How stars make the elements
Grade 9 Science Worksheet
Circle the best answer.
Origin chain card with four blank boxes. Trace an oxygen atom in a glass of water back to its origin, by Bo's reading.
- Made in the Big Bang, then stored on Earth ever since it formed
- Made by splitting iron
- Made in a star's core, spread into space, then gathered into Earth
- Made in Earth's oceans
Read this first
Where elements were mainly made (NASA)
Element Atomic number Main origin hydrogen 1 Big Bang helium 2 Big Bang carbon 6 star cores oxygen 8 star cores iron 26 massive stars and their supernovas gold 79 neutron-star collisions Where did the iron in an iron nail come from, by Esme's reading?
- Fusion in massive stars, spread by supernovas
- The Sun's core today
- Earth's core, which makes iron
- The Big Bang
Platinum, like gold, is among the heaviest elements. Where did it probably form, by Jun's reading (NASA)?
- In neutron-star collisions
- In the core of Sun-like stars
- In the Big Bang
- In Earth's mantle
Fusion ladder with a stop sign at iron and two arrows leading off it. Where, then, do most elements heavier than iron form, by Luz's reading?
- In supernovas and neutron-star collisions
- In the cores of Sun-like stars as they age
- In the Big Bang
- By fusing iron in quiet cores
Carbon has 6 protons and helium has 2. How many helium nuclei fuse to make one carbon nucleus, by Noah's math?
- 4
- 2
- 3
- 12
Carbon (6) fuses with helium (2). Which element forms, by Pia's reading?
- Carbon, 6
- Neon, 10
- Oxygen, 8
- Nitrogen, 7
Oxygen (8) fuses with helium (2). Which element forms, by Ren's reading?
- Neon, 10
- Fluorine, 9
- Oxygen, 8
- Magnesium, 12
Drawing of two small, dense stars merging, with glowing debris. In 2017, NASA telescopes caught light from two merging neutron stars about 130 million light-years away. What did that light reveal, by Tala's reading?
- Hydrogen splitting into lighter atoms
- Elements made on Earth
- Elements left from the Big Bang
- Heavy elements forged in the debris
The oldest stars hold far less iron than the Sun. Why, by Zee's reading?
- They formed before stars had made and spread much iron
- Iron forms on planets, not in stars
- They fused their iron away
- Iron came from the Big Bang and has been used up
A supernova remnant shows oxygen, silicon and iron in its spectrum. What does this show, by Ari's reading?
- These elements came from Earth
- These elements were made by splitting
- These elements are left over from the Big Bang long ago
- Elements made in the star are spreading into space