Life Cycle of a Star - Worksheet
A STAR IS BORN – STAGES COMMON TO ALL STARS
All stars start as a nebula. A nebula is a large cloud of gas and dust. Gravity can pull
some of the gas and dust in a nebula together. The contracting cloud is then called a
protostar. A protostar is the earliest stage of a star’s life. A star is born when the gas
and dust from a nebula become so hot that nuclear fusion starts. Once a star has
“turned on” it is known as a main sequence star. When a main sequence star begins to
run out of hydrogen fuel, the star becomes a red giant or a red super giant.
THE DEATH OF A LOW OR MEDIUM MASS STAR
After a low or medium mass or star has become a red giant the outer parts grow bigger
and drift into space, forming a cloud of gas called a planetary nebula. The blue-white
hot core of the star that is left behind cools and becomes a white dwarf. The white dwarf
eventually runs out of fuel and dies as a black dwarf.
THE DEATH OF A HIGH MASS STAR
A dying red super giant star can suddenly explode. The explosion is called a supernova.
After the star explodes, some of the materials from the star are left behind. This material
may form a neutron star. Neutron stars are the remains of high-mass stars. The most
massive stars become black holes when they die. After a large mass star explodes, a large
amount of mass may remain. The gravity of the mass is so strong that gas is pulled
inward, pulling more gas into a smaller and smaller space. Eventually, the gravity
becomes so strong that nothing can escape, not even light.
Question Sheet
Just like living things and humans, stars have a life cycle, which consists of birth, growth,
development, middle age, old age, and death. The life cycle of a star spans over billions
of years.
Section One - Sequencing
The stages below are not in the right order. Number the stages in the correct order.
_____ The star begins to run out of fuel and expands into a red giant or red super
giant.
_____ Stars start out as diffused clouds of gas and dust drifting through space. A single
one of these clouds is called a nebula
_____ What happens next depends on the mass of the star.
_____ Heat and pressure build in the core of the protostar until nuclear fusion takes place.
_____ The force of gravity pulls a nebula together forming clumps called protostars.
_____ Hydrogen atoms are fused together generating an enormous amount of energy
igniting the star causing it to shine.
Section Two - Vocabulary
Match the word on the left with the definition on the right.
____ black dwarf e. star left at the core of a planetary nebula
____ white dwarf g. a red super giant star explodes
____ nebula c. what a medium-mass star becomes at the end of its life
____ protostar b. a large cloud of gas or dust in space
____ supernova a. exerts such a strong gravitational pull that no light escapes
____ neutron star d. the earliest stage of a star ’s life
____ black hole f. the remains of a high mass star
Section Three – Understanding Main Ideas - Low Mass Star
____ 1. Red giant
____ 2. Where fusion begins
____ 3. Nebula
____ 4. Black hole
____ 5. The stage the sun is in
____ 6. White dwarf
____ 7. Planetary Nebula
Section Four – Understanding Main Ideas - High Mass Star
____ 1. Black Hole
____ 2. Supernova
____ 3. Protostar
____ 4. Gravity causes this to condense into a protostar
____ 5. Main sequence star
____ 6. When a star begins to run out of fuel and grows larger
____ 7. Neutron star
Section Five – Graphic Organizer – Putting it all Together
Section Six – Venn Diagram - Compare and Contrast
