St.

Paul University Philippines

Tuguegarao City, Cagayan 3500

BASIC EDUCATION UNIT

PAASCU LEVEL III ACCREDITED
ISO CERTIFIED

LEARNING PLAN 6: STELLAR EVOLUTION AND LIFE CYCLE

INTRODUCTION:

Stars twinkle in the sky because the earth’s atmosphere is changing; while planets do not
twinkle because they are closer to us and appear larger in the sky. Planets are always on ecliptic
plane, while the stars will be anywhere in the sky. Moreover, planets move slowly against the
background constellations as a result of their various orbital velocities around the sun, while stars
may appear static in the sky. In reality, stars do move but because they are so incredible far away
from us, no human has really observed its motion during their lifetime.

Figure 6.1 The stars

OBJECTIVES:

This learning plan is designed for you to:

1. Discuss how stars are different from planets;

2. Discuss the Hertzsprung- Russel diagram;
3. Identify some stars using their characteristics;
4. Explain the stellar evolution and life cycles of stars
LESSON 1 Characteristics of Stars

Characteristics Descriptions

Size The radius of the sun is usually the basis for

other stars. The size affects the brightness of
the star because luminosity is directly
proportional to the square of the star’s radius.

Mass Mass or stellar mass is used to describe the

mass of a star. Stellar mass is usually
measured in terms of the sun’s mass. The
mass affects the star’s temperature.

Color The color of the star is related to its

temperature. Star colors range from red,
yellow, to blue. The hottest stars are bluish in
color, and the coolest stars are reddish in
color.

Brightness This can be expressed in terms of luminosity

and magnitude. Brightness depends also on
the composition and its distance.

Surface Temperature Stellar temperatures are in the range of 2500

to 50 000 K. The temperature of a star helps
determine its color.

The Hertzsprung- Russell diagram also known as the H-R diagram , plots the
temperature, luminosity, color of stars , absolute magnitudes, or luminosities, as shown below. The
stars in the diagram are ranked from top to bottom by decreasing brightness or luminosity and
from left to right by decreasing surface temperature. The super giants occupy the topmost part, the
main sequence group extends across the diagram a diagonal line from the upper left (hot and bright)
to the lower right (cool and dim), and the white dwarfs (dim and small), occupy the lower left.
 Figure 6.2 The Herztsprung-Russell Diagram

Formative Assessment 1: CHECKPOINT

1. What is a star?
2. What is the use of the HR-diagram in the understanding of stars?
3. Enumerate and describe at least three characteristics of stars

LESSON 2 Stellar Evolution and Life Cycles

A star is a luminous ball of gases (mostly made up of hydrogen and helium) that is held
together by its own gravity.

Do you know that stars are “born and die” just like living thing? The life cycle of star starts
from a stellar nebula (plural: nebulae). When gravity starts to pull the hydrogen in the nebula, it
will begin to spin. As it spins faster, it will then heat up and form a protostar. As the temperature
increases , it will reach 15 000 000 degrees Celsius , and the nuclear fusion will occur in the cloud’s
core. The cloud will start to glow, contract a little, and then become, stable, that is, a main
sequence star.

Through nuclear fusion, the hydrogen in the core of the main sequence star is then
converted to helium. When Hydrogen (in the core) runs out and the star can no longer generate
heat, the core will become unstable and will start to contact. The outer shell will then start to
expand, and as it expands, it cools. The star is now a red giant. All stars usually evolve to the red
giant phase in the same way, and the mass usually determines the life cycle a particular star will
take. This also means that the life cycle of a star is determined by its mass: the larger its mass, the
shorter its life cycle.
 Figure 6.3 Life cycles of a low-mass and high-mass stars

Figure 6.3 shows the life cycles of low-mass and high-mass stars. For low-mass stars, when
carbon is formed through the diffusion of helium, the core collapses again. When the core starts to
collapse, the outer layers will be expelled and a planetary nebula will be formed from it. The core
will remain as a white dwarf, which then cools to become a black dwarf. Our sun is an example
of a low-mass star.

Just like low-mass stars, high-mass stars are also born from nebulae, which then evolve
into a main sequence. Life cycles of high mass stars usually differ after the red giant phase. A
massive star usually undergoes supernova explosion. A neutron star is usually born if the
remnants of this explosion is 1.4 to 3 times as massive as our sun. If the core of a massive star is
roughly three times the mass of our sun, its gravity overcomes the nuclear forces, which leads to
gravity swallowing its core forming a black hole. A black hole attracts any matter that comes close
to it.

Atomic or nuclear reactions at the middle (or center) of stars gives enough energy to
make them shine or give off energy for a long time. The lifetime of a star depends, especially on
its size. Large, huge stars blaze their fuel much faster than little stars, so these large stars may
just last for several hundred thousand years. Smaller stars, on the other hand, will keep going for
a few billion years, because they blaze their fuel gradually.

In any case, they hydrogen fuel that powers the stars will start to run out, and they will
enter the last period of their lifetime. After some time, they will extend, cool down, and change
color to become red giants. The path they take afterward will rely on their mass.

Smaller stars, like our Sun, will experience a generally “tranquil and peaceful death.”
They will pass through a planetary nebula stage to wind up as a white dwarf. Huge stars, on the
other hand, will encounter a vigorous and violent end, wherein their remaining parts will be
scattered around the universe in a colossal explosion called a supernova. Once the dust clears,
the only thing remaining will be a set of quickly spinning neutron stars, or possibly even a dark
hole.

There are seven main types of stars. Type O stars are the hottest and the brightest stars,
whereas type M stars are the coolest and dimmest types of stars.

Formative Assessment 2: Life Cycle of Star

Table 6.1 Spectral Classification

Type of Star Temperature Color

O Over 25 000 K Blue

B 11 000 to 25 000 K Blue

A 7 500 to 11 000 K Blue

F 6 000 to 7 500 K Blue to White

G 5 000 to 6 000 K White to Yellow

K 3 500 to 5 000 K Orange to Red

M Below 3 500 K Red

Our Sun is presently halfway through its middle age. It will keep on giving us light and
warmth for another five billion years. Stars all appear to be comprised of similar components that
are found on Earth, despite the fact that they can be of diverse sizes, temperatures, and ages.

Our Sun is a normal- sized star, perhaps it is even smaller than most stars. Stars that have
the same size as the Sun are known as dwarf stars. The biggest stars can be 10 times bigger than
Jupiter, the largest planet in our Solar system

Formative Assesment 3 : Venn Diagram Life Cycle of Low Mass and High Mass Stars

Low-medium mass High-medium mass

Both
SCI- LINK

Visit http://www.schoolobservatory.org.uk./astro/stars/lifecycle to learn more about the

stages in the life cycle of a star. You can click each part of the image to know more about each
stage.

TECH-WISE

Visit the DIWA Learning Town website at http://bit.ly/diwa-SIM9 to know more about
supernovas.

SUMMARY

 A Star is a hot, luminous celestial body. It produces its own light and other
electromagnetic radiation through nuclear reactions. The sun is a yellow star. The
sun is apparently the brightest star because it is the nearest star on Earth.
 Star differ in apparent size and the brightness because of their distance from the
earth. Stellar distance is expressed in light-year. A light year is the distance light
can travel in one year at the speed of about 300,000 km/sec, which is equal to
9.46 trillion kilometers.
 Star colors are related to their surface temperatures. White and blue stars are very
hot; while yellow and orange are relatively cold. Red stars are the coldest. Stars
seem to twinkle when seen from the earth because of the movement of the
earth’s atmosphere. It blocks and distorts the electromagnetic radiations emitted
by the stars. However, when seen from outer space, stars are seen as standing
points of light.
 Based on size, stars may be classified as giants, supergiants, and dwarfs. What a
star would be as its ages depends primarily on the amount of matter it contains.
Some stars live millions of years, some for billion years, and others for trillions
of years. Larger stars have shorter life span.
VALUES INTEGRATION:

“A certain darkness is needed to see the stars”

During this trying time, during this Pandemic WHO or WHAT are the things that you
consider as your stars?

CHRIST-CENTEREDNESS (I am conscious, I am mindful, self-directed learner and

role model, consciously expressing my Christ-Centeredness)
CHARISM (I am creative, I am resourceful explorer and problem-solver, expressing my
God-given charism)
COMMUNITY (I am collaborative, I am credible, responsible communicator and team
player, building collaborative Communities)

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FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT:

Now, it is your turn to try the formative activities

I have provided in the discussion! These
formative assessments aim to help you practice
the learnings you have acquired from the
learning plan, thus prepares you for the
summative assessment.
Let’s see how far you’ve gone with the activities.

Direction: Place a checkmark (√) in the answer box if you’re done with it.

CHECKPOINT!

STAR LIFE CYCLE

VENN DIAGRAM OF LOW-MASS AND HIGH MASS STARS
ANSWER KEY FOR FORMATIVE ASSESSMENTS

Formative Assessment 1: CHECKPOINT

1. What is a star?
A star is a sphere of gas held together by its own gravity. The closest star to Earth is
our very own Sun, so we have an example nearby that astronomers can study in detail.
2. What is the use of the HR-diagram in the understanding of stars?
Astronomers generally use the HR diagram to either summarise the evolution of stars,
or to investigate the properties of a collection of stars
3. Enumerate and describe at least three characteristics of stars
The five characteristics used to classify stars are color, temperature, size, composition,
and brightness.

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT 2 : STAR LIFE CYCLE

FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT 3: Venn Diagram of Low-Medium Mass & High-Mass Stars

REFERENCES

Campo,P.C.,Chavez,M.R.,Catalan,M.,Catris,L.,Ferida,M.B.,Fontanilla,I.K.,Gutierrez,J.M.,Jusay
an,S.R.,Mantala,M.B.,Maramag,C.M.,Morales,M.P.,Obille,
E.C.,Paningbatan,D.,Pasamonte,G.,Sebastian,D.,Tan,R.M.,&Treyes,R.S.(2013).Science
Learner’s Module. Department of Education

Madriaga,E.A.,Custodio,M.V.,Aquino,M.D.&Biong,J.A.(2020).Science Links 9.Rex Book Store

Moros, E.M.,Avilla, R.A.,

Gregorio,J.B.,Pineda,M.F.,Rivera,T.A.,Balce,M.E.,&David,O.M.,(2018).Practical
Science 9. Diwa Learning Systems Incorporated

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE

COMPLETED LEARNING PLAN 6!