Everyone knows what the sun is, but have you ever thought about how stars, like the sun, are formed and what process allows them to shine bright for millions of years? In this activity, we will explore these fascinating questions while engaging in a hands-on demonstration. Get ready to discover the secrets of star formation!
Created by InYoung Park from Noun Project
Student Guide
A Star Is Born
Where do stars come from, how are they formed, and what are they made of?
This resource was originally published in PhysicsQuest 2024: Plasma - A Mysterious Matter.
Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin: Shaping Our Understanding of the Stars written by Zander Keith, JNIPER Fellow (2024)
Where do stars come from, how are they formed, and what are they made of?
- White chalk
- Four-way stretch spandex nylon fabric
- Collapsible hula hoop
- Neodymium magnets
- 0.5 in. stainless steel (metallic) balls
- Safety pins
- Binder clips
- Mini-marshallows
Intro
Objective
Students will experiment with a model of the universe using fabric to explore how stars are formed and observe the behavior of plasma.
After reading the introduction, what is your essential question or objective for this activity?
Before the experiment
After reading the introduction, what is your essential question or objective for this activity?
Answer the following questions on your own and then discuss with your group:
- What are the states of matter?
- Which one do you think the sun is made of?
- If you could make a hypothesis, how do you think stars form?
Setting up
This will be done as a demo. Teachers may choose to have students help with the setup of the experiment.
During the experiment
Collecting data
Each of these metallic balls represents a small amount of hydrogen gas.
Observe how each ball remains in place, indicating the gas remains stationary.
Use a smartphone or tablet, ideally in “SLO-MO” mode, to record the next steps of the experiment.
Drop the large metal ball into the center of the”universe.”
Watch as the other balls are pulled toward the center due to gravity. This represents the hydrogen gas that falls into the core of the star. Each layer, or ring, leads to higher pressure and temperature until it is hot enough and dense enough for fusion reactions to occur.
Watch this video of star formation which shows a similar phenomenon to what you observed.
Analyzing data
Playback the recorded video at a slower speed.
Pay attention to the order in which the balls move toward the center. Did you see that the balls on the inner ring start moving first?
Now, take two marshmallows and roll them in your hands until they stick together and become one. This is known as “fusing” and exactly what happens in a star. Ponder the factors that lead to the fusion of marshmallows. Was it heat, pressure, or both? In a star, two hydrogen atoms fuse together when enough heat and pressure is applied in a process known as fusion. Every fusion that happens releases energy. In the sun, there are about 10^38 (or 1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000) fusions happening every second! Do you think this is what leads to the sun being so hot all the time?
Conclusion
Claim Pass Protocol to have students explore this question:
In your own words, using the demo as evidence, how do gravity and fusion play a role in star formation?
- One person in each group writes a claim for the question provided.
- The student who wrote the claim passes the paper to the left.
- The person with the paper writes one piece of evidence that supports the claim under the claim.
- The paper is passed to the left.
- The next student writes an explanation to support the evidence.
- The paper is passed to the left.
- This student reads it over and adds, changes what needs to be changed.
During your experiment, did any of the metallic balls remain in their original locations? This represents mass that contributes to planet formation around the stars.
Was your personal essential question answered? If so, what is the answer? If not, what additional information would you need to answer it?