Life Cycle of Stars

Quiz Review
11.5.15

 What is a large cloud of gas and dust

that is known as the birthplace of
stars?

Nebula

 What is the phase of a star before

nuclear fusion has started?

Protostar

 What are the two main gasses that

make up our sun and most other
stars as well?

Hydrogen and Helium

 What is the star phase where nuclear

fusion has begun?

Main sequence

 What two forces must be balanced

for a star to achieve hydrostatic
equilibrium?

Gravity and pressure from Fusion

 What element is being fused in the

core of our sun right now?

Hydrogen fused into helium

 How much longer is our sun expected

to remain on the main sequence?

5 billion years

 What would you expect the life span

of a star 3 times the size of our sun
to be?
A. The same as our sun
B. Much longer than our sun
C. Much shorter than our sun

 Why does a star initially contract

when it uses up all its hydrogen fuel
in the core?

Gravity wins

 What phase of life does a small star

enter upon using up all its hydrogen
fuel in the core?

Red Giant

 What phase of life does a large star

enter upon using up of its hydrogen
fuel in the core?

Red Supergiant

 What phase of life is the cooling off

phase of the leftover core after the
red giant phase of a small star?

White Dwarf

 What is the final phase of the life

cycle of a small star?

Black Dwarf

 Why do scientists think that we have

not seen any black dwarfs in the
universe yet?

Universe isnt old enough

 What is the name of the explosion

that occurs when large stars shed
their outer layers after the red super
giant phase?

Supernova

 The largest stars in the universe will

end their lives as what?

Black Holes

 A star that rotates extremely rapidly

and emits a regular pulse of energy
is called what?

Pulsar (type of neutron star)

 What is a binary star system?

Two stars orbiting each other

 What is the most common type of

galaxy?

Elliptical

 What type of galaxy is the Milky

Way?

Spiral

 What is called when wavelength

changes when an object is moving
towards or away from you?

Doppler Effect

 What planet has gullies and

streamlike channels that point to the
possibility of liquid water?

Mars

 What unit is used the measure the

distances in the solar system?

Astronomical Units

 What unit is usually used to measure

the distance between stars?

Light years

 According to the Ptolemeic system of

the universe, what was at the
center?

Earth

 What force is responsible for the

formation of stars?

Gravity