Life in the Universe (4th Edition)
4th Edition
ISBN: 9780134089089
Author: Jeffrey O. Bennett, Seth Shostak
Publisher: PEARSON
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Chapter 3, Problem 37TYU
To determine
Evaluate roughly the number of stars in the observable universe.
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Students have asked these similar questions
Assume the observable Universe is charge neutral, and that it contains n nuclei (hydrogen plus helium nuclei, ignoring other elements). Take the helium mass fraction as 1/4. How many electrons are there in the observable Universe? Enter your answer in scientific notation with one decimal place.
Value: n = 4*1080
Astronomers frequently say that "there are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on all the
beaches on the earth". Given that a typical grain of sand is about 0.5 – 1.0 mm in diameter, estimate the
number of grains of sand on all the earth's beaches. The diameter of the Earth is 12,742 km.
a) About 1011
b) About 1016
c) About 1021.
6.
Assume that a typical galaxy contains about 200 billion stars and that there are more than 150 billion
galaxies in the known universe. Estimate the total number of stars in the universe.
b) About 1022
a) About 1010
c) About 1016.
7.
Compare the values of the number of grains of sand in all earth's beaches (from problem 5) with the
number of stars in the universe (from problem 6) – which is greater?
a) Number of sand grains
b) number of stars
c) they are about the same.
mathematician Archimedes, responding to a claim that the number of grains of sand was infinite,
calculated that the number of grains of sand needed to fill the universe was on the order of 1063. Our
understanding of the size of the universe has changed since then, and we now know that the
observable universe alone is a sphere with a radius of 1026 m. Estimating the size of a grain of sand,
A) Approximately how many grains of sand would fill the observable universe?
B) How many times larger or smaller is this number than Archimedes' result?
Chapter 3 Solutions
Life in the Universe (4th Edition)
Ch. 3 - List three major ideas of astronomy that help...Ch. 3 - Briefly define and describe each of the various...Ch. 3 - Describe the solar system as it looks on the...Ch. 3 - Prob. 4RQCh. 3 - Prob. 5RQCh. 3 - Prob. 6RQCh. 3 - Prob. 7RQCh. 3 - What do we mean when we say that Earth and life...Ch. 3 - Imagine describing the cosmic calendar to a...Ch. 3 - Prob. 10RQ
Ch. 3 - Prob. 11RQCh. 3 - Prob. 12RQCh. 3 - What is the difference between matter in the...Ch. 3 - Define and give examples of kinetic energy,...Ch. 3 - Prob. 15RQCh. 3 - Prob. 16RQCh. 3 - Briefly describe the four major features of our...Ch. 3 - Briefly describe the nebular theory and how it...Ch. 3 - What was the close encounter hypothesis for our...Ch. 3 - How have recent discoveries led scientists to...Ch. 3 - Prob. 21TYUCh. 3 - At a middle school talent show, 14-year-old Sam...Ch. 3 - SETI researchers announced today that if they...Ch. 3 - A noted physicist today announced that he has...Ch. 3 - Prob. 25TYUCh. 3 - Astronomers have discovered a galaxy in the far...Ch. 3 - Inventor John Johnson has patented a device that...Ch. 3 - Prob. 28TYUCh. 3 - Prob. 29TYUCh. 3 - Using new, powerful telescopes, biologists today...Ch. 3 - Prob. 31TYUCh. 3 - Prob. 32TYUCh. 3 - A television advertisement claiming that a product...Ch. 3 - When we say the universe is expanding, we mean...Ch. 3 - Prob. 35TYUCh. 3 - The age of our solar system is about (a) one-third...Ch. 3 - Prob. 37TYUCh. 3 - How many of the planets orbit the Sun in the same...Ch. 3 - Prob. 39TYUCh. 3 - Prob. 40TYUCh. 3 - Explaining the Past. Is it really possible for...Ch. 3 - A Strange Star System. Suppose that we discovered...Ch. 3 - Prob. 44IFCh. 3 - Alien Technology. Some people believe that Earth...Ch. 3 - Atomic Terminology Practice. a. The most common...Ch. 3 - Prob. 49IFCh. 3 - Prob. 50IFCh. 3 - Patterns of Motion. In one or two paragraphs,...Ch. 3 - Two Kinds of Planets. The jovian planets differ...Ch. 3 - Pluto and Eris. How does the nebular theory...Ch. 3 - Rocks from Other Solar Systems. Many leftovers...Ch. 3 - Prob. 55IFCh. 3 - Prob. 56IFCh. 3 - Scale of the Solar System. The real diameters of...Ch. 3 - Prob. 58IFCh. 3 - Prob. 59IFCh. 3 - Prob. 60IFCh. 3 - Prob. 61IFCh. 3 - Prob. 62IFCh. 3 - Prob. 63IFCh. 3 - Prob. 67WPCh. 3 - Tour of the Solar System. Visit one of the many...
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- Based on your analysis of galaxies in Table 26.1, is there a correlation between the population of stars and the quantity of gas or dust? Explain why this might be.arrow_forwardWhat evidence shows that the Universe is expanding? What evidence shows that the Universe began with a Big Bang?arrow_forwardA typical galaxy is shown on the first page of the Universe Bowl on the inside cover of the printed book. Express the number of stars in this typical galaxy in scientific notation.arrow_forward
- Another way of explaining a word is to enumerate the different parts of which it ismade: “X consists of Y and Z”. Define the following words in this way.Solar system, a telescope, galaxy, binary system, open clusterarrow_forwardbillion .stars in the Milky Way 100 and 300 O 100 and 400 O 100 and 200 O 100 and 500 O No one of the other options O There are betweenarrow_forwardMeasure the length of the meter stick using your ruler. How many ‘rulers’ is equal to the length of the meter stick?arrow_forward
- Your friends are talking about Olber's Paradox: Friend 1: When the universe was quite young, it was also quite small, and therefore light was trapped inside the universe. This is why we don't see light from the edge of the universe in every direction. Friend 2: No, Olber's Paradox describes only light from stars, not from galaxies, and why you can't use light from distant stars to see at night. Friend 3: You're both right and you're both wrong. The paradox concerns itself with the expansion of the universe, and explains why light from the early universe was able to be released. Are any of them right, in part or in whole?arrow_forwardBy the term universe, astronomers mean: The system of 200 to 400 billion stars, of which the sun is one. The collection of several dozen galaxies, of which the Milky Way is one. Everything that we can observe. The realm inside the atom.arrow_forwardIf Jim could drive a Jetson's flying car at a constant speed of 330 km/hr across oceans and space, approximately how long (in millions of years, in 106 years) would he take to drive to a nearby star that is 8.7 light-years away? Use 9.461 × 1012 km/light-year and 8766 hours per year (365.25 days).arrow_forward
- given: a (distance to center of galaxy in AU) = 1,717,914,439 AU P (suns orbital period in years) = 203,782,828.3 years M (mass of milky way galaxy in solar masses) = 1.22 x 10^11 Msun Question: Assume the Milky Way Galaxy is made up entirely of stars like the Sun, i.e. on average each star has the mass of 1 MSun. Under this assumption, approximately how many stars are there in our galaxy? Express this answer in billions of stars (1 billion = 109).arrow_forwardSuppose you want to observe every galaxy within some distance. Your enterprising assistant says that instead you can observe every galaxy within double the original distance. What is the ratio of the number of galaxies you can now observe as opposed to before?arrow_forwardThe light coming from stars is closer to red (long wavelength, low frequency) than we would expect. What does this imply? Your answer: the universe is expanding the universe is rotating the universe is shrinking the universe is staticarrow_forward
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