Astronomy Webquest

Part 1: Life of Stars: Go to
1. Stars are born in ______. When the clouds of interstellar dust and gas pull in gas and start to collapse, the increased heat will cause the atoms to fuse to helium and form ______. Click on next.
2. The longest stage of the star, covering almost ______% is in the ______.
3. Near the end of the main sequence, when there is not enough hydrogen gas to support the star, the outer layers will ______in an attempt to ______.
4. This forms a ______. Click on next.
5. After the core collapses due to lack of hydrogen, the red giant will become a ______. Click on next
6. What type of stars can become a white dwarf and eventually a black dwarf? ______
The Death of Massive Stars
7. For a massive star, it starts by burning ______& ______. Helium atoms fuse to form ______& ______. Carbon then fuses to ______& ______, which then fuses to oxygen. The oxygen and magnesium fuses into ______& ______which eventually fuses to form ______. Once iron is formed, a(n) ______will occur called a supernova.
8. After a supernova, a ______remains unless the star was dense enough. If the star was extremely dense, a ______forms.

Part 2: Analyzing Stars with the H-R Diagram:
Go to and answer these questions.

  1. If stars were the same size, then ______would determine ______. Stars would be brighter if they were______and ______if they were cooler than the Sun.
  2. Write the hypothesis that best matches the statement above:______
    ______. Now click on right arrow.
  3. The Sun has a radius r. How much bigger is the radius of a star that is 10r? ______
    Compared to the sun, a star with a radius of 0.1r is how big?____________
  4. The Sun is a ______star. Which line would you expect most of the main sequence stars to be found? ______. Click on right arrow.
  5. Use the main sequence line to help fill in the next statement. The ______stars on the main sequence line are ______than the Sun. Click on right arrow.
  6. For stars of the same size, ______stars will have a ______surface temperature.
  7. Question: If a main sequence star is much larger than the sun, it would have a ______surface temperature.
    Click on right arrow.
  8. If you look at the H-R diagram, where would the most massive stars be found?______
    The smallest mass stars would be found in the ______. Click on right arrow.
  9. What is the relationship between a star’s mass and its brightness (luminosity)?______
    True or False: Different stars have different masses. Click on right arrow.
  10. Stars with a mass of 10 suns (10 Msun) would have similar ______as other stars of similar mass.
    Click on right arrow.
  11. The most ______stars shine ______brightly compared to smaller stars. Click on right arrow.

Now comes the short answer portion. For each statement, write True or False and give reasons to support your answer based on the information from Questions 1-10 above.
Click on display written answersand PRINT out your answers. Turn this paper in to your teacher.

Part 2/b: Analyzing Stars with the H-R Diagram:

Go to: click the picture at the bottom.

  1. Which of the stars is oldest in terms of its life cycle?

A Betelgeuseb Alpha Centauri BcThe SundVegaeSirius B

  1. Which of the stars is(are) burning hydrogen as a fuel? (Circle all letters that answer this question)
    A Betelgeuseb Alpha Centauri Bc The Sund Vegae Sirius B
  2. Which of the stars is (are) burning helium as a fuel? (Circle all letters that answer this question)
    A Betelgeuseb Alpha Centauri Bc The Sund Vegae Sirius B
  3. Which of the stars is closest to death?
    A Betelgeuseb Alpha Centauri Bc The Sund Vegae Sirius B
  4. Which of the stars has the highest luminosity?
    A Betelgeuseb Alpha Centauri Bc The Sund Vegae Sirius B
  5. What causes the star with the highest luminosity to be the brightest?
    A. Surface TemperatureB. Size
  6. Which of the stars has the lowest luminosity?
    A Betelgeuseb Alpha Centauri Bc The Sund Vegae Sirius B
  7. The star with the lowest luminosity is dimmest because of its ______?
    A. Surface TemperatureB. Size
  8. Which of the stars has the highest surface temperature?
    A Betelgeuseb Alpha Centauri Bc The Sund Vegae Sirius B
  9. Main sequence stars will become red giants when they run out of what fuel?
    A. HeliumB. CarbonC. Hydrogen
  10. Will the three main sequence stars ever become white dwarfs? A. YesB. No
  11. Was Star E (Sirius B) ever a main sequence star? A. YesB. No
  12. Predict what phase Vega will enter next? ______
  13. Predict what phase Betelgeuse will enter next? ______

Part 3: Astronomical Units and Light Years
Go to and answer these questions:
1. True or False: Light year is a measurement time. It is a year of light.
Evidence to support your answer:______
2. Light travels ______km each second. 1 light year = ______km
3. Why do astronomers use light years rather than kilometers to measure the distance of stars?______
______
4. In our Solar system, we describe distances in terms of ______.
5. 1 Astronomical Unit (AU ) is equal to the ______between the ______and the ______.
6. 1 AU = ______km

Part 4: The Sun

Look at the following website: Write down 5 interesting things you learned from looking at the 20+ images.

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Go outside and look at Sun image with Ms Collins, draw the sun on the back and any sunspots you may see

Part 5: Our star and Galaxies:
Go to

In the Table of contents on the top-left hand corner, click on STARS and answer these questions.

  1. What is size is our Sun compared to other stars? ______
  2. If the Sun was much more massive, what would change about its life span?______
  3. We know the composition of stars through a process called ______by analyzing stars’ ______light.
  4. Huge collections of stars (over billions of stars) are called ______.
  5. The name of our galaxy is the ______and it has a ______shape.

Draw and label the 3 main types of galaxies:

Spiral GalaxyElliptical GalaxyIrregular Galaxy

  1. Stars are so bright and hot because in the ______of each star, ______is combined to form ______through the process called ______.
  2. Scroll to the top of the page. Near the top inside the table, click on the link titled “DEATH” and describe the stages of:
    - A star like our sun:______
    - A star with a mass 1.5 – 3 times bigger than the Sun:______
    - A star with a mass 3 times greater than our Sun:______
    Question: Will our sun ever go Supernova? Explain:______

Part 5: Asteroids and Comets

Go to:

1.What are asteroids?______

2. Where do you find most asteroids?______

3. Name some notable asteroids______

4. Name an interesting fact about asteroids.

5.What are comets?______

6. What are the parts of a comet? Draw a comet and label it.

7. How big are comets?______

8.Name 2 famous comets? ______

Part 6. The Solar System

Go to: Explore this site.

  1. List the inner planets.______
  2. What do all the inner planets have in common.______
  3. List the outer planets.______
  4. What do all the outer planets have in common.______

Click on each of the different plants. Write down an interesting fact about each one.

Planet / Fact
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Click on Satellites and Space Junk

1.How many pieces of space junk are surrounding Earth?______

2.Why is this a problem?______

Part 7: Moon

Go to:

1.How long does it take for the moon to orbit the Earth?______

2.How old is the moon?______

3.Does the moon have an atmosphere?______What happened to the Apollo 11 astronaut’s footprints?______

4.Does the moon produce its own light? ______Where does the light come from?______

5.How does the moon affect our high and low tides?______

Go to Phases of the Moon:

Names of phases:

What is the current phase of the moon?______
Draw it: / What was the phase of the moon when you were born?
______
Draw it:

Extra Credit: Go to: write down websites you visit and what you learned