Chapter 17: Live Fast, Die Young

Study Plan

Our Sun is but a pale ember compared with the brilliance of more massive stars. These stars consume their fuel in a cosmic blink of the eye, then in their death dazzle us with brilliant fireworks, seed the universe with the elements of life, and force us to once again alter our concept of space and time. As our exploration of stars draws to a close, we will discover

  • How the structure of high-mass stars differs from that of low-mass stars.
  • The stages of nuclear burning that evolving high-mass stars experience as they form progressively more massive chemical elements.
  • How H-R diagrams allow us to measure the ages of stars and test our theories of stellar evolution.
  • The death of massive stars in Type II supernovae.
  • The origin of the most massive chemical elements.
  • Degenerate neutron stars the size of small cities, with masses several times that of the Sun.
  • A menagerie of bizarre objects, including pulsars and X-ray binary stars.
  • That gravity is a consequence of the way that mass distorts the very shape of spacetime.
  • The bottomless pits in spacetime that we call black holes.

Organize

  1. Read Chapter 17 in your textbook or ebook.
  2. Take the Diagnostic Quiz to assess your understanding of the basic concepts and identify gaps in your understanding of the assigned reading.

Learn

  1. Use the FlashCards to test your memory for new terms.
  2. Review Foundations Box 17.1 on The Chemical Composition of the Universe, and Excursions Box 17.1: Stars Are Unique.
  3. If your instructor has assigned SmartWork online homework, login from the right navigation pane for additional practice and review.

Connect

  1. Periodic Connections boxes and the Seeing the Forest through the Trees section at the chapter's end draw your attention to recurring themes and help prepare you for concepts explored more fully in subsequent chapters.
  2. Visit Astronomy in the News for breaking news of new discoveries and the opportunity to apply what you've learned in this chapter to real-world (and real Universe) events.


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Organize

Learn

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