Download Space Science Chapter 4 Reading Guide BIG IDEA: Our Sun is

Space Science Chapter 4 Reading Guide
BIG IDEA: Our Sun is billions of stars in one of billions of galaxies in the universe.
Vocabulary
Fusion: Two hydrogen particles collide to form helium. It takes place in the core.
Convection: The transfer of energy from place to place by the motion of heated gas or
liquid.
Corona: The Sun’s outermost layer which is only seen during a total solar eclipse.
Sunspot:Light and dark spots on the photosphere that are cooler than surrounding
areas.
Solar Wind: Electrically charged particles that flow out in all directions from the
corona.
Light-year: The distance light travels in one year, which is 9.5 trillion kilometers (6
trillion miles).
Parallax: The apparent shift in the position of an object when viewed from different
locations. This is used for locating stars.
Nebula: A cloud of dust and gas where stars are formed.
Main Sequence: The stage in which stars produce energy through fusion of hydrogen
into helium.
Neutron Star: A collapsed core of a supergiant star may form this extremely dense
body. The diameter is 20 kilometers and has a mass 1-3 times that of our Sun.
Black Hole: The final stage of an extremely massive star, which is invisible due to its
gravity.
Quasar:
Section 1 : Key Concept: The Sun is our local star.
1. The Sun is the only star in our solar system. It contains 99.9% of the entire solar
system. The Sun consists mostly of hydrogen gas. How is energy produced from hydrogen?
Energy is produced by fusion where 2 hydrogen particles collide to form helium.
2.
In the diagram below, write the missing labels for the layers of the Sun.
1- Core : where energy is produced
2- Radiative Zone energy moves by radiation
3 - Convection Zone : currents of hot gas carry energy outward
4 - Photosphere : the visible layer of the Sun
5 - Chromosphere : the middle layer of the Sun’s atmosphere
6- Corona : Sun’s outermost layer which has a very low density
7- Flares & Prominences : flares are eruptions of hot gas from the Sun’s surface and
prominences are huge loops of glowing gas that extend out into the Corona.
a. Which layers are in the Sun’s interior? core, radiative zone and convection
zone
b. Which layers are in the Sun’s atmosphere? Photosphere, Chromosphere
and Corona
c. Why is the photosphere often called the Sun’s surface? It’s the visible layer of
the Sun
d. Why is the corona NOT normally visible? The corona is dimmer and less
dense than the photosphere.
3. What do sunspots do as the Sun rotates? Sunspots move across the Sun’s surface
as it rotates.
4. What are eruptions of hot gas near sunspots? The eruptions are solar flares and
prominences.
5. What protects the Earth from solar wind? Our magnetic field
6. What happens when particles from the solar wind enter the upper atmosphere? It
creates the Northern Lights
Section 2: Stars change over their life cycles.
1.
Characteristics of Stars: Fill in the rest of the sentence
a. All stars are balls of
glowing_________________gas___________________________________.
b. ____Distance__________ and______amount of light____________
determine how bright a star appears from Earth.
c. Stars range in size from______supergiants______________down to
_________________white dwarfs_________.
d. The ________color______ of a star is determined by its
____________temperature______________________.
2. How do astronomers use parallax to measure distance to stars? They plot a star’s
position from opposite sides of the Earth.
3. What color are the coolest stars? What color are the hottest stars?The coolest stars
are red and hottest stars are blue-white.
4. How do stars form inside a nebula?Gravity pulls the dust & gas together which
contracts forming a hot, dense sphere that becomes a star.
5. Draw simple diagrams to show the life cycles of lower-mass stars and higher-mass stars.
Use pg 127 of the Space Science book or see Google Doc for the answer key
6. Use a double-bubble map to compare and contrast neutron stars and black holes.
See Google Docs for the map
7. Why do astronomers need to use special methods to detect star systems?
The stars are often too close to be seen individually.
8. Why are star systems important to astronomers?
The systems allow astronomers to measure the mass of a star.
Section 3 :Galaxies have different sizes and shapes
1. The Milky Way is shaped like a disk with a __________bulge_______________ in the
center.
2. You see the galaxy as a band across the sky because Earth is inside the disk and it is
hidden by dust, stars and gas.
3. The Milky Way contains several hundred billion stars
4. Describe the movement of objects in the Milky Way.
The stars orbit the galaxy’s center at high speeds, but the galaxy is so large that the
Sun takes 250 million years to complete an orbit.
5. What is a spiral galaxy?
They have arms of gas, stars and dust that curve away from the center of the galaxy
in a spiral pattern.
6. Below each picture, write the kind of galaxy shown.
Elliptical Galaxy
Spiral Galaxy
Irregular Galaxy
a. Circle the galaxy above that contains the youngest, bright stars. - Spiral Galaxy
b. Draw a square around the type of galaxy that is smaller than other types and
contains fewer stars. Irregular Galaxy
7. What is a quasar? (seeming like a star)
The very bright center of some distant galaxies.