Download Life Cycle of a Star - CullenScience

Star Life Cycle Web Quest
Physical Earth and Space Science
Names: _________________________________________________
Date:____/___/_____
Period:_____
Website: http://sunshine.chpc.utah.edu/labs/star_life/starlife_main.html or go to
cullenscience.wikispaces.com and open the link to Life Cycle of a Star.
Directions: Use the information from the Life Cycle of a Star Website to answer/fill in the following
questions/blanks about stars.
Score:____/ 50
Protostars and the Nebula
1. A_____________________is a cloud of dust and gas, composed primarily of hydrogen (97%)
and helium (3%).
2. Adding atoms to the center of a protostar is a process astronomers call _______________.
3. In order to achieve life as a star, the protostar will need to achieve and maintain ___________.
What is equilibrium? It is a balance, in this case a balance between gravity pulling atoms
toward the center and gas pressure pushing heat and light away from the center. Achieving and
keeping this ____________ is tough to do. When a star can no longer maintain equilibrium, it
__________.
4. How does equilibrium work? There are 6 parts to it.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
5. What is the difference between a brown dwarf and protostar?
Stars
1. What is a star? :
2. Stars live out the majority of their lives in a phase termed as_________________________.
3. What happens during this phase?
4. During the life cycle of a star there is a constant battle between __________________
and___________________.
A Matter of Mass
1. Homeostasis means _______________ or_________________.
2. Choose from the following hypotheses regarding length of star life:
1) The bigger a star is, the longer it will live.
2) The smaller a star is, the longer it will live.
Now, for whichever hypothesis you chose, type a 1-3 sentence explanation for why you think this is so.
3. __________ stars have more fuel, but they have to burn (fuse) it faster in order to maintain
equilibrium. Therefore, ____________stars live longer than __________ stars because their rate
of fuel consumption is not as rapid.
Equilibrium
1. The two sections of a star are:
2. The life goal of a star is to achieve _______________________.
3. List the 5 steps of Equilibrium:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
4. Stars primarily burn _________________.
5. How long it takes for a star to die depends upon its_______________________.
Stars: The beginning of the end
1. Remember, to remain ___________ the star must balance the gas pressure pushing out and the
________________ force pulling in. Gravity will cause the core to contract. Helium burns
inside the ________, but a rapid hydrogen reaction occurs faster in the ___________of the star.
As the temperature in the shell of the star increases, the outer layers of the star expand.
2. What is a Red Giant?
3. ___________ is releasing more energy during helium burning than at the main sequence stage,
so the star is bigger, but less stable. Eventually, the core will run out of ___________, and in
order to maintain __________________, the core will contract again to initiate the last type of
fusion –__________________.
CARBON BURNING: Death
1. We do know that a star, regardless of its size, must eventually
________________________________________________________.
2. What are the 3 categories of stars? Watch each of the videos about how each type of star is
formed.
3. Give 3-5 characteristics/facts for each category of Stars
1. Category 1________________:
2. Category 2________________:
3. Category 3________________: