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WorksheetsStar Formation
Total questions: 20
Worksheet time: 16mins
Vast areas filled with very cold gas & dust between stars is known as
one big empty area in space.
"cosmic fluff."
the interstellar medium.
the interstellar void.
How did the gas & dust between the stars & in all corners of the Universe get there?
the result of planetary collisions & explosions
by the gravitational attraction of supermassive black holes
the Big Bang created it all
the result of leftover remnants of previous stars
Some examples of the interstellar medium (or "nebula") clouds include
areas in the Small & Large Magellanic clouds (SMC & LMC).
the Orion nebula.
the Horcrux nebula.
Sagittarius "A" (SGR A*).
The interstellar medium & nebula clouds are important because
the Big Bang would've never occurred without them.
black holes would never exist if the clouds were not there.
they make up the space between the stars.
they are regions for new star formation.
What causes the interstellar clouds to collapse to form proto-stars & stars?
centripetal forces that act over large areas between stars
a contraction & clumping of gas/dust due to gravity
a contraction & clumping of gas/dust due to frictional force
a "trigger" mechanism such as two colliding stars
Eventually a "snowball effect" occurs in a contracting gas/dust cloud which causes
material to slowly build up into one or more proto-stars.
a cascading avalanche of star material spreading everywhere.
massive clumps of ice/snow to form.
a net effect of negatively charged explosive plasma/ions.
Proto-stars are also known as ____ for the constellation in which the first one was observed.
neutron stars
very hot fusion orbs
T Tauri stars
A Tari stars.
T Tauri stars give off very little heat and are mostly ____ except for in the infrared.
blue in color
rare to find
invisible
yellow/white in color
When enough mass is accreted by a proto-star then ____ occurs at the core.
atomic reactions
nuclear fusion
massive pressure
nuclear fission
What happens when a proto-star begins the hydrogen/fusion energy process in its core?
mayhem & destruction ensues
the proto-star becomes (officially) a real star
no one really knows since it hasn't been observed (yet)
the proto-star may explode due to the outward pressure
Fusion at the core of a new star provides an outward force that does not balance gravity.
True
False
The Small & Large Magellanic Clouds are nearby (dwarf) galaxies which contain many new stars.
True
False
The interstellar medium is an area that is packed with dense clouds of star-forming material.
True
False
Average-size stars like our Sun take about ___ years to form from a nebula cloud.
50
50 million
50 billion
5 million
The six stages of pre-main sequence star formation is described by
the fusion of hydrogen into helium in the core.
static equilibrium between gravity & the fusion process.
astronomers who observe such phenomena.
the Hayashi track.
It is now thought that most (if not all) stars formed
very very slowly.
mostly within the interstellar medium.
in clusters within nebula clouds.
in binary systems.
The Sun and possibly the Alpha Centauri system may have formed
as protostars in different galaxies.
together in the same original star cluster.
as an original quadruple star system before separating.
billions of years apart but in the same cluster.
Why do low-mass stars take much longer to reach the main sequence?
because they do not form in star clusters
with stars "lower" is equivalent to "slower"
they do not have enough mass to ever produce core fusion
because they have less initial material to work with
Stars that never accumulated enough mass for core nuclear fusion to fully occur are
classified as white dwarfs.
known as Hayashi tracked protostars.
called "failed Jupiters."
known as brown dwarfs.
What is the minimum mass for a star to attain & sustain core fusion?
about 1/10 the mass of the Sun.
about the mass of Jupiter.
a little more than 1/2 the mass of the Sun.
a bit less than the mass of all eight planets combined.
