Which factor is most important in determining the location of a star on the main sequence?
Mass is the key factor in determining the lifespan of a main sequence star, its size and its luminosity. Stars on the main sequence also appear to be unchanging for long periods of time.
What determines a star’s place in the main sequence?
During this stage of the star's lifetime, it is located on the main sequence at a position determined primarily by its mass, but also based upon its chemical composition and age.
What are two main requirements for a star to be on the main sequence?
Main Sequence Membership For a star to be located on the Main Sequence in the H-R diagram: It must be in Hydrostatic Equilibrium (Pressure balances Gravity) It must be in Thermal Equilibrium (Energy Generation balances Luminosity) It must generate energy by "burning" Hydrogen into Helium in its core.
What is the single most important factor in determining the evolution of a star?
Mass is the single most important property of a star. It determines the evolution of a star as well as its lifetime (e.g. lower mass stars live longer). In all the above discussed cases this means the initial mass, which decreases by less than 1% from birth to onset of a planetary nebula or a supernova.
What is the most important factor that determines the point in the Hertzsprung Russell diagram where a protostar reaches the main sequence?
The initial temperature is low but the protostar's radius is large. What is the most important factor that determines the point in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram where a protostar reaches the main sequence? hidden from sight by dust clouds that emit infrared radiation.
What is the main factor driving the evolution of a star and why?
The primary factor determining how a star evolves is its mass as it reaches the main sequence. The following is a brief outline tracing the evolution of a low-mass and a high-mass star. Stars are born out of the gravitational collapse of cool, dense molecular clouds.
What determines how long a star stays on the main sequence?
mass The overall lifespan of a star is determined by its mass. Since stars spend roughly 90% of their lives burning hydrogen into helium on the main sequence (MS), their 'main sequence lifetime' is also determined by their mass.
Which of the following is most important in determining a star’s life cycle?
A star's mass is the most important factor in determining its life cycle.
Which of the following is the major factor predicting the fate of star?
Key Concepts. The ultimate fate of a star depends on its initial mass. A massive star ends with a violent explosion called a supernova. The matter ejected in a supernova explosion becomes a glowing supernova remnant.
What is the most important factor that determines the point in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram where a protostar reaches the main sequence quizlet?
The initial temperature is low but the protostar's radius is large. What is the most important factor that determines the point in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram where a protostar reaches the main sequence? hidden from sight by dust clouds that emit infrared radiation.
How does mass determine the main sequence lifetime of a star?
The overall lifespan of a star is determined by its mass. Since stars spend roughly 90% of their lives burning hydrogen into helium on the main sequence (MS), their 'main sequence lifetime' is also determined by their mass.
What main factor determines the path a star will take during its life cycle?
mass The amount of mass a star has determines which of the following life cycle paths it will take from there. The life cycle of a low mass star (left oval) and a high mass star (right oval).
What determines how long a star stays on the main sequence quizlet?
nuclear fuel in its core can supply enough energy to stop its collapse. What determines how long a star stays on the main sequence? Its mass and luminosity. it stops fusing hydrogen in its core and starts to expand.
Which of the following is the major factor predicting the fate of a star?
Key Concepts. The ultimate fate of a star depends on its initial mass. A massive star ends with a violent explosion called a supernova. The matter ejected in a supernova explosion becomes a glowing supernova remnant.
Why is mass so important to a star’s life?
Mass is the most important stellar property. This is because a star's life is a continuous fight against gravity, and gravity is directly related to mass. The more massive a star is, the stronger its gravity. Mass therefore determines how strong the gravitational force is at every point within the star.
What important role does gravity play in star formation?
As gravity compresses the core of a protostar, the temperature goes higher and higher. Eventually the temperature is high enough that the star starts fusing hydrogen into helium. When the outward pressure produced by the heating of the gas by fusion energy balances gravity, a stable star is formed.
What is the fate of a star?
Our four stars illustrate the four possible fates of the stars: black holes, neutron stars, white dwarfs, and red dwarfs. The Sun will end its life as a hot-but-faint white dwarf, an object no larger than the earth, and like a dying ember in a campfire it will gradually cool off and fade into blackness.
What is the most important factor that determines the point in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram where a protostar reaches the main sequence?
The initial temperature is low but the protostar's radius is large. What is the most important factor that determines the point in the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram where a protostar reaches the main sequence? hidden from sight by dust clouds that emit infrared radiation.
Why are the majority of stars in the sky in the main sequence phase of their lives?
When the protostar starts fusing hydrogen, it enters the "main sequence" phase of its life. Stars on the main sequence are those that are fusing hydrogen into helium in their cores. The radiation and heat from this reaction keep the force of gravity from collapsing the star during this phase of the star's life.
How does mass determine the main sequence lifetime of a star quizlet?
How does mass determine the main-sequence lifetime of a star? More massive stars burn fuel faster than low-mass stars and thus have shorter lives.
What determines when a star becomes a main sequence star quizlet?
A star becomes a main-sequence star when the rate of hydrogen fusion within the star's core becomes high enough to balance the rate at which the star radiates energy into space.
How does a star’s mass determine its lifespan?
A star's life expectancy depends on its mass. Generally, the more massive the star, the faster it burns up its fuel supply, and the shorter its life. The most massive stars can burn out and explode in a supernova after only a few million years of fusion.
What is the most important property of a star?
Mass Mass – The single most important property that determines other properties of the star. Luminosity – The total amount of energy (light) that a star emits into space. Temperature – surface temperature, closely related to the luminosity and color of the star.
What does a star’s mass determine?
A star's mass gives a measure of the amount of "fuel", and its luminosity gives a measure of the rate at which this "fuel" is consumed by nuclear burning, so a star's lifetime is proportional to its Mass divided by its Luminosity.
What force is critical in the formation of stars and why?
A star is born when atoms of light elements are squeezed under enough pressure for their nuclei to undergo fusion. All stars are the result of a balance of forces: the force of gravity compresses atoms in interstellar gas until the fusion reactions begin.
Which of the following happens during the main sequence stage of a stars life?
When the protostar starts fusing hydrogen, it enters the "main sequence" phase of its life. Stars on the main sequence are those that are fusing hydrogen into helium in their cores. The radiation and heat from this reaction keep the force of gravity from collapsing the star during this phase of the star's life.
What determines the outcome of a star the death of a star what makes it become a white dwarf black dwarf or neutron star or black hole?
A star like our Sun will become a white dwarf when it has exhausted its nuclear fuel. Near the end of its nuclear burning stage, such a star expels most of its outer material (creating a planetary nebula) until only the hot (T > 100,000 K) core remains, which then settles down to become a young white dwarf.
What is the main factor that determines what will happen to a star after it consumes all of its nuclear fuel?
About 75% of the mass of the star is ejected into space in the supernova. The fate of the left-over core depends on its mass. If the left-over core is about 1.4 to 5 times the mass of our Sun, it will collapse into a neutron star. If the core is larger, it will collapse into a black hole.
What is common to all stars on the main sequence of the HR diagram?
The main sequence stretching from the upper left (hot, luminous stars) to the bottom right (cool, faint stars) dominates the HR diagram. It is here that stars spend about 90% of their lives burning hydrogen into helium in their cores. Main sequence stars have a Morgan-Keenan luminosity class labelled V.
What is the most important concept about stars on the main sequence quizlet?
While on the main sequence, a star is stable because there is a balance between its self-gravity trying to make the star collapse in on itself and the outward pressure of the gas heated by nuclear fusion trying to make it expand.