Download Astronomy Webquest Part 1: Life of Stars: Go to http://www.odec.ca

Astronomy Webquest
Part 1: Life of Stars:
Go to http://www.odec.ca/projects/2002/wongj/public_html/animations.html
1. Stars are born in _______________. When the clouds of interstellar dust and gas pull in gas and start to collapse, the increased
heat will cause the atoms to fuse to helium and form ___________________. Click on next.
2. The longest stage of the star, covering almost ______% is in the ________________________.
3. Near the end of the main sequence, when there is not enough hydrogen gas to support the star, the outer layers will
______________ in an attempt to ______________________________.
4. This forms a ____________. Click on next.
5. After the core collapses due to lack of hydrogen, the red giant will become a ___________________. Click on next
6. What type of stars can become a white dwarf and eventually a black dwarf? __________________________________________
The Death of Massive Stars
7. For a massive star, it starts by burning ______________ & ______________. Helium atoms fuse to form _____________ &
_____________. Carbon then fuses to ___________ & ______________, which then fuses to oxygen. The oxygen and magnesium
fuses into ____________ & ________________ which eventually fuses to form ____________. Once iron is formed, a(n)
_______________ will occur called a supernova.
8. After a supernova, a ___________________________ remains unless the star was dense enough. If the star was extremely dense,
a ____________________ forms.
Part 2: Analyzing Stars with the H-R Diagram:
Go to http://sunshine.chpc.utah.edu/labs/star_life/hr_app.html and answer these questions.
1. If stars were the same size, then ___________________ would determine __________________. Stars would be brighter if they
were____________________ and ______________________ if they were cooler than the Sun.
2. Write the hypothesis that best matches the statement above:____________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________. Now click on right arrow.
3. The Sun has a radius r. How much bigger is the radius of a star that is 10r? _________________________________
Compared to the sun, a star with a radius of 0.1 r is how big?____________________________________________
4. The Sun is a _____________ ______________ star. Which line would you expect most of the main sequence stars to be
found? _________________________________________________________. Click on right arrow.
5. Use the main sequence line to help fill in the next statement. The ____________________ stars on the main sequence line are
____________ than the Sun. Click on right arrow.
6. For stars of the same size, _______________________ stars will have a ___________________ surface temperature.
7. Question: If a main sequence star is much larger than the sun, it would have a _____________ surface temperature.
Click on right arrow.
8. If you look at the H-R diagram, where would the most massive stars be found?_______________________________
The smallest mass stars would be found in the ____________________________________. Click on right arrow.
9. What is the relationship between a star’s mass and its brightness (luminosity)?_______________________________
True or False: Different stars have different masses. Click on right arrow.
10. Stars with a mass of 10 suns (10 Msun ) would have similar ______________________ as other stars of similar mass.
Click on right arrow.
11. The most __________________ stars shine ___________ brightly compared to smaller stars. Click on right arrow.
Now comes the short answer portion. For each statement, write True or False and give reasons to support your answer based on
the information from Questions 1-10 above.
Click on display written answers and PRINT out your answers. Turn this paper in to your teacher.
Part 2/b : Analyzing Stars with the H-R Diagram:
Go to: http://aspire.cosmic-ray.org/labs/star_life/hr_interactive.html click the picture at the bottom.
1. Which of the stars is oldest in terms of its life cycle?
A Betelgeuse
b Alpha Centauri B
c The Sun
d Vega
e Sirius B
2. Which of the stars is(are) burning hydrogen as a fuel? (Circle all letters that answer this question)
A Betelgeuse
b Alpha Centauri B
c The Sun
d Vega
e Sirius B
3. Which of the stars is (are) burning helium as a fuel? (Circle all letters that answer this question)
A Betelgeuse
b Alpha Centauri B
c The Sun
d Vega
e Sirius B
4.
Which of the stars is closest to death?
A Betelgeuse
b Alpha Centauri B
c The Sun
d Vega
e Sirius B
5. Which of the stars has the highest luminosity?
A Betelgeuse
b Alpha Centauri B
c The Sun
d Vega
e Sirius B
6. What causes the star with the highest luminosity to be the brightest?
A. Surface Temperature
B. Size
7. Which of the stars has the lowest luminosity?
A Betelgeuse
b Alpha Centauri B
c The Sun
d Vega
e Sirius B
8. The star with the lowest luminosity is dimmest because of its _____________________________?
A. Surface Temperature
B. Size
9. Which of the stars has the highest surface temperature?
A Betelgeuse
b Alpha Centauri B
c The Sun
d Vega
e Sirius B
10. Main sequence stars will become red giants when they run out of what fuel?
A. Helium
B. Carbon
C. Hydrogen
11. Will the three main sequence stars ever become white dwarfs? A. Yes
B. No
12. Was Star E (Sirius B) ever a main sequence star? A. Yes
B. No
13. Predict what phase Vega will enter next? ________________
14. Predict what phase Betelgeuse will enter next? __________________
Part 3: Astronomical Units and Light Years
Go to http://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question19.html and answer these questions:
1. True or False: Light year is a measurement time. It is a year of light.
Evidence to support your answer:________________________________________________________________________________
2. Light travels ___________________________ km each second. 1 light year = ________________________________________km
3. Why do astronomers use light years rather than kilometers to measure the distance of stars?______________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. In our Solar system, we describe distances in terms of _____________________________________________________________.
5. 1 Astronomical Unit (AU ) is equal to the ____________________ between the ____________________ and the ______________.
6. 1 AU = ______________________________________ km
Part 4: The Sun
Look at the following website: http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2008/10/the_sun.html Write down 5 interesting things you
learned from looking at the 20+ images.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Go outside and look at Sun image with Ms Collins, draw the sun on the back and any sunspots you may see
Part 5: Our star and Galaxies:
Go to http://www.zoomschool.com/subjects/astronomy/
In the Table of contents on the top-left hand corner, click on STARS and answer these questions.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What is size is our Sun compared to other stars? _____________________________________________________
If the Sun was much more massive, what would change about its life span?________________________________
We know the composition of stars through a process called ______________ by analyzing stars’ ___________ light.
Huge collections of stars (over billions of stars) are called _______________________________.
The name of our galaxy is the _____________ ________________ and it has a _____________ shape.
Draw and label the 3 main types of galaxies:
Spiral Galaxy
Elliptical Galaxy
Irregular Galaxy
6.
7.
Stars are so bright and hot because in the ____________ of each star, ___________________ is combined to form
________________ through the process called ___________________ ____________________.
Scroll to the top of the page. Near the top inside the table, click on the link titled “DEATH” and describe the stages of:
- A star like our sun:_________________________________________________________________________________
- A star with a mass 1.5 – 3 times bigger than the Sun:______________________________________________________
- A star with a mass 3 times greater than our Sun:_________________________________________________________
Question: Will our sun ever go Supernova? Explain:_______________________________________________________
Part 5: Asteroids and Comets
Go to: http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/solar-system/asteroids-comets-article/
1.What are asteroids?____________________________________________________________________________
2. Where do you find most asteroids?____________________________
3. Name some notable asteroids_____________________________________________________________________
4. Name an interesting fact about asteroids.
5.What are comets?______________________________________________________________________________
6. What are the parts of a comet? Draw a comet and label it.
7. How big are comets?___________________________________________________________________________
8.Name 2 famous comets? _____________________________ _______________________________________
Part 6. The Solar System
Go to: http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/space/solar-system/ Explore this site.
1. List the inner planets.______________________________________________________________________
2. What do all the inner planets have in common.________________________________________________
3. List the outer planets.____________________________________________________________________
4. What do all the outer planets have in common._______________________________________________
Click on each of the different plants. Write down an interesting fact about each one.
Planet
Fact
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Click on Satellites and Space Junk
1.How many pieces of space junk are surrounding Earth?____________________________
2.Why is this a problem?_____________________________________________________________________
Part 7: Moon
Go to: http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/time/moon/facts.htm
1.How long does it take for the moon to orbit the Earth?_______________________
2.How old is the moon?________________________
3.Does the moon have an atmosphere?____________What happened to the Apollo 11 astronaut’s footprints?_______________
4.Does the moon produce its own light? _____________________ Where does the light come from?_____________________
5.How does the moon affect our high and low tides?___________________________________________________________
Go to Phases of the Moon: http://www.briancasey.org/artifacts/astro/moon.cgi
Names of phases: http://www.moonconnection.com/moon_phases.phtml
What is the current phase of the moon?___________________
What was the phase of the moon when you were born?
Draw it:
_____________________
Draw it:
Extra Credit: Go to: http://teachers.sduhsd.net/ccollins/astronomy_links.htm write down websites you visit and what you learned