Astronomy quiz question: production of helium in the sun's core

Astronomy 210 Quiz 7, fall semester 2013
Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA

Fusion reactions in the sun's core produced the:
(A) helium in the sun's core.
(B) carbon in your body.
(C) calcium in your bones.
(D) iron in your blood.
(E) (More than one of the above choices.)
(F) (None of the above choices.)

Correct answer (highlight to unhide): (A)

The helium in the core of the sun is produced primarily from the fusion of hydrogen during its main-sequence lifetime (with a small percentage of this helium produced during the nucleosynthesis phase of the early universe). The sun will eventually produce carbon from fusion during its giant phase, and does not have enough mass to produce calcium and iron from fusion as would a massive star during its supergiant phase. The "metals" (carbon, calcium, and iron) must have been produced by a earlier-generation medium-mass or massive star that have undergone a type Ia or type II supernova explosion, respectively, in order to release these atoms that were eventually incorporated into the formation of our sun, our solar system's planets, and our bodies.

Section 70158
Exam code: quiz07s5Sz
(A) : 26 students
(B) : 0 students
(C) : 2 students
(D) : 0 students
(E) : 14 students
(F) : 2 students

Success level: 63% (including partial credit for multiple-choice)
Discrimination index (Aubrecht & Aubrecht, 1983): 0.82

Section 70160
Exam code: quiz07nMN7
(A) : 11 students
(B) : 0 students
(C) : 0 students
(D) : 0 students
(E) : 12 students
(F) : 2 students

Success level: 50% (including partial credit for multiple-choice)
Discrimination index (Aubrecht & Aubrecht, 1983): 0.21