Download South Pasadena • Chemistry Name 8 • Nuclear Chemistry Period

South Pasadena • Chemistry
Name
8 • Nuclear Chemistry
Period
WHERE DO CHEMICAL
ELEMENTS
Date
COME FROM?
Anticipation Guide (Before and During)
Directions: Before reading, in the first column, write “A” or “D,” indicating your agreement or disagreement
with each statement. As you read, compare your opinions with information from the article. In the space under
each statement, cite information from the article that supports or refutes your original ideas.
Me
Text
1.
2.
3.
4.
Statement
The supernova of 1054, which provided enough light to read at night, was described by
both Chinese astronomers and the Anasazi in the American Southwest.
For more than 50 years, scientists have been studying the links between chemical elements
and how they are created.
Elements lighter than iron are formed from successive nuclear fusion reactions, beginning
with hydrogen atoms.
All stars form iron in their cores.
5. The hydrogen nucleus is the most stable nucleus in nature.
6. Elements heavier than iron can only be formed in the first few seconds after a supernova’s
collapse.
7. The type of elements produced by a star depends on the temperature and pressure of its
core.
8. There are no radioactive isotopes of nickel.
9. The gas in an interstellar cloud is mostly helium.
10. All of the elements on Earth, except for hydrogen, were formed in the interiors of stars.
11. Astronomers use spectroscopes to identify elements in stars because each element produces
a unique emission spectrum.
12. Our sun contains a very small number of gold atoms.
Study Questions (After)
After reading the article, answer these questions.
1. What chemical element is the primary constituent of a young star?
2. Name the astrophysicist who first advanced the idea that the chemical elements originated from hydrogen in
stars.
3. Name the stellar process in which the fusion of hydrogen produces other elements.
4. Why is iron the heaviest element that can be produced in stars?
5. What are the two opposing forces at work as fusion takes place in stars?
6. What name is given to the explosion of a star?
7. Neutron capture produces what kind of elements in a star?
8. Name the material sent into space by a supernova.
9. What does a spectroscope do to light?
Big Ideas (During)
Directions: As you read, complete the chart below describing the formation of elements.
Elements
How they are formed (use bullet points or number each step)
Elements up to and
including iron
What elements are
formed by stars less
massive than our sun?
What elements are
formed by stars having
a mass of one to eight
suns?
What elements are
formed by stars having
a mass greater than
eight suns?
“s” process:
“r” process:
Elements heavier than
iron
“p” process: