How Elements Form in Stars Flashcards
When colliding nuclei have enough energy, they can…
join together.
Nuclear fusion is a process in which…
two atomic nuclei combine to form a larger nucleus.
During nuclear fusion, huge amounts of…
energy is released.
Nuclear fusion, which occurs in stars on a huge scale, combines…
smaller nuclei into larger nuclei, creating heavier elements.
Stars the size of the sun do not contain enough energy to produce elements heavier than…
oxygen.
Eventually, a star like the sun shrinks and its elements blow away and then it forms a…
nebula, or cloudlike region of gases.
As they age, larger stars become even…
hotter than the sun.
These really hot stars that are hotter than the sun have enough energy to produce heavier elements such as…
magnesium and silicon. In more massive stars, fusion continues until the core is almost all iron.
A massive star exploding is called a…
supernova.
A supernova produces temperatures up to…
1 billion degrees Celsius.
A supernova provides enough energy for the nuclear fusion reactions that create the…
heaviest elements.
