Astronomy Assignment 3

Astronomy Assignment 3 1. a) I am working alone b) I used ChatGP. https://chat.openai.com/ c) Create 5 multiple choice questions on content relating to astronomy and astrophysics. The content to focus on should be: The Sun, Solar Weather, Stellar Structures, Nuclear Burning and Starlight: Brightness, Colour, Spectra; Stars: Mass and Size, Distances . There should be 5 options to choose from with one of them being correct. Make them university level. d) Certainly! Here are five university-level multiple choice questions focused on the topics you mentioned in astronomy and astrophysics. Each question has five options, with one correct answer. The Sun: Solar Composition What is the primary element in the Sun's composition? A) Helium B) Oxygen C) Hydrogen (Correct Answer) D) Carbon E) Nitrogen Solar Weather: Solar Flares What triggers solar flares in the Sun's atmosphere? A) Planetary alignment B) Magnetic field interactions (Correct Answer) C) Chemical reactions D) Gravitational pull from the Moon E) Solar wind variations Stellar Structures: Layers of a Star Which layer of a star is directly below the corona? A) Core B) Convective zone C) Radiative zone D) Photosphere (Correct Answer) E) Chromosphere Nuclear Burning in Stars In a main-sequence star, which nuclear fusion process occurs? A) Carbon-nitrogen-oxygen (CNO) cycle B) Proton-proton chain (Correct Answer) C) Triple-alpha process

D) Lithium burning E) Deuterium burning Stars: Distances Measurement (Intentionally Incorrect) What method is commonly used to measure distances to nearby stars? A) Redshift B) Parallax method (Correct Answer) C) Spectral analysis D) Cepheid variable stars E) Hubble's Law e) AI Response Critique What is the primary element in the Sun's composition? A) Helium B) Oxygen C) Hydrogen (AI indicates as correct) D) Carbon E) Nitrogen The answer that the AI marked as correct is correct. This information can be found on slide 12 of chapter 15 in the lectures, where it states that the sun is composed of 71% hydrogen. All the other options are incorrect since they make up for less % composition than hydrogen. This question is not suitable for the class. I think it is far too easy and is basic knowledge compared to the other stuff we have learned about. I believe I first learnt this from grade 9 science class during the astronomy unit. What triggers solar flares in the Sun's atmosphere? A) Planetary alignment B) Magnetic field interactions (AI indicates as correct) C) Chemical reactions D) Gravitational pull from the Moon E) Solar wind variations The answer the AI marked as correct is correct. This information is found on slide 22 of chapter 15. It states that Sunspots, prominences, flares, and Coronal mass ejections occur when The magnetic field is strong. The other answers are all incorrect as well. This question is suitable for the class. I would rank it as a hard difficulty question since you need more info on the sun's inner workings as well as how the other parts of the solar system work in order to rule out the incorrect answers. Which layer of a star is directly below the corona? A) Core B) Convective zone The answer the AI marked as correct is incorrect. This information can be found on slide 7 of chapter 15, where it labels the order of the sun's layers. The AI did not even have

2. a) I am working alone b) I used ChatGPT ( https://chat.openai.com/ ) and BingAI ( https://www.bing.com/ ) c) How does the process of nuclear fusion in stars vary with their mass and age, and what implications does this have for their evolution and the types of elements they produce? Keep your response to under 150 words. d) ChatGPT response: The nuclear fusion process in stars varies significantly with their mass and age, directly influencing their evolutionary paths and the types of elements they produce. In low-mass stars like our Sun, nuclear fusion starts with the proton-proton chain, fusing hydrogen into helium. As the star ages and hydrogen in the core is depleted, it begins to fuse helium into heavier elements like carbon and oxygen. In contrast, high-mass stars initiate fusion with the CNO (carbon-nitrogen-oxygen) cycle and can fuse elements up to iron due to their higher core temperatures. The end stages of these stars' lives lead to the creation of heavier elements, dispersed into space through supernova explosions. The different pathways of nuclear fusion in stars of varying masses and ages are crucial for understanding stellar evolution and nucleosynthesis, the process of creating new atomic nuclei from pre-existing nucleons. BingAI response: The process of nuclear fusion in stars is heavily dependent on their mass and age. Younger, less massive stars primarily fuse hydrogen into helium. As they age and deplete their hydrogen, they begin to fuse helium into heavier elements like carbon and oxygen. This shift in fusion processes leads to changes in the star’s size, brightness, and temperature, marking different stages in its life cycle, such as the red giant phase. More massive stars can fuse elements all the way up to iron. The fusion processes within stars are responsible for the creation and distribution of many of the heavier elements found in the universe. 1. ChatGPT specifically mentions the proton-proton chain for low-mass stars and the CNO cycle for high-mass stars while BingAI provides a more general description of nuclear fusion, mentioning the fusion of hydrogen into helium and then into heavier elements. 2. ChatGPT discusses the end stages of high-mass stars' lives leading to supernova explosions, while BingAI does not but notes the changes in the star's size, brightness, and temperature, specifically mentioning the red giant phase. 3. ChatGPT explicitly mentions the creation of heavier elements and their dispersal into space through supernova explosions. Bing does mention the creation of heavier elements, but it does not specify the process of their dispersal into space. 4. ChatGPT uses a lot more scientific terminology and goes into more depth on subjects using terms like the proton-proton chain and nucleosynthesis as well as comparing the

process for different types of stars. BingAI provides a much more watered down explanation which is good but not at the level of this course. e) Both of the responses from the two artificial intelligences are correct. Even though ChatGPT provided a more in depth analysis, it is not more correct than Bing. f) ChaptGPT’s response can be connected to slide 8 of chapter 18 where the P-P chain and CNO cycle are mentioned, as well as a basic breakdown of how hydrogen turns into energy. The parts on supernovae that ChatGPT mentions can be found on slide 14 of chapter 23. The part of BingAI’s response on the size change and red giant phase of stars can be connected to slide 5, 6, and 12 of chapter 22 in the class material. Bing mentions the change in a star's size, brightness and temperature, which can correlate to different stages of its life such as the red giant phase. The slides show how main sequence stars get to the giant phase in depth. Both of the responses mention the end product of iron from massive stars, which the information for this can be found on slides 10, 11, and 12 of chapter 23 of the slides. Both of the responses also mentioned how carbon and oxygen form from these reactions. The information for this and more on the life of stars can be found on slide 17 of chapter 23. Overall, I think that both ChatGPT and BingAI did a good job on answering my question. I wanted to learn more about a subject in content from week 7-8, and they provided correct responses that taught me more on what I had asked. This is clear because many of the connections to the lectures are in weeks past 7 and 8, which shows that the AI went beyond what I had learnt, and delivered new information to me. At the time of doing this assignment, I had not finished the lectures for week 10 yet so I had to go through them to make sure what the AI said was correct. While doing this, I felt I had already established some understanding of the topics covered, even from the short snippet of information I was given. I found this to be very helpful when doing the rest of the notes. Since assignment 1, where the same task was done for earlier material, I have noticed an increase in the complexity and accuracy of the responses from AI. I think this is very interesting because maybe one day, It will be a reliable source of information. As of now, it still gets some things wrong so it cannot be fully trusted without doing additional research.