In this project, we studied the life cycle of a star
Our Presentation
Slideshow
Clues and Research
Overview
In this project, we learned about a lot of different things. We spent about 4 weeks doing research on many different subjects, including nuclear reactions, nuclear structure and how our universe was created along with all the other atoms in the universe. We were then allowed to choose to study any one of these subjects-ranging from harnessing radioactive energy to how our universe will end-and create a model to showcase it. Our group studied the life cycle of a star, and our model we used was an escape room. We gave 6 groups of students one clue each, and they had to find the letters hidden around the room that spelled out "Nebula," similar to how a nebula is formed by many different elements coming together
Reflection
One peak I had in this project was creativity. We truly were allowed to research many different things and could present it in any way possible, and what we did was something I have never seen before. It was an original, fun project and I hope we get to do many more projects with this same creativity in the future. Another peak I had in this project was communication. Even thugh we rarely had the group together as a whole, whether it be due to music trips or sick days, we still had everyone in the group aware of what was happening with the project. I hope we can maintain this clarity in future projects.
One pit I had in this project was contributing to the research. I may have helped out a lot with presenting and creating the presentation, but I didn't have so much of a concentration on checking our research. In the future, I hope to not be swept away by our project and still make sure I am getting research done for the group. Another pit I had in this project was leadership. I introduced the idea, but let the group shape the idea into what it became and more or less flowed along with whatever my group was doing. In the future, I hope to make greater contributions to our project and take more of a leader position
One pit I had in this project was contributing to the research. I may have helped out a lot with presenting and creating the presentation, but I didn't have so much of a concentration on checking our research. In the future, I hope to not be swept away by our project and still make sure I am getting research done for the group. Another pit I had in this project was leadership. I introduced the idea, but let the group shape the idea into what it became and more or less flowed along with whatever my group was doing. In the future, I hope to make greater contributions to our project and take more of a leader position
Concepts
Proton-A positively charged subatomic particle that is found in the nucleus. Changing the number of proton affects the atomic number of an atom and changes it into a new element
Neutron-A neutrally charged subatomic particle that is found in the nucleus. Changing the number of neutrons in an atom affects the atomic mass of an atom and makes it a seperate isotope
Electron-A negatively charged subatomic particle that is found orbiting an atom at high speeds. Changing the number of electrons in an atom affects the net charge and creates a new ion of that atom
Nebula-A formless, dense region that is the first stage of a star. Nebulas eventually shrink and warm up due to gravity and can form two different types of stars. Nebulas can form more then one star, they can form up to thousnads
Sun like star-One of the two types of stars that can form. These stars are mostly made of hydrogen. Stars release heat and energy from the fusion of elements, most commonly hydrogen into helium. At the end of their life, these stars turn into red giants. Sun-like stars die once the gaseous fuel runs out, leaving behind a white dwarf and a planetry nebula
Planetary Nebula-A ring shaped nebula left behing by the expanding shell of gas surrounding a sun-like star. Despite the name, this nebula does not relate to planets in any way and acts as a normal nebula.
Fusion-The process of two light nuclei colliding with each other to form another more dense nuclei, giving off huge amounts of energy and heat. This process is the central basis of stars and is the way the function
White dwarf-A small, dense star that is left behind once a star burns out. These stars are the size of a planet, and are one of the smaller types of stars.
Red Giant-A large, high luminosity star that gives off huge amounts of heat. These stars are at the end of their life cycle, and will die off into a white dwarf leaving behind a white dwarf
Massive star-Similar to a sun-like star, except much bigger. These stars turn into red supergiants at the end of their life cycle. These stars can die in either a black hole or a supernova.
Red Supergiant-A very large, high luminosity star that occurs at the end of a star's life cycle. These are the largest types of stars, and can die in either a supernova or turn into a black hole
Black hole-A region of spacetime so dense and with such a high gravitational pull that nothing-not even radiation waves such as light-are able to escape its pull.
Supernova-A star that turns extremely bright from a huge explosion that expells most of the star's mass. These events create many new elements, and are how most of the natural elements occured. These events leave behind a neutron star
Neutron Star-An extremely dense, very dim star that consists of densly backed neutrons left over from a star burning out.
Neutron-A neutrally charged subatomic particle that is found in the nucleus. Changing the number of neutrons in an atom affects the atomic mass of an atom and makes it a seperate isotope
Electron-A negatively charged subatomic particle that is found orbiting an atom at high speeds. Changing the number of electrons in an atom affects the net charge and creates a new ion of that atom
Nebula-A formless, dense region that is the first stage of a star. Nebulas eventually shrink and warm up due to gravity and can form two different types of stars. Nebulas can form more then one star, they can form up to thousnads
Sun like star-One of the two types of stars that can form. These stars are mostly made of hydrogen. Stars release heat and energy from the fusion of elements, most commonly hydrogen into helium. At the end of their life, these stars turn into red giants. Sun-like stars die once the gaseous fuel runs out, leaving behind a white dwarf and a planetry nebula
Planetary Nebula-A ring shaped nebula left behing by the expanding shell of gas surrounding a sun-like star. Despite the name, this nebula does not relate to planets in any way and acts as a normal nebula.
Fusion-The process of two light nuclei colliding with each other to form another more dense nuclei, giving off huge amounts of energy and heat. This process is the central basis of stars and is the way the function
White dwarf-A small, dense star that is left behind once a star burns out. These stars are the size of a planet, and are one of the smaller types of stars.
Red Giant-A large, high luminosity star that gives off huge amounts of heat. These stars are at the end of their life cycle, and will die off into a white dwarf leaving behind a white dwarf
Massive star-Similar to a sun-like star, except much bigger. These stars turn into red supergiants at the end of their life cycle. These stars can die in either a black hole or a supernova.
Red Supergiant-A very large, high luminosity star that occurs at the end of a star's life cycle. These are the largest types of stars, and can die in either a supernova or turn into a black hole
Black hole-A region of spacetime so dense and with such a high gravitational pull that nothing-not even radiation waves such as light-are able to escape its pull.
Supernova-A star that turns extremely bright from a huge explosion that expells most of the star's mass. These events create many new elements, and are how most of the natural elements occured. These events leave behind a neutron star
Neutron Star-An extremely dense, very dim star that consists of densly backed neutrons left over from a star burning out.