Download The Sun - Colina Middle School

The Sun
BY MARCELLA GIUFFRIDA & GRACE HILTON
Key Terms
• Nuclear fusion - a nuclear reaction where nuclei of low
atomic numbers fuse to form a heavier nucleus with the
release of energy.
• Core - the central or most important part of something
• Helium - an inert gas that is the lightest member of the
noble gas series.
• Hydrogen - a colorless, odorless, highly flammable gas
Key Terms
• Energy - power taken from physical or chemical
resources, especially to provide light and heat or to work
machines.
• Radiative zone – a region of very tightly packed gas
where energy is transferred mainly in the form of
electromagnetic radiation.
• Convection zone – the outermost layer of the sun’s
interior.
Nuclear Fusion
 The sun produces energy through nuclear fusion.
 During nuclear fusion, two atomic nuclei combine, forming
a larger and more massive nucleus and releasing energy.
 It can only occur under high pressure and high
temperature.
 The mass of helium produced is slightly less than the mass
of hydrogen put into it. The missing mass is changed into
energy.
The Core
 The conditions at the core of the sun are unbearably




extreme.
The temperature is approximately 15.6 million Kelvin, and
the pressure is 250 billion atmospheres.
The sun’s core is the source of all the sun’s energy.
The temperature and pressure are so high that nuclear
fusion can take place.
The sun’s core has a diameter of 400,000 km, more than
30 times the earth’s diameter.
Structure of the Sun
 The photosphere is the visible surface of the sun,
this sphere gives off the visible light that we see.
 The chromosphere is the layer that gives the sun its
color.
 The corona is essentially the “halo” around the sun,
it extends into space for millions of kilometers.
Structure of the Sun
 Eventually the corona will thin out into streams of
electrically charged particles called Solar wind.
 Sunspots are areas of gas on the surface of the sun,
these spots are cooler areas of gas, they don’t give
off as much light as the rest of the surface of the
sun. That is why they show up darker in pictures.
The Size and Mass of the Sun
 The sun is 1,000 times heavier than the largest planet,
Jupiter.
 It is 1,299,400 times bigger than Earth, that means that
about 1,300,000 Earths can fit in the Sun.
 The sun is about 10 times bigger than Jupiter.
The Sun’s Gravitational Effects
 Gravity and outward pressure are balanced throughout the
sun.
 Those forces combine to produce the sun’s spherical shape.
 The sun’s gravitational pull keeps the planet in line on their
orbital path.
 The planets orbit the sun because the lighter object orbits
around the heavier object.
Planet
Diagram of the Structure of the Sun
Radiative Zone
 The energy that is produced in the sun’s core
moves out through the middle layer of the sun, the
radiative zone.
 The radiative zone is a region of very tightly packed
gas, energy is transferred mainly in the form of
electromagnetic radiation.
 The radiative zone is very dense so energy can take
more than 100,000 years to move through it .
The Sun’s Interior – Convection Zone
 The convection zone is the outermost layer of the
sun’s interior.
 Hot gases rise from the bottom of the (convection
zone) and cool as they reach the top.
 Cool gases drop, forming rings of gas that
transport energy to the sun’s surface.
StoryBots Video
Sun Quiz
1.
 a)
How does the sun produce energy?
through the light beams
 b) through nuclear fusion
 c) through hydrogen
 d) through the moon
Sun Quiz
2. Nuclear fusion can only occur under:
 a)
low pressure and high temperature
 b) high pressure and low temperature
 c) high pressure and high temperature
 d) low pressure and low temperature
Sun Quiz
3. What gives the sun its color?
 a)
the hue layer
 b) the chromosphere
 c) the corona
 d) sun spots
Sun Quiz
4. The _______ zone is a region of very tightly packed
gas.
5. The _______ zone is the outermost layer of the
sun’s interior.
6. The _______ is the “halo” around the sun.
Sun Quiz
7. The conditions at the core are
 a) very cool
 b) room temperature
 c) extremely unbearable
 d) under 100 degrees Fahrenheit
Sun Quiz
8. True/False: the conditions in the sun’s core are only
slightly warmer than Earth’s temperature.
9. True/False: the sun’s core is the source of all the
sun’s energy.
10. True/False: the sun produces helium through
nuclear fusion.