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Published byRosanna Crawford Modified over 8 years ago
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Pg. 12
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Mass governs a star’s properties Energy is generated by nuclear fusion Stars that aren’t on main sequence of H-R either have fusion from other elements or don’t undergo fusion at all
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Changes as it ages because fusion is continually making new elements Eventually nuclear fuel runs out All form from a nebula As the cloud contracts, particle rotate into a disk with a protostar in the middle. Eventually temp inside protostar is hot enough to start fusion Hydrogen then begins converting to helium
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Takes about 10 billion years for a star the size of the Sun to convert all the hydrogen into helium After all H is converted, the core is He surrounded by H gas The gas expands and cools producing a red giant (luminosity is increasing while temp is decreasing) Gases escape and eventually helium is converted to carbon The star shrinks back to normal size and now has a carbon core
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Carbon never becomes hot enough to react Outer layers expand again Gas that leaves is called planetary nebula The carbon core is left (Earth-size) This creates a white dwarf
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Stable because electrons inside the star resist being forced together Doesn’t need heat to be maintained Star that has less mass than the sun has a similar life cycle except the core never gets hot enough to fuse to carbon so it is a white dwarf with a He core Smaller star has a longer lifetime because it doesn’t use up nuclear fuel as fast
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Starts higher on the main sequence and uses nuclear fuel very quickly Undergoes more reactions so has many more elements in the core Becomes a red giant several times (after each elemental stage) After it expands, becomes a supergiant Mass is eventually lost and it becomes a white dwarf
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Some stars don’t lose enough mass to become a white dwarf Once reactions have created iron, the core collapses on itself Protons and electrons merge to form neutrons Neutrons can’t be squeezed together so collapsing stops and a neutron star is formed Small but dense Gas falling to the surface rebounds and explodes outward Outer portion is blown off in an explosion called a supernova Creates elements heavier than iron
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Some stars are too massive to even form neutron stars The core of such a star collapses forever compacting matter into smaller and smaller volumes The small but dense object left is called a black hole because the gravity is so great that not even light can escape it
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On page 44, I want you to create a diagram that illustrates the life cycle of a star. Include a diagram for the following: The evolution of a star Life cycle of a star the size of our sun Life cycle of a star bigger than our sun When you are done, read the article on page 828 in the book, there will be a question from it on your next test
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