This key facts covers Key Facts within Life Cycle of Stars for GCSE Physics. Revise Life Cycle of Stars in Space Physics for GCSE Physics with 13 exam-style questions and 12 flashcards. This topic appears regularly enough that it should still be part of a steady revision cycle. It is section 8 of 14 in this topic. Use this key facts to connect the idea to the wider topic before moving on to questions and flashcards.
Topic position
Section 8 of 14
Practice
13 questions
Recall
12 flashcards
📋 Key Facts
- All stars form from nebulae (clouds of gas and dust) pulled together by gravity
- Main sequence stars are stable because radiation pressure from fusion balances gravity
- The Sun is currently a main sequence star, about halfway through its 10-billion-year life
- Sun-like star path: Nebula → Protostar → Main sequence → Red giant → Planetary nebula → White dwarf
- Massive star path: Nebula → Protostar → Main sequence → Red supergiant → Supernova → Neutron star or Black hole
- Elements up to iron are made by fusion in stellar cores
- Elements heavier than iron are only made in supernova explosions
- More massive stars have shorter lifetimes — they burn fuel faster
- A teaspoon of neutron star material would weigh about a billion tonnes
- A black hole has gravity so strong that not even light can escape
Keep building this topic
Read this section alongside the surrounding pages in Life Cycle of Stars. That gives you the full topic sequence instead of a single isolated revision point.
Practice Questions for Life Cycle of Stars
The light from a distant galaxy is red-shifted. What does this tell us about the galaxy?
Explain what red-shift is and what it tells us about a distant galaxy.
Quick Recall Flashcards
13 questions on Life Cycle of Stars — practise free
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