Scribd
Upload
7 views

Physci Week 1

Uploaded by

simoncesaregf
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
7 views

Physci Week 1

Uploaded by

simoncesaregf
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 17

Lesson 1

Formation of Heavy
Elements
At the end of the Lesson the students are expected to:

1. explain stellar nucleosynthesis;


2. describe the different stages of life cycle of stars;
3. cite the different heavy elements formed in each stages of
star cycle;
4. describe how heavier elements formed during stellar
nucleosynthesis and
evolution.
Stellar Nucleosynthesis
The word “stellar”
means star and the
formation of elements in
the center of the star is
called stellar
nucleosynthesis.

Carl Sagan said that “We


are made of star stuff.”
Hints/ Clues
Average Star
1. The star is unable to generate heat when it runs out of hydrogen in its
core leading to its contraction and expansion. It cools down and glows red.
The Helium fused into Carbon. The star is now RED GIANT
2. Red giant star becomes exhausted of nuclear fuel, the outer material is
1. blown off into space leaving the inert Carbon. The remnant is known as
WHITE DWARF.
3. Giant cloud of gas and dust known as NEBULA.
4. It is formed from nebula due to the gravity that pulled Hydrogen gas
2. together until it spins faster and faster and becomes ignited. A PROTOSTAR
rises.
5. MAIN SEQUENCE STAR starts to form when nuclear fusion occurs at the
3. core of the star, it begins to contract, glow and become stable. Hydrogen is
converted into Helium.
6. This is said to be the remain of the white dwarf that cooled down and no
4. longer emits light and heat. The hypothetical BLACK DWARF.
8.
Massive star
1. It is believed that a NEUTRON STAR is formed from supernova
5.
explosion. This is also the smallest star
2. Explosion of star or SUPERNOVA releases large amount of
9. energy. Because of that, elements are dispersed into the space.
3. BLACK HOLE is a region in space where gravity is too strong
6.
that no matter can escape from it.
4. A more massive main sequence star evolves, cools and expands faster
10.
than low mass star and will turn into RED SUPER GIANT star, the largest
7.
known star. Carbon fusion still occurs and Oxygen formed.
Nuclear fusion (combination of nuclei to form heavier one)

The diagram shows the Proton-


Proton Chain reaction in main
sequence star.
 This is the process by which average
star gets their energy and convert
Hydrogen into Helium.
 It starts with proton and neutron
fused together to form deuterium.
 When one proton collides with
deuterium, Helium-3 is formed. Two
Helium-3 collided will form Helium-4
 Case is different in massive star or star eight
times larger than solar mass.
 They undergo CNO (Carbon, Nitrogen,
Oxygen) cycle to convert Hydrogen into
Helium.
 You can see at the right how Carbon 12
fused with proton (H) and form Nitrogen-
13.
 Nitrogen-13 undergoes beta decay to form
Carbon-13.
 Carbon13 captures proton (H) and Nitrogen
14 is formed.
 Nitrogen 14 captures proton and Oxygen-
15 is produced.
 Oxygen-15 undergoes beta decay and
produces Nitrogen-15.
 Nitrogen-15 fused with proton gives off
Helium and ends up with Carbon-12. Then
the process repeats again
Tri alpha process happens in red giant star once they leave the stage of main sequence star. This is how
three Helium-4 are converted into Carbon.
A star accumulates more
mass and continues to grow
into red super giant.
Alpha particle fusion
happens at its core and
creates more heavy
elements until Iron. This is
known as the Alpha ladder
process
How do elements heavier than Iron form?
As the energy at the core of the star decreases, nuclear fusion cannot
produce elements higher than Iron. Different pathway is needed for heavier
elements to be formed

Neutron capture, a neutron


is added to a seed nucleus.
Below is the representation
of how neutron is captured
and heavier nucleus is
formed
Neutron capture can be slow or rapid;
a. S-process or slow process
- happens when there is a slow rate of capturing neutron while there is a
faster rate of radioactive decay hence increasing the proton by 1.

Example:
b. R-process or rapid process
-means that there is faster rate of capturing neutron before it undergoes
radioactive decay thus, more neutrons can be combined at the nucleus. This is what
happens in a supernova forming heavier elements than Iron with the process known as
supernova nucleosynthesis.

Example
The explosion of star or supernova is believed to be the
source of other elements heavier than Iron. During the
explosion, these heavy elements are dispersed into the
space. Aside from gases Hydrogen and Helium in space,
other evidence of star formation is the energy emitted
during nuclear reaction. It is also the energy emitted by
different forms of radiation such as UV, Infrared, X-ray, radio
wave and microwave.
Now, you have learned how stars are formed and evolve
from one stage to another and its connection with heavy
elements from Carbon through Iron. There are many
processes that stars have to undergo before they evolve
from one stage to another.
For your next task, you will write a story which relates
the events of your life from past, present and future to
the life cycle of a star. Use also those elements which
could symbolize something or anything in your story.
(Use another sheet of paper for this task).

You might also like

pFad - Phonifier reborn

Pfad - The Proxy pFad of © 2024 Garber Painting. All rights reserved.

Note: This service is not intended for secure transactions such as banking, social media, email, or purchasing. Use at your own risk. We assume no liability whatsoever for broken pages.


Alternative Proxies:

Alternative Proxy

pFad Proxy

pFad v3 Proxy

pFad v4 Proxy