Life Cycle of Stars

black hole

A star has a mass equal to that of the Sun. All these are a phase in the life of that star except________. protostar red giant black hole white dwarf

color and brightness

A star's ________ are determined by a star's mass

Stars are born in nebula, a cloud of dust and gas with a gravitational source in the center. The gravity starts to bring all the gas and dust particles together making the object get bigger and bigger. Once the object is large enough, nuclear fusion fuses hydrogen atoms together which releases light and heat and a star is born. Depending on the other elements that make up the star depicts how hot the star will burn, what color the star is and how it will die. When stars die, if they are made of lighter elements, they will die out as a white dwarf and then as a black dwarf, however if the elements are more massive, then the star will explode. Our sun is made of light elements such as hydrogen and helium so when it dies it will die as a white dwarf.

Describe the life cycle of a star from birth to death by describing the two ways stars can die. Then, assign our sun into one of these patterns. Explain why our sun will die in that particular way.

explode

High-mass stars _________ before collapsing into neutron stars or black holes.

core

If the star is extremely massive, the ______ will collapse into an object that is so dense that the enormous pull of gravity will not even allow light to escape. This is known as a black hole.

main phase

In the ________ of a star, hydrogen atoms fuse into helium.

gas and dust

Particles of _______collect in a diffuse region called a nebula.

a nebula

Stars form from a large cloud of gas and dust known as:

gravity

Stars form in outer space when _________ causes a large cloud of gas and dust (called a nebula) to collapse and heat up, eventually triggering thermonuclear fusion.

heat and light

Stars give off ___________as a form of energy, which comes from nuclear fusion reactions deep within them.

mass

Stars with more ________ are hotter and use their energy more quickly. They have shorter lifespans than stars with less mass. Our sun is a medium-sized star compared to other stars.

white dwarf

The Sun will eventually become a _______.

black holes

The most massive stars in the universe probably will end up as:

thermonuclear fusion

The process by which energy is produced in stars is:

helium

The sun fuses hydrogen atoms into ______ atoms, and the result is a star shining brightly in the night sky.

life cycle

The true birth of a star occurs with nuclear fusion. Nuclear fusion occurs when temperatures and pressures are so high that hydrogen nuclei begin to join or fuse together and form helium. When nuclear fusion begins, the nebular cloud becomes a protostar, releasing an enormous amount of energy. Nuclear fusion is the process that keeps a star burning throughout its ________.

It is fused into helium.

What happens to hydrogen in stars?

The hydrogen is fused into helium.

What happens to hydrogen in stars?

Very large stars may become black holes.

What happens to very large stars?

The larger the star, the more quickly it will burn out. Mass also determines how the final stages of a stars life will play out because stars with small mass become white dwarves, while very large stars may become black holes.

What role does mass play in the life of stars?

red giant

When the hydrogen in the core of the star runs out, the star begins to expand and cool, and it shines red. This is called the ________ phase.

protostar

Which of these is the early stage of a star's life cycle? protostar neutron star main sequence star white dwarf

dwarfs

White _______ emit white hot light

They are extremely dense; a teaspoonful of material from neutron star matter brought back to earth would weigh 100 million tons.

Why are neutron stars so heavy?

High-mass

_________ stars burn hotter and brighter, but they also burn fuel through nuclear fusion at a faster rate, so they tend to burn out more quickly than low-mass stars do.

Low- to average-mass stars

_________, like the sun, eventually expand outward and collapse into white dwarfs.