Grade 9 Constellation Quiz: 9 Stars and More

Study Notes

Lesson for grade 9 science quarter 3 focuses on constellations and stars, with learning objectives including inferring characteristics of stars based on the sun, understanding constellation arrangement doesn't change, and observing how constellation positions change at night and throughout the year.
Stars are powerful balls of flaming gases emitting electromagnetic waves, with the sun being a medium-sized star, 150 million kilometers away, and taking 8 minutes and 20 seconds for sunlight to reach Earth.
Stars are natural luminous bodies visible at night, with five basic defining characteristics: brightness, color, surface temperature, size, and mass.
Star brightness depends on size, temperature, and distance from Earth, with apparent brightness being what is visible from Earth and absolute brightness being if all stars were the same distance from Earth.
Star colors range from red to blue, indicating surface temperature, with hotter stars appearing blue and colder stars appearing red.
Star sizes vary, with white dwarf stars similar in size to Earth, and red giants and super giants being large enough to fill our solar system up to Jupiter.
Star mass determines their life cycle, with low mass stars surviving for billions of years and high mass stars dying in a supernova explosion, leaving behind a black hole.