Download HS_ESS1_1-Star-life-cycle

Name__________________________________
Develop a model based on evidence to illustrate the life
span of the sun and the role of nuclear fusion in the sun’s
core to release energy in the form of radiation.
Background:
The Sun is a star, right? And scientists believe that the Sun is about 5 billion years old,
based on measurements they have taken regarding the fusion going on in the center of
the sun.
What is fusion? It is the fuel that provides the Sun (or any star) with the light and
radiation to shine brightly. In some stars, like our Sun, hydrogen nuclei (plural for
nucleus—the center part of atoms) join together to make helium nuclei. This produces
a HUGE amount of energy that is sent out as light and heat into the solar system.
Stars have a life cycle, just like humans. We think our star, the Sun, will live for about
10 billion years before it runs out of fuel and changes to a different type of star. If
scientists believe that our Sun is 5 billion years old, that means the Sun is middle aged:
halfway through its life cycle.
Depending on the size of the star, it will go through different stages as it nears the end
of its life cycle.
YOUR JOB IS TO INVESTIGATE (RESEARCH) A STAR
AND DETERMINE WHAT HAPPENS TO IT DURING ITS
LIFE CYCLE.
You will roll a dice, and the number you get on the dice will determine which star you
get:
If you get a 1 or a 6: A star the size of our Sun
If you get a 2 or a 5: A star a little bigger than the size of our Sun—a “medium” sized star
If you get a 3 or a 4: A “HUGE” star-much bigger than the size of our Sun
Turn the page over
You will need to develop a MODEL that tells us about your star’s life cycle, from birth
until death…and what is going on in that star’s core regarding the nuclear fusion (WHAT
kind of atoms are combining to make WHAT).
What is a model?
mod·el
noun
a three-dimensional representation of a person or thing or of a
proposed structure, typically on a smaller scale than the original.
It can be a 3D model (however…no more mobiles. If you make it 3D, make it so that it
doesn’t have to hang). It can be pictures that you draw or find online that you cut out
and paste to a posterboard, with some facts that you provide. You could even use
human models: make signs that you can have people hold up and you put them in the
correct order. It can be a PREZI or youtube video that you make about the life cycle of
your star. YOU GET TO CHOOSE HOW YOU MODEL THIS STAR’S LIFE CYCLE
FOR US!
Some websites that might help you, if you’d rather use websites than your text:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzE7VZMT1z8
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/astronomy/stars/lifecycle/
http://www.telescope.org/pparc/res8.html
http://www.schoolsobservatory.org.uk/astro/stars/lifecycle
http://www.astro.keele.ac.uk/workx/starlife/StarpageS_26M.html