Questions and Answers
What is the outermost layer of the sun's atmosphere?
What temperature does the chromosphere reach?
10,000 K
The photosphere is the lowest layer of the solar atmosphere that we can see.
True
What is responsible for transporting energy in the convection zone?
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The radiative zone experiences temperatures rising to almost ______ K.
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What is the core of the sun responsible for?
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Match the sun's layers with their corresponding temperatures:
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The order of the sun's layers from outermost to innermost is: ______, ______, ______, ______, ______, ______.
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Study Notes
Sun's Layers
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Corona: Outermost layer of the Sun's atmosphere; extends several million kilometers above the surface.
- Temperature reaches approximately 1 million K.
- Emits most of the Sun's X-rays; density is very low compared to other layers.
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Chromosphere: Middle layer of the Sun's atmosphere beneath the corona.
- Temperature around 10,000 K.
- Most of the Sun's ultraviolet light is emitted from this region.
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Photosphere: Lowest layer of the solar atmosphere visible from Earth.
- Composed of gas, significantly less dense than Earth's atmosphere; average temperature just under 600 K.
- Surface exhibits turbulent activity similar to boiling water, and is the location of sunspots, which are regions with intense magnetic fields.
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Convection Zone: Layer where energy generated in the solar core is transported.
- Energy travels via convection, involving the rising of hot gas and the sinking of cooler gas.
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Radiative Zone: Layer above the core where energy moves outward as photons.
- Temperature can reach nearly 10 million K.
- Produces X-rays that are trillions of times more intense than visible light from the solar surface.
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Core: Inner region of the Sun, source of energy through nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium.
- Temperature at the center is about 15 million K, with a density over 100 times that of water and a pressure 200 billion times that of Earth’s surface.
- Energy generated takes hundreds of thousands of years to reach the surface.
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Order of Layers: Structure of the Sun from the innermost to outermost layers is core, radiative zone, convection zone, photosphere, chromosphere, and corona.
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Description
Test your knowledge of the sun's layers with these flashcards. Explore key terms like 'Corona' and 'Chromosphere' and their definitions. Perfect for students studying astronomy or anyone interested in learning more about our star.
