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9th grade · Science · Unit 22 of 28

Stars & the Universe

How stars shine, live and die, and how the universe began.

What your child practices

Practices how fusion in the sun's core makes the energy that reaches Earth, the life cycles of stars and the elements they make, and the evidence for the Big Bang: galaxies moving apart, leftover microwave radiation and the mix of elements.

New York State Learning Standards learning standard: HS-ESS1-1; HS-ESS1-2; HS-ESS1-3 · nuclear fusion in the sun, the life cycles of stars and the elements they make, and evidence for the Big Bang

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Stars make energy by fusing hydrogen into helium in their cores, where most stars spend most of their lives.
  2. A Sun-like star becomes a red giant, then a white dwarf. Stars make heavier elements.
  3. Galaxies moving apart and leftover microwave radiation are evidence for the Big Bang.

Example: What do most stars do for most of their lives? They are on the main sequence. They fuse hydrogen in their cores. Answer: fuse hydrogen in their cores

Stars & the Universe in New York

In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 22 of 28 in 9th grade Science, after Moon, Tides & Seasons and before Climate & Earth's Systems.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: New York State Education Department (NYSED)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    A star's color tells us its…

    • surface temperature
    • distance from Earth
    • name
    • number of planets

  2. Question 2

    The sun is a…

    • giant blue star
    • black hole
    • medium-sized star
    • planet

  3. Question 3

    A very massive star ends its life in a…

    • red dwarf
    • supernova
    • quiet fade
    • comet

  4. Question 4

    The cosmic microwave background is…

    • heat from Earth's core
    • leftover radiation from the early universe
    • light from the moon
    • radio signals from phones

  5. Question 5

    A white dwarf is…

    • a cloud of gas
    • a newborn star
    • a planet
    • the small, hot core left after a star like the sun dies

  6. Question 6

    Elements heavier than iron, like gold, were made mostly in…

    • comets
    • the Big Bang
    • Earth's core
    • supernovas and collisions of dead stars

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