Star in a box lab answers

Star in a Box Lab Exercise
By Edward Gomez
Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network
Gomez, E., 2013, Star in a Box: High School, astroEDU, 1302 , doi:10.14586/astroedu.1302
This exercise requires an internet connection. Go to http://lcogt.net/starinabox . Launch the application and answer the following questions, then upload your completed file in Canvas.

Part A. Evolution of Sun-like stars. Click on the “Information” tab for written information.

Question A1. Describe how the Sun changes over its lifetime in terms of size and brightness.

Question A2. When will the Sun be at its brightest?

Question A3. When will the Sun be at its hottest?

Question A4. At which stage of its life does the Sun spend the longest time?

Question A5. At which stage of its life will the Sun undergo the most change?

Question A6. What type of star will the Sun be at the end of its life?

Question A7. How long will the Sun live for?

Part B. By adjusting the mass of the star in “Star Properties” you can explore different stars and answer the following questions:

Question B1. Where do the different mass stars lie on the main sequence?

Question B2. List the different final stages of a star’s life.

Part C. Complete the table below for five stars of different masses. You will find it easier to use the “data table” in the Star in the Box application.

Mass of Star (Msun)

Maximum Radius (Rsun)

Maximum Luminosity (Lsun)(Brightness)

Maximum Temperature (K)

Name of Final Stage

Total Lifespan (Myr)

0.2

1

6

20

40

Part D. Compare the table for a range of stars.

Question D1. Are more massive stars the brightest and hottest types of star for their whole lives?

Question D2. Which mass star gets the hottest?

Question D3. Which mass star gets the coolest?

Question D4. Which mass star becomes the most luminous?

Part E. Deneb and Betelgeuse are both 20x the mass of the Sun, but look very different. Deneb has 100 times the radius of the Sun and its temperature is about 8000 K. Betelgeuse has 1000 times the radius of the Sun and its temperature is about 3500 K.

Question E1. What stages of their lives are the two stars in?

Question E2. How long does each star have to live?

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