Star

stars begin lite as a

Formatlonand Lifetimes 119
cloud of
such as the shock wave from gas and dust. The birth
of star begina
a
ance,
inward.
a
supernova,
n o v a , trlggers the cloud wi dust
of gas and t to Collapse
to collapo
triggere
1)Imagine that you are
observing the reglon of space where a
beginning to
collapse Inward to cloua o n
form a star (the obloct that initlally
is called a
protostar). Will the atoms In the torrns this process
another, move closer to one another, collapsing loud move ay"
or stay at the same locations
2) What physical interaction, or force, causes
would in Question 1? tha atoms to behave as you describea they
ono AOP
3) Would you expect the temperature at the center of the protostar to increase or ease
with time? Explain your O
reasoning. eA AST MeMP u
eeise bí cYhe octhat AFAer an exp G
wil wil e Cooless
The inward collapse of material causes the center of the protostar to become very hot and
dense. Once the central temperature and density reach critical levels, nuclear fusion begins.
During the fusion reaction, hydrogen atoms are combined together to form helium atoms
the
When this happéns, photons of light are emitted. Once the outward pressure created by
inward gravitational collapse of material,
energy given off during nuclear fusion balances the
a state of hydrostatic equlibrium is reached,
and the star no longer collapses. When this
star.
happens, the protostar becomes a main sequence

answering Questions 4 through 7.

the table below when
Consider the information shown in

Approximate Main Sequence Lifetime of

Mass of the Star the Star
multiples of Sun masses,
Msun
(in 50 billion years
0.5 Msun
10 billion years
1.0 Msun 2 billion years
2.0 Msun 110 million years
6.0 MauSuN
360 thousand years
60 Msun
low-mass
stars?
or
high-mass
live longer,
4) Which
U S Jtors
120
Star Formation and Lifetimes
a
5) Based on
your answer to Question of nuclear fusion in a
think that the rate
nigh-mass star wer Question 4, do you
vou in

less than,
nn
equal to the rate
of nuclear fusion
OW-mass star? e r than, or

SMan ktuus hure MOR V

oVnich of the following statements best describes how the lifetimes compare bewe
with six times the mass
arA (a star with a mass equal to the Sun) and Star B (a star It may be nelprui to
neSun)? Circle the best possible response given below. (Note:
examine the information given in the table on the previous page)

a) Star A will live less than 1/6th as long as Star B.

b) Star A will live 1/6th as long as Star B

Star A will have the same lifetime as Star B.

d Star A will live six times longer than Star B.
e) Star A will live more than six times longer than Star B.

Explain your reasoning for the choice you made.

becoue et is ess MSin Stor A

7) The Sun has lifetime of approximately 10 billion years. If you could determine the rate
a
of nuclear fusion for a star with twice the mass of the Sun, which of the following would
best describe how its fusion rate would compare to the Sun? Circle the best possible
response to complete the sentence given below. (Note: It may be helpful to examine the
information given in the table on the previous page.)

A star with twice the mass of the Sun would have a rate of nuclear fusion that is
the rate of fusion in the Sun.

a) less than

a little more than

b)
c) twice

than twice
d) more

Explain your reasoning

for the choice you made

2 0 1 3 Pearson Education,
Inc. LECTURE-TUTORIALS FOR INTRODUCTORY
ASTRONOMY
THIRD EDITION