Stars

Astronomy

Literacy / Driving Question Board Connections

Nonfiction Science Literacy Resources

Graphic Organizers / Thinking Maps

Driving Question Boards

Multilingual Learner Language Expectations

Citizen Science Opportunities

Stars

The Sun puts out an incomprehensible amount of energy—so much that its ultraviolet radiation can cause sunburns from 93 million miles away. It is also very old. As you learned earlier, evidence shows that the Sun formed about 4.5 billion years ago and has been shining ever since. How can the Sun produce so much energy for so long?

The Sun’s energy output is about 4×1026 watts. This is unimaginably bright: brighter than a trillion cities together each with a trillion 100-watt light bulbs. Most known methods of generating energy fall far short of the capacity of the Sun. The total amount of energy produced over the entire life of the Sun is staggering, since the Sun has been shining for billions of years. Scientists were unable to explain the seemingly unlimited energy of stars like the Sun prior to the twentieth century.

Suggested Course Sequence

Chapter 16 Nuclear Fusion and Stellar Interiors
Chapter 17-19 Characteristics of the Stars [sections 17.2 and 18.3 could be done briefly or omitted]
Chapter 21 The Birth of Stars and the Discovery of Planets
Chapter 22-23 Stellar Evolution [with pulsars done briefly and gamma-ray bursts omitted]

Openstax Astronomy Online Text

Unit Standards

What is the NGSS & 3 Dimensional Science Learning and Why is it Important?

Science Practices - Disciplinary Core Ideas - Crosscutting Concepts

HS-ESS1-1: Nuclear Fusion and the Sun's Energy

Develop a model based on evidence to illustrate the life span of the sun and the role of nuclear fusion in the sun’s core to release energy in the form of radiation. (Scale, Proportion, and Quantity)

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the energy transfer mechanisms that allow energy from nuclear fusion in the sun’s core to reach Earth. Examples of evidence for the model include observations of the masses and lifetimes of other stars, as well as the ways that the sun’s radiation varies due to sudden solar flares (“space weather”), the 11-year sunspot cycle, and non-cyclic variations over centuries.

Boundary Statement: Assessment does not include details of the atomic and sub-atomic processes involved with the sun’s nuclear fusion.

HS-ESS1-2: The Big Bang Theory

Construct an explanation of the big bang theory based on astronomical evidence of light spectra, motion of distant galaxies, and composition of matter in the universe. (Energy and Matter)

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the astronomical evidence of the red shift of light from galaxies as an indication that the universe is currently expanding, the cosmic microwave background as the remnant radiation from the Big Bang, and the observed composition of ordinary matter of the universe, primarily found in stars and interstellar gases (from the spectra of electromagnetic radiation from stars), which matches that predicted by the Big Bang theory (3/4 hydrogen and 1/4 helium).

Boundary Statement: none

HS-ESS1-3: Stellar Nucleosynthesis

Communicate scientific ideas about the way stars, over their life cycle, produce elements. (Energy and Matter)

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on the way nucleosynthesis, and therefore the different elements created, varies as a function of the mass of a star and the stage of its lifetime.

Boundary Statement: Details of the many different nucleosynthesis pathways for stars of differing masses are not assessed.

HS-ESS1-4: Orbital Motions

Use mathematical or computational representations to predict the motion of orbiting objects in the solar system. (Scale, Proportion, and Quantity)

Clarification Statement: Emphasis is on Newtonian gravitational laws governing orbital motions, which apply to human-made satellites as well as planets and moons.

Boundary Statement: Mathematical representations for the gravitational attraction of bodies and Kepler’s Laws of orbital motions should not deal with more than two bodies, nor involve calculus.

Learning Objectives / Career Connections

By the end of this chapter, students should be able to:

Chapter 16

Identify different forms of energy
Understand the law of conservation of energy
Explain ways that energy can be transformed

Chapter 17

Explain the difference between luminosity and apparent brightness
Understand how astronomers specify brightness with magnitudes

Chapter 18

Explain why the stars visible to the unaided eye are not typical
Describe the distribution of stellar masses found close to the Sun

Chapter 19

Understand the importance of defining a standard distance unit
Explain how the meter was originally defined and how it has changed over time
Discuss how radar is used to measure distances to the other members of the solar system

Chapter 21

Identify the sometimes-violent processes by which parts of a molecular cloud collapse to produce stars
Recognize some of the structures seen in images of molecular clouds like the one in Orion
Explain how the environment of a molecular cloud enables the formation of stars
Describe how advancing waves of star formation cause a molecular cloud to evolve

Chapter 22

Explain the zero-age main sequence
Describe what happens to main-sequence stars of various masses as they exhaust their hydrogen supply

Chapter 23

Describe the physical characteristics of degenerate matter and explain how the mass and radius of degenerate stars are related
Plot the future evolution of a white dwarf and show how its observable features will change over time
Distinguish which stars will become white dwarfs

Using ChatGPT to find local Colorado Phenomena

Use the following prompt, adjust accordingly. "I am a high school science teacher looking for a local Colorado phenomena to address NGSS standard (enter standard you are looking for... example HS-LS1-6)"

Career Connections

Connecting what students are learning to careers not only deepens their engagement in school but also helps them make more informed choices about their future. Browse the following related career profiles to discover what scientists really do on the job and what it takes to prepare for these careers. For additional profiles visit your Year at a Glance Page.

Hands On, Minds On Connections

Hands-On Labs / Lab Safety

St Vrain Science Center

Chapter 7 Introduction to the Solar System
Chapter 9 The Moon (omitting Mercury)
Chapter 10 Venus and Mars
Chapter 11 Giant Planets
Chapter 12 Rings, Moons, and Pluto (at least Pluto, briefly)
Chapter 14 Origin of Solar System [do Section 3 on the Formation of the Solar System only]

Simulations

GIZMOS

Gizmos in Science

Nearpod Lessons / Activities / Videos

LabXchange Lessons / Activities / Videos