we say that a material is opaque to ultraviolet light, we
mean that it _________.: absorbs ultraviolet light
In the illustration of the solar spectrum, the upper left
portion of the spectrum shows the __________ visible light.:
lowest frequency-Red light is the longest wavelength visible
light, and longer wavelength means lower frequency (because
wavelength x frequency = speed of light
Notice that the Sun's spectrum appears brightest (or most
intense) in the yellow-green region. This fact tells us
__________.: the approximate temperature of the Sun's surfaceOne of the two laws of thermal radiation (Wien's law) states that
the peak wavelength of a spectrum is directly related to an
object's temperature. A peak at yellow-green wavelengths
corresponds to a temperature of about 5800 K.

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The spectra of most galaxies show redshifts. This means that

their spectral lines _________.: have wavelengths that are
longer than normal

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Study the graph of the intensity of light versus wavelength

for continuous spectra, observing how it changes with the
temperature of the light bulb. Recall that one of the laws of
thermal radiation states that a higher-temperature object
emits photons with higher average energy (Wien's law). This
law is illustrated by the fact that for a higher temperature
object, the graph peaks at __________.: a shorter wavelength

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Suppose we want to know what the Sun is made of. What

should we do?: Compare the wavelengths of lines in the Sun's
spectrum to the wavelengths of lines produced by chemical
elements in the laboratory-Each chemical element (or ion or
molecule) produces a unique set of spectral lines; the
wavelengths of these lines can be measured in the laboratory. If
the Sun's spectrum contains the set of lines for some particular
element, we conclude that the Sun contains that element. We
determine the Sun's overall chemical composition by examining
all the lines in its spectrum.
Suppose you know the frequency of a photon and the
speed of light. What else can you determine about the
photon?: its wavelength and energy
Suppose you look at a spectrum of visible light by looking
through a prism or diffraction grating. How can you decide
whether it is an emission line spectrum or an absorption
line spectrum?: An emission line spectrum consists of bright
lines on a dark background, while an absorption line spectrum
consists of dark lines on a rainbow background.
Suppose you want to know the chemical composition of a
distant star. Which piece of information is most useful to
you?: the wavelengths of spectral lines in the star's spectrum
Suppose you watch a leaf bobbing up and down as ripples
pass it by in a pond. You notice that it does two full up and
down bobs each second. Which statement is true of the
ripples on the pond?: They have a frequency of 2 hertz.
Thermal radiation is defined as _________.: radiation with a
spectrum whose shape depends only on the temperature of
the emitting object
What type of visible light spectrum does the Sun produce?:
an absorption line spectrum
Which of the following best describes the fundamental
difference between two different chemical elements (such
as oxygen and carbon)?: They have different numbers of
protons in their nucleus.
Which of the following best describes why the Sun's
spectrum contains black lines over an underlying
rainbow?: The Sun's hot interior produces a continuous
rainbow of color, but cooler gas at the surface absorbs light at
particular wavelengths.-The Sun's spectrum is an absorption
line spectrum, which is produced when continuous light from a
hot source (the Sun's interior) passes through a cooler cloud of
gas (the gas that makes up the Sun's visible surface).
Which of the following procedures would allow you to
make a spectrum of the Sun similar to the one shown,
though with less detail?: Pass a narrow beam of sunlight
through a prism-The prism bends different wavelengths of light
by different amounts, causing the white light from the Sun to
spread out into a rainbow of colors. Absorption features appear
as dark lines against the brighter background of the spectrum.