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Students will collect data using a game/simulation to better understand how nuclear fusion results in the release of energy and the formation of new elements, as well as why the lifespan of a high-mass star is much shorter than the lifespan of a low-mass star.

Modern technology has allowed us to study the universe, and now we know that stars are not static objects floating in space, but they are born from clouds of gas and dust, live as they get their energy from nuclear fusion that makes them shine and eventually die. In this 5E plan, students will use simulators which provide data that will allow them to explain the life cycle of stars with different masses, and use this understanding to determine which kind of star(s) are most likely to host habitable exoplanets.

Students make observations from online simulators in order to learn about the relationship between age and mass, mass of a new star and lifespan, and the stages of a star life cycles.

Students explore the relationships between color, luminosity and temperature of a star by creating and analyzing their own HR diagram.