Sajjad1994
Analysis of the motions of stars in the vicinity of the Sun indicates that between one-half and three-quarters of the mass in the solar neighborhood has not been identified with visible stars or gas. Conventionally it has been assumed that this local unseen mass exists in the form of very dim, low-mass stars called brown dwarfs. Although this possibility cannot be excluded, inferences based on the ratio of visible low-mass to high-mass stars suggest that there is actually very little mass in unseen faint stars.
An attractive alternative is that stellar remnants, the dark matter left behind by the collapse of stars at least ten times as massive as the Sun, may account for this unseen mass. Although the formation of massive stars am does not predominate at present in the solar neighborhood it may well have been more important in the past, me amount of interstellar gas and the rate of star formation were greater. Remnants of earlier generations of massive stars would then become an important contributor to the total mass in the solar neighborhood.
A model for the content and evolution of the solar neighborhood can readily be constructed in which all the unseen mass is accounted for as remnants. The model requires that the ratio of massive stars to smaller stars formed was higher at earlier times. Like an earlier model proposed by Schmidt that makes the same assumption, this model can account for the variation with stellar age in the abundance of elements such as oxygen in nearby stars. Oxygen is produced only in massive stars and is mixed into the interstellar as when some of the star explode as supernovas. The rapid early rise and the later more gradual increase in the abundance of oxygen in the universe, which has been inferred from observations, can therefore be explained if the proportion of massive stars was higher at earlier times. It is interesting that, although Schmidt's model was devised to account for the data on element abundances in stars, it also predicts enough mass in remnants to account for the local unseen mass.
1. The author states which of the following about oxygen in the universe?
A. Its presence is due largely to the formation of low-mass stars.
B. It is less abundant in the stars than it is in the interstellar gas.
C. Its presence is more difficult to explain than is the presence of unseen matter.
D. It appears to be less abundant than it would be if conventional theories of star formation were correct.
E. It increased rapidly in abundance during an earlier period and has since increased more slowly.
2. The author implies that the idea that much of the mass in the solar neighborhood is in the form of brown-dwarf stars is
A. well confirmed by observation
B. known to be incorrect
C. indirectly supported by Schmidt's model
D. a recently proposed and interesting hypothesis
E. possibly correct but more likely mistaken
3. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken support for the model described in lines 21-29? (Text in Red)
A. Most of the mass in the solar neighborhood is to the form of stellar remnants.
B. There are fewer brown-dwarf stars in the solar neighborhood than has conventionally been assumed.
C. The proportion of smaller stars formed in the solar neighborhood has remained constant through time.
D. The increase in the abundance of oxygen, though rapid in the distant past, is slowing at a greater rate than has been realized.
E. The amount of interstellar gas in the solar neighborhood was much greater during the early period of the universe than it is now.
4. According to the passage, Schmidt's model was originally created for which of the following purposes?
A. To explain the relative amounts of various chemicals present in stars
B. To account for the unseen mass in the solar neighborhood
C. To provide an alternative to the conventional theory of star formation
D. To describe the formation of stellar remnants
E. To determine the relative rates at which high-mass and low-mass stars arc formed
5. According to the passage which of the following was greater in the past?
A. The amount of oxygen in the universe
B. The number of brown-dwarf stars in the universe
C. The amount of interstellar gas in the solar neighborhood
D. The number of stellar remnants in the solar neighborhood
E. The number of stars of very low mass in the vicinity of the Sun
6. The author indicates that which of the following is an interesting feature of Schmidt's model?
A. It is much simpler than its rivals.
B. It does not rely on any unproven assumptions
C. It builds on well-established aspects of the conventional model of star formation.
D. It may be able to account for something else in addition to what it was created to explain.
E. It may allow for the prediction of future star formation as well as the explanation of past formation.
7. If it were discovered that oxygen abundance has been increasing at a steady rate throughout the age of the universe, which of the following inferences would be most strongly supported by the passage?
A. There is less unseen mass in the solar neighborhood than had been believed.
B. The rate at which high-mass stars have been formed has remained constant.
C. The rate of star formation has been increasing since the origin of the universe.
D. Most of the unseen mass in the solar neighborhood is due to the collapse of very massive stars.
E. The amount of interstellar gas has been steadily increasing with time.
8. The author's main point is that
A. there is actually very little mass in the form of dim, low-mass stars
B. Schmidt's model accords with the conventional view on local unseen matter
C. although Schmidt's model accords with observational data, it is based on an improbable assumption
D. the unseen matter in the solar neighborhood may well consist of the remnants of very high-mass stars
E. stellar remnants are probably the result of the collapse of stars at least ten times as massive as the Sun
1. The author states which of the following about oxygen in the universe?A. Its presence is due largely to the formation of low-mass stars. - Incorrect. The passage states that oxygen is produced only in massive stars.
B. It is less abundant in the stars than it is in the interstellar gas. - Not directly addressed in the passage.
C. Its presence is more difficult to explain than is the presence of unseen matter. - Incorrect. The passage doesn't compare the difficulty of explaining oxygen presence with that of unseen matter.
D. It appears to be less abundant than it would be if conventional theories of star formation were correct. - Incorrect. The passage discusses the increase in oxygen abundance over time, not its comparison with conventional theories of star formation.
E. It increased rapidly in abundance during an earlier period and has since increased more slowly -
Correct. The passage mentions the rapid early rise and the later more gradual increase in the abundance of oxygen in the universe.
2. The author implies that the idea that much of the mass in the solar neighborhood is in the form of brown-dwarf stars isA. well confirmed by observation - Incorrect. The passage suggests that this idea may not be confirmed by observations.
B. known to be incorrect - Incorrect. The passage doesn't assert that the idea is definitely incorrect.
C. indirectly supported by Schmidt's model - Incorrect. The passage doesn't mention any support from Schmidt's model for this idea.
D. a recently proposed and interesting hypothesis - Incorrect. The passage doesn't mention the recency of the hypothesis.
E. possibly correct but more likely mistaken -
Correct. The passage implies uncertainty about the validity of this idea.
3. Which of the following, if true, would most weaken support for the model described in lines 21-29?
A. Most of the mass in the solar neighborhood is to the form of stellar remnants. - Incorrect. This strengthens support for the model.
B. There are fewer brown-dwarf stars in the solar neighborhood than has conventionally been assumed. - Incorrect. This might actually strengthen support for the model.
C. The proportion of smaller stars formed in the solar neighborhood has remained constant through time. -
Correct. If this were true, it would weaken the model's assumption that the ratio of massive stars to smaller stars formed was higher at earlier times.
D. The increase in the abundance of oxygen, though rapid in the distant past, is slowing at a greater rate than has been realized. - Not directly relevant to the model described in the passage.
E. The amount of interstellar gas in the solar neighborhood was much greater during the early period of the universe than it is now. - Doesn't directly weaken the support for the model described in lines 21-29.
4. According to the passage, Schmidt's model was originally created for which of the following purposes?
A. To explain the relative amounts of various chemicals present in stars -
Correct. Refer line "
Schmidt's model was devised to account for the data on element abundances in stars,"
B. To account for the unseen mass in the solar neighborhood - Incorrect. Schmidt's model is mentioned as an alternative model, but not specifically created for this purpose.
C. To provide an alternative to the conventional theory of star formation - Incorrect. Schmidt's model is presented as an alternative explanation for the data on element abundances in stars.
D. To describe the formation of stellar remnants - Incorrect. Schmidt's model doesn't focus on the formation of stellar remnants.
E. To determine the relative rates at which high-mass and low-mass stars are formed - Incorrect.
5. According to the passage which of the following was greater in the past?A. The amount of oxygen in the universe -
Correct. The passage mentions the rapid early rise in the abundance of oxygen.
B. The number of brown-dwarf stars in the universe - Incorrect. Brown-dwarf stars are not discussed in the context of being greater in the past.
C. The amount of interstellar gas in the solar neighborhood - Incorrect. The passage discusses the possibility of interstellar gas being greater in the past, not its presence in the entire universe.
D. The number of stellar remnants in the solar neighborhood - Correct. The passage suggests that remnants of earlier generations of massive stars may have been more important in the past.
E. The number of stars of very low mass in the vicinity of the Sun - Incorrect. The passage doesn't discuss the number of low-mass stars in the past.
6. The author indicates that which of the following is an interesting feature of Schmidt's model?A. It is much simpler than its rivals. - Not mentioned in the passage.
B. It does not rely on any unproven assumptions - Not explicitly mentioned in the passage.
C. It builds on well-established aspects of the conventional model of star formation. - Incorrect. Schmidt's model is mentioned as an alternative to the conventional model.
D. It may be able to account for something else in addition to what it was created to explain. -
Correct.
The passage mentions that Schmidt's model predicts enough mass in remnants to account for the local unseen mass, in addition to its original purpose of explaining data on element abundances in stars.
E. It may allow for the prediction of future star formation as well as the explanation of past formation. - Not mentioned in the passage.
7. If it were discovered that oxygen abundance has been increasing at a steady rate throughout the age of the universe, which of the following inferences would be most strongly supported by the passage?
A. There is less unseen mass in the solar neighborhood than had been believed. - Not directly supported by the passage.
B. The rate at which high-mass stars have been formed has remained constant. -
Correct. This aligns with the idea that the proportion of massive stars was higher at earlier times.
C. The rate of star formation has been increasing since the origin of the universe. - Not directly supported by the passage.
D. Most of the unseen mass in the solar neighborhood is due to the collapse of very massive stars. - Not directly supported by the passage.
E. The amount of interstellar gas has been steadily increasing with time. - Not directly supported by the passage.
8. The author's main point is thatA. there is actually very little mass in the form of dim, low-mass stars - Incorrect. While the passage discusses the possibility of unseen mass not being in the form of brown dwarfs, it doesn't assert the absence of low-mass stars.
B. Schmidt's model accords with the conventional view on local unseen matter - Incorrect. Schmidt's model is presented as an alternative to conventional views.
C. although Schmidt's model accords with observational data, it is based on an improbable assumption - Incorrect. The passage doesn't suggest that Schmidt's model is based on an improbable assumption.
D. the unseen matter in the solar neighborhood may well consist of the remnants of very high-mass stars -
Correct. This aligns with the main point that stellar remnants could account for the unseen mass.
E. stellar remnants are probably the result of the collapse of stars at least ten times as massive as the Sun - Incorrect. This is mentioned in the passage but not as the main point. The main point is about stellar remnants accounting for the unseen mass.
Answers
1. E
2. E
3. C
4. A
5. A
6. D
7. B
8. D