Students learn to:
- describe the processes involved in stellar formation
- outline the key stages in a star’s life in terms of the physical processes involved
- describe the types of nuclear reactions involved in Main-Sequence and post-Main Sequence stars
- discuss the synthesis of elements in stars by fusion
- explain how the age of a globular cluster can be determined from its zero-age main sequence plot for a H-R diagram
- explain the concept of star death in relation to:
Students:
- present information by plotting Hertzsprung-Russell diagrams for: nearby or brightest stars, stars in a young open cluster, stars in a globular cluster
- analyse information from a H-R diagram and use available evidence to determine the characteristics of a star and its evolutionary stage
- present information by plotting on a H-R diagram the pathways of stars of 1, 5 and 10 solar masses during their life cycle
Extract from Physics Stage 6 Syllabus (Amended October 2002). © 2009, Board of Studies NSW.