Characteristics

of Stars
Gracel Pamposa
 At the end of the lesson, learners
must be able to:
Learning • Infer the characteristics of
Outcomes stars based on the
characteristics of the Sun
• Identify stars based on their
color, size, and brightness
• Seek the importance of stars
• Conduct an activity to
distinguish the relation
between several
characteristics of stars
pass the stars for....

Stellar Riddles!
You will sing the nursery song “Twinkle,
Twinkle Little Star” while passing five small stars to
your seatmate and to another.
When the song ends, all students that got five
stars will stand up in front and will answer a riddle.
Each star has a number at the back that
corresponds to a riddle.
Riddle #1
Too much of me can be harmful to the eyes.
Sometimes I’m high and sometimes I’m low. I have
auto-mode on your phones. What am I?
Riddle #1
Too much of me can be harmful to the eyes.
Sometimes I’m high and sometimes I’m low. I have
auto-mode on your phones. What am I?
(Clue: 10 letters, starts with letter B, ends with
letter S)
Riddle #2
I’m on around you. I am on everything you can
see. Without me, the world will be plain, dull and
no shades. What am I?
Riddle #2
I’m on around you. I am on everything you can
see. Without me, the world will be plain, dull and
no shades. What am I?
(Clue: 5 letters, starts with letter C, ends with
letter R)
 You’re safe!
No stellar riddle for you.
Riddle #4
There are times I’m hot and there are times I’m
cool. You can call me Kelvin, Celsius and
Fahrenheit. What am I?
Riddle #4
There are times I’m hot and there are times I’m
cool. You can call me Kelvin, Celsius and
Fahrenheit. What am I?
(Clue: 11 letters, starts with letter T, ends with
letter E)
Riddle #5
I can be big. Sometimes I am medium and
sometimes I am small. What am I?
Riddle #5
I can be big. Sometimes I am medium and
sometimes I am small. What am I?
(Clue: 4 letters, starts with letter S, ends with
letter E)
 I. Objectives:

Activity 2: After performing the activity, the

students should be able to:
Characteristics • Identified the factors that
of Stars affect the brightness of stars
• Explained the relationship
between the color and
temperature of stars

II. Materials
• 2 small flashlights
• 1 big flashlight
• 1 candle
• 1 wire loop
• Matches
 Part A. Brightness
1. Place the two identical small flashlights
Activity 2: on a table or chair near the front of the
Characteristics room.
2. Darken the room and turn on the two
of Stars flashlights. Compare the brightness of the
two flashlights.
3. Place one flashlight on a table or chair
at the back of the room. Darken the room
and turn on the two flashlights.
4. Observe the two flashlights from the
front of the room. Compare the
brightness of the two flashlights.
Question: Which flashlight appears to
be brighter?
• Know the sizes of the objects in
the solar system
• Understand the distance of the
planets from the sun
• Create a scale model of the sun
and the planets in the system
• Know the sizes of the objects in
the solar system
• Understand the distance of the
planets from the sun
• Create a scale model of the sun
and the planets in the system
Activity 2: 5. Replace the small flashlight at the
back of the room with a bigger
Characteristics flashlight. Compare the apparent
of Stars brightness of the two flashlights.
Question: Which flashlight appears
to be brighter?

6. Adjust the position of the two

flashlights until they appear to have
the same brightness.
• Know the sizes of the objects in
the solar system
• Understand the distance of the
planets from the sun
• Create a scale model of the sun
and the planets in the system
• Know the sizes of the objects in
the solar system
• Understand the distance of the
planets from the sun
• Create a scale model of the sun
and the planets in the system
Activity 2: Guide Questions:
1. What happened to the brightness
Characteristics of the light when adjusted the
of Stars position of the flashlights?

2. Why do think the two flashlights

have different brightness?
 Part B. Color
1. Light the candle using the matches.
Activity 2: Be cautious in doing this procedure.
Characteristics 2. Observe the light coming from the
of Stars candle.
3. Get the wire loop and heat it on the
following parts of the candle’s flame:
a. Outermost portion
of the flame
b. Middle portion
c. Innermost portion
of the flame
4. Observe which part
of the flame will get
the wire loop aflame faster.
Activity 2: Guide Questions:
1. What color does the candle flame
Characteristics emit? Specify the portion of the
of Stars flame where you can see them.

2. Which part of the flame do you

think is the hottest? Why?

3. How do you think is the star’s color

related to its temperature?
Have you tried?
 Are they similar in
size?

Are the stars

equally bright?

Do stars have the same

color?
Did you know?
There are approximately
400 billion stars in our
galaxy, and there are
about 170 billion
galaxies. A person can
see only about 3,000
stars on the average.
What is a star?
A Star
is a huge sphere of
glowing gas. It is made up
mostly hydrogen and
some helium, and it
produces its energy by
nuclear fusion.
 Nuclear fusion is
the process where two
atoms of hydrogen
fuse together to form
an atom of helium.
This process
releases a tremendous
amount of energy and
makes stars shine
brightly.
 The nearest star to our
planet and the only star in the
solar system is the Sun.
It is the source of solar
radiation received by the
Earth.
The Sun is only 150 million
kilometers away and it takes
only 8 minutes and 20
seconds for sunlight to reach
the Earth.
 The Sun is an average star.
It is not hot or cold. It is not
large or small.
What are some
characteristics of our Sun that
can differ or be similar to other
stars?
How do stars
differ?
Astronomers classify
stars according to their
physical characteristics.
These include: size, color,
temperature, and
brightness
Size
• ·A star’s size is the distance from its surface to its center.
• Astronomers measure the size of a given star in terms
• Know the sizes of the objects in
of
our own sun's radius. the solar system
• Thus, a star that measure 1 solar radii would
• Understand be theofsame
the distance the
planets from the sun
size as our sun.
• Create a scale model of the sun
and the planets in the system
 Dwarf Stars
are stars that are relatively small in size compared to the Sun

White dwarf Red dwarf

typically have a radius just much smaller than our
.01 times that of our own sun with a mass
sun, but their mass is between 0.08 and 0.5
about the same. times that of our sun
 Medium Stars
are stars that have similar size to our Sun

Sun
a medium-sized star with a radius of about 435,000
miles (700,000 kilometers)
 Giants Stars
have radii between 10 and 100 solar radii. It means it can be a
hundred times bigger than our sun

Blue Giant Red Giant

These stars are 5–10 times the it has a radius of approximately
radius of the Sun 100 solar radii.
 Supergiant Stars
have a radius of at least 30 to even 1,000 times greater than our Sun

Blue Supergiant Red Supergiant

Most are less than 25 solar radii. Have a radius between 200 and 800
times the radius of our Sun
 Which star is bigger-Sirius or Rigel?
Can you really tell the size of the star by just looking at it?
The Sun is so small compared to other nearby stars. Also, Sirius, which
appear bigger than Rigel, is actually very small compared to Rigel. It
appears larger only because it is closer to us.
Color and Temperature
• A star's color depends on its
surface temperature.
• Know the sizes of the objects in
• Cooler stars tend to be redder the solar system
in color, while hotter stars have• Understand the distance of the
a bluer appearance. planets from the sun
• Stars in the mid ranges are • Create a scale model of the sun
and the planets in the system
white or yellow, such as our sun.
• Stars can also blend colors,
such as red-orange stars or
blue-white stars.
The coolest, reddest stars are approximately 2,500 K, while the
hottest stars can reach 50,000 K. Our sun is about 5,500 K.
Which is the coldest star? The hottest?
Brightness
There are two factors • Know the sizes of the objects in
the solar system
that determine the
• Understand the distance of the
brightness of a star: planets from the sun
luminosity and • Create a scale model of the sun
distance and the planets in the system
 Luminosity
the amount of light that a star radiates.
The size of the star and its surface temperature determine its luminosity.
• Know the sizes of the objects in
the solar system
• Understand the distance of the
planets from the sun
• Create a scale model of the sun
and the planets in the system

A larger star shines A hotter star shines

brighter than a small star. brighter than a cool star
 Distance
• measures how far the star
is located from us.
• Astronomers use a unit • Know the sizes of the objects in
the solar system
called the light-year to
• Understand the distance of the
measure the distance planets from the sun
between stars. • Create a scale model of the sun
• A light year is the distance and the planets in the system
that light travels in one
year, which is roughly 9.5
trillion kilometers.
• The brightness of a star based on its distance and how
bright it actually is (luminosity) can be described in 2
different ways: apparent brightness and absolute
• Know the sizes of the objects in
brightness. the solar system
• Understand the distance of the
planets from the sun
• Create a scale model of the sun
and the planets in the system
• Know the sizes of the objects in
the solar system
• Understand the distance of the
planets from the sun
• Create a scale model of the sun
and the planets in the system
• Know the sizes of the objects in
the solar system
• Understand the distance of the
planets from the sun
• Create a scale model of the sun
and the planets in the system
Apparent Brightness
• is the star’s brightness as seen from Earth
• Astronomers can measure apparent brightness easily,
• Know the sizes of the objects in
using devices similar to those the
used by photographers.
solar system
• However, apparent brightness does notthe
• Understand take into account
distance of the
how far away a star is from Earth.
planets from the sun
• Create a scale model of the sun
and the planets• (left)
in the Twosystem
stars, A and B, with
the same apparent
brightness.
• (right) However, star A is
actually a more luminous
star that is further away from
the Earth than than star B.
Apparent Brightness

• Know the sizes of the objects in

the solar system
• Understand the distance of the
planets from the sun
• Create a scale model of the sun
and the planets in the system
 Compared to the Sun, Sirius is
about 27 times as powerful as the
Sun, but Rigel has the power of
many thousands of Suns.
In terms of distance from the
Earth, Rigel is almost 100 times
farther away than Sirius.
In terms of apparent brightness,
Sirius is about twice as bright as
Rigel. Sirius looks very bright when
viewed from Earth because it is
closer to Earth.
• Know the sizes of the objects in
the solar system
• Understand the distance of the
planets from the sun
• Create a scale model of the sun
and the planets in the system
• Know the sizes of the objects in
the solar system
• Understand the distance of the
planets from the sun
• Create a scale model of the sun
and the planets in the system
Absolute Brightness
• is the brightness the star would have if all stars were the
• Know the sizes of the objects in
same standard distance form Earth.
the solar system
• This allows astronomers to compare thethe
• Understand brightness of all
distance of the
stars. planets from the sun
• Create a scale model of the sun
and the planets in the system
32.6 light years
Activity 2:
Star Analysis

Betelgeuse is larger than

Arcturus. Its surface
temperature is about
3,000 K. What is the color
of Betelgeuse?
Activity 2:
Star Analysis

Betelgeuse is larger than

Arcturus. Its surface
temperature is about
3,000 K. What is the color
of Betelgeuse?
Activity 2:
Star Analysis

The North Star is about as

big as Betelgeuse. Its
surface temperature is
about 6,300 K. What is the
color of The North Star?
Activity 2:
Star Analysis

The North Star is about as

big as Betelgeuse. Its
surface temperature is
about 6,300 K. What is the
color of The North Star?
Activity 2:
The star Capella is the same
Star Analysis
temperature as the Sun, but it is 100
times more luminous.

Process Question:
Why do you think Capella is more
luminous than the Sun?
Activity 2:
Star Analysis

Sirius, also known as the “dog star”, is 1.71

times the size of our Sun and is 8.611 light
years far from Earth.
Process Questions:
a. Which is more luminous?
b. What can be said about their
apparent brightness?

Let’s Test Your
Learning!
Write Fact is the statement is
correct and Bluff is it is wrong.
1. The star’s brightness as seen
from Earth is its absolute
brightness.
2. A star’s absolute brightness is
the brightness the star would
have if all stars were the same
standard distance from Earth.
3. A small star shines brighter
than a large star.
4. Colder stars are bluish in
color.
5. The sun is an average-sized
star.

Let’s Test Your
Learning!
Write Fact is the statement is
correct and Bluff is it is wrong.
6. The luminosity of a star depends
on its size and temperature.
7. Stars are mostly made up of
hydrogen and some oxygen.
8. Astronomers use solar radii to
measure the distance of stars from
Earth.
9. Two stars can have the same
apparent brightness even though
one is bigger than the other.
10. A hotter star shines brighter
than a colder one.