Question

The mass of a particular giant molecular cloud in interstellar space is 2 million solar masses. What is the mass of the helium in this cloud?

A) 40,000 solar masses
B) 1 million solar masses
C) 200,000 solar masses
D) 500,000 solar masses

Answer 1

The mass of the helium in the giant molecular cloud is 500,000 solar masses.

Step-by-step explanation:

The mass of the helium in the giant molecular cloud can be calculated by first determining the mass of the cloud and then finding the fraction of the total mass that is helium. Given that the mass of the cloud is 2 million solar masses and assuming that the cloud is made up mostly of hydrogen and helium, we can estimate that 75% of the mass is hydrogen and 25% is helium. Therefore, the mass of the helium in the cloud is 0.25 times 2 million solar masses, which equals 500,000 solar masses.