Title: The Life and Death of a Star Subject: Grade 12 Earth & Space Science

Time: 70 minutes Strand: Astronomy (Science of the Universe)

Desired Results
Lesson Description
Today students will learn about stars, specifically, what they are made of, how they
affect our everyday lives, what are the stages in the life and death of a star, and how
they produce energy

Ontario Curricular Overall Expectations

B2: Investigate and analyse the properties of the universe, particularly the evolution and
properties of stars, in both qualitative and quantitative terms

Ontario Curricular Specific Expectations

B2.5: Investigate properties of stars, including their distance from Earth, surface temperature,
absolute magnitude and luminosity
B3.4: Explain how stars are classified on the basis of their surface temperature, luminosity, and
chemical composition
B3.6: Describe the sequence of events in the life cycle of a star, from its formation to the main
sequence phase and beyond, with specific reference to energy sources and forces involved

Lesson Goals
By the end of the lesson, students should understand what stars are, what are the stages in a stars
life, and why stars are important to our lives

Success Criteria
How well do students understand the effects of stars on our everyday lives
How well do students work together to navigate through the information given in the activity
Can students relate stars to the energy they produce that sustains life on our planet

Assessment
Assessment Mode: Oral
Assessment Strategy: Through a group activity
Assessment Tool: Group activity and discussion (see below)

Materials
Computer with internet access for video
Life of a Star Handouts
Lesson Format : What Teachers Do/Say

Real Content/Skills Activities Tim

Time e

11:0 Think/Pair/Share - Draw on small whiteboards how stars 5

0 How do stars affect our lives 3
affect our - Share with your table what you drew 3
lives? - As a class, share a few selected
drawings of those willing to share
11:1 Lecture - provide heat 10
1 How do stars - light for photosynthesis
affect our - gravity keeps us in orbit
everyday - history of how a few civilizations
lives? viewed the stars
- religious practices
- navigation
- time/calendars
11:2 Questions and - Discuss any confusion 7
1 Discussion - Pose a few questions to assess what
they learned from lecture
11:2 Stretch break Allow kids time to get up and move about 2
8
11:3 Life and Death - Handout 5
0 of a Star - Overview of activity
Activity - Split into groups of 3-4
(See Below)
11:3 Life and Death - Try Life and Death of a Star Activity 10
5 of a Star - Place images in their place in each
Activity stellar lifeline
- Assess what students know
11:4 Life and Death - Watch video 5
5 of a Star https://www.youtube.com/watch?
Activity v=PM9CQDlQI0A
11:5 Life and Death - Make final changes to order of images 2
0 of a Star
Activity
11:5 Life and Death - Take up activity and explain through 15
2 of a Star class discussion the correct order and
Activity how it takes place
- Discussion of each stage in stars life
12:0 Review/Preview - Fill out feedback handout 3
7 - Next class: The Planets
Extension Activities/Next Steps
Look further into what nuclear fusion actually is, and how it can generate enough energy to
overcome the crushing effects of gravity, at least temporarily.

Special Education Notes: Differentiated Instruction considerations/accommodations/

assessment
For those who may find the activity too challenging, I have prepared more videos based
on stars, their life, and their application to our everyday lives

Cross Curricular Links: Oral, reading, Writing, Media, Social Studies, Science, Math,
Visual Arts, Drama, Music, PE&H, (circle)
- Reading: students must read information from different stages of a stars life, and
scientifically analyse the information to separate the important points from the
extra information
- Oral: students will explain their choices, as well as talk amongst their group to
arrive at a joint decision

Lesson Reflection: Teacher and Lesson

Students will fill out questionnaire (see below) and hand it in before they leave the class.
Will also review the activity and have a short discussion at the start of the next class

The Life and Death of a Star

Learning Goals
To explain the life cycle of a star and how they produce energy
To scientifically analyse the information provided to determine
a timeline of events

Stars
Stars are giant balls of hot gases that produce and emit energy
(much In the form of visible light)
A star is a luminous sphere of plasma held together by its own
gravity
The nearest star to Earth is the Sun
The colour gives scientists an indication of the temperature of a
star. Blue = Hot and Red = Cool

Nuclear Fusion How Stars Make Energy

Occurs at 15 million C
Hydrogen atoms fuse to make helium atoms
The difference in mass between the products and reactants is
released as large amounts of energy

Your Task
Stars take many different shapes, and go through numerous
phases during their life
As a group, read through the information given regarding a
stage in the life of a star
Place each stage in its correct place in the diagram on the
table, keeping in mind that (for our purposes) stars have been
grouped into two classes, small and medium stars, and massive
and supergiant stars
Complete the two separate possible life paths for a star in the
correct chronological order
 Star Nebula

Nebulae are the clouds of material formed from the explosions

of population three and population two stars, and the left over
hydrogen and helium from the Big Bang

As a galaxy rotates like the Milky Way, large densities of gas

and dust build up in the spiral arms. When this happens, the
dust and gas condense into giant clouds like the Orion Nebula
seen in the picture above
As they start to condense further, in some spots in the nebula,
stars begin to form

Small or Medium Sized Star

This includes stars with an initial mass from about 40% of our
suns mass up to about two to four solar masses

Spend most of their life converting their hydrogen into helium

in the star's core by nuclear fusion at about 15 million K
When the hydrogen source in the core starts to diminish,
gravity starts compressing the core, causing a rise in
temperature to about 100 million K. Such higher core
temperatures then make the star's cooler outer layers expand
outwards
Red Giant Star

Red giant stars reach sizes of 100 million to 1 billion kilometers

in diameter (62 million to 621 million miles), 100 to 1,000 times
the size of the sun today

Because the energy is spread across a larger area, surface

temperatures are actually cooler, reaching only 2,200 to 3,200
degrees Celsius (4,000 to 5,800 degrees Fahrenheit), a little
over half as hot as the sun
This temperature change causes stars to shine in the redder
part of the spectrum, leading to the name red giant, though
they are often more orange in appearance.

Planetary Nebula

The word "nebula" is Latin for mist or cloud, and the term
"planetary nebula" is a misnomer (intentionally misnamed) that
originated in the 1780s with astronomer William Herschel
because when viewed through his telescope, these objects
resemble the rounded shapes of planets

When a star enters its helium-burning phase (fusion of helium

nuclei) a growing inner core of carbon and oxygen forms.
Above it is a thin helium-burning shell, surrounded in turn by a
hydrogen-burning shell. This new phase lasts only 20,000 years
or so, a short period compared to the entire lifetime of the star
The venting of atmosphere into interstellar space continues,
but when the outer surface of the exposed core reaches
temperatures exceeding about 30,000 K, there are enough
emitted ultraviolet photons to ionize the ejected atmosphere,
causing the gas to shine as a planetary nebula

White Dwarf Star

A white dwarf, also called a degenerate dwarf, is a stellar

remain composed mostly of electron-degenerate matter

A white dwarf is very dense: its mass is comparable to that of

the Sun, while its volume is comparable to that of Earth

Takes billions of years for white dwarfs to cool

 Black Dwarf Star

A black dwarf is a star that has cooled down to the temperature

of the cosmic microwave background, and so is invisible

Unlike red dwarfs, brown dwarfs, and white dwarfs, black

dwarfs are entirely hypothetical

Because they emit no heat or light, these objects would be a

challenge to detect if they existed today. However, the black
dwarf would still retain its mass, allowing scientists to detect
the effects produced by its gravitational field.

At less than 14 billion years old, the universe is still too young
to have created any black dwarfs!
 Massive/Supergiant Star

Massive stars are rare; astronomers must look very far from the
Earth to find one. All the listed stars are many thousands of
light years away and that alone makes measurements difficult

In addition to being far away, many stars of such extreme mass

are surrounded by clouds of outflowing gas
 The surrounding gas interferes with the already difficult-to-
obtain measurements of stellar temperatures and brightness,
and greatly complicates the issue of estimating internal
chemical compositions

Red Supergiant Star

Red supergiants (RSGs) are supergiant stars (luminosity class I) of

spectral type K or M. They are the largest stars in the universe
in terms of volume, although they are not the most massive

Stars with more than about 10 solar masses, after burning their
hydrogen become red supergiants during their helium-burning
phase
These stars have very cool surface temperatures (3500-4500 K),
and enormous radii

The radius of most red giants is between 200 and 800 times that
of the sun, which is still enough to reach from the sun to Earth
and beyond

Hypernova

A hypernova is a type of stellar explosion with an energy much

higher than that of standard supernovae and is one of the most
catastrophic events in the universe
Hypernovae explosions are known to cause at least some
gamma-ray bursts, although gamma-ray bursts are also likely
from completely different events, and not all hypernovae are
associated with gamma-ray bursts

Hypernovae may produce some 100 times more energy than

supernovae, but astronomers are not sure at this point exactly
what causes them

Supernova

It is one of the largest explosions that takes place in space

Supernovas are often seen in other galaxies. But supernovas
are difficult to see in our own Milky Way galaxy because dust
blocks our view

The extremely luminous burst of radiation expels much or all of

a star's material at a velocity of up to10% of the speed of light,
driving a shock wave into the surrounding interstellar medium

Supernovas can briefly outshine entire galaxies and radiate

more energy than our sun will in its entire lifetime

They're also the primary source of heavy elements in the

universe.

Neutron Star
A celestial object of very small radius (typically 18 miles/30 km)
and very high density, composed predominantly of closely
packed neutrons

Neutron stars are the smallest and densest stars known to

exist. They are so dense that a normal-sized matchbox
containing neutron-star material would have a mass of
approximately 13 million tonnes

Neutron stars that can be observed are very hot and typically
have a surface temperature around 6105 K

They have strong magnetic fields, between 108 and 1015 times
that of Earth's. The gravitational field at the neutron star's
surface is about 21011 times that of the Earth's

Black Hole
 A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much
that even light cannot get out. The gravity is so strong because
matter has been squeezed into a tiny space

Because no light can get out, people can't see black holes.
They are invisible

Escape would require a velocity greater than the speed of light.

No object can reach the speed of light

The distance from the black hole at which the escape velocity
is just equal to the speed of light is called the event horizon

Correct Order
Feedback/Comments
What did you learn from or enjoy about this lesson?

What did you find confusing or difficult to understand?

Was there any information that you did not receive that you were hoping to? Any
ideas to improve the lesson?

Any additional comments?