Name _________________ 


Online Student Instructions Page

Your task is to analyze characteristics that indicate human life cycles and then apply these observational principles to various NASA pictures of stars to synthesize patterns of stellar life cycles. 

Background Resources

  • Hubble Space Telescope PicturesNASA Hubble Space Telescope Images of Stellar Evolution 

    • http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo/Subject.html#Novae
  • Windows to the Universe Stellar Evolution Pages 

    • http://windows.engin.umich.edu

Activity 1: Investigating the Human Life Cycle

The space below (un-sequenced human life cycle) shows eight pictures of humans at various ages.  Your FIRST task is to figure out and record the correct sequence of pictures from youngest to oldest.  Pay careful attention to how you determine the sequence because your SECOND task is to write a detailed description so clear that a student from another part of the state will be able to use it to come up with the exact same sequence.  This might not be as easy as it appears. 
 
Your Proposed Sequence of Pictures
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 Why do you think this is the sequence? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Check your sequence with the expert sequence (sequenced human life cycle page) and propose reasons for any discrepancies. 
 
Any discrepancies?
 

 
Activity 2: Sequencing NASA Images of Massive Stars

The space below (unsequenced large star cycle) shows eight NASA images from the Hubble Space Telescope (http://www.stsci.edu).  These are pictures of the formation sequence of really BIG stars.  Your FIRST task is to figure out and record the correct sequence of pictures from birth formation to stellar death.  Pay careful attention to how you determine the sequence because your SECOND task is to write a detailed description so clear that a student from another part of the state will be able to use it to come up with the exact same sequence.  Each picture is hyperlinked to a description of the picture for background information IF you need it. 
 
Your Proposed Sequence of Pictures
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 Why do you think this is the sequence? 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

THIRD, check your sequence with the expert sequence (sequenced large star cycle page) and propose reasons for any discrepancies.  FOURTH, and most important, write a 50-word essay that describes the sequence of stellar formation, life cycle, and death.  Use sketches or pictures from the WWW to support your description. 
 
What is the expert sequence?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 Describe the stellar formation sequence for massive stars:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

FFS - Facts for Students
  1. The sun, the earth, and the rest of the solar system formed from a nebular cloud of dust and gas 4.6 billion years ago.  The early Earth was very different from the planet we live on today. 
  2. Stars produce energy from nuclear reactions, primarily the fusion of hydrogen to form helium.  These and other processes in stars have led to the formation of all the other elements. 
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