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9th grade How stars make the elements worksheet

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How stars make the elements

Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Challenge Me

NameDate

Circle the best answer.

  1. Origin chain card with four blank boxes. Which chain takes Big Bang hydrogen to the carbon in a tree, by Esme's reading?

    • Turned into carbon in the Sun's core today
    • Turned straight into carbon during the first minutes of the Big Bang
    • Made into carbon inside Earth
    • Fused in stars, spread at the star's end, gathered into Earth

  2. Four timeline cards, labeled A to D. Which list puts element-making in time order, by Jun's reading?

    • Carbon in the Big Bang, then hydrogen in stars
    • Gold first, then hydrogen and helium
    • The whole table in the first five minutes
    • Hydrogen and helium; then carbon and oxygen in stars; then gold in collisions

  3. Periodic-table strip with the first three boxes shaded. Luz's friend says every element was made in the Big Bang. Which response is best (NASA)?

    • Agree: the Big Bang made the full table
    • Disagree: it made hydrogen, helium and a little lithium; stars made the rest
    • Disagree: Earth made the elements
    • Agree: stars just shine and make nothing

  4. Milo's cousin says the Sun is making gold right now. Which response is best?

    • Disagree: the Sun fuses hydrogen to helium and will reach only about carbon
    • Agree: gold comes from fusing iron
    • Agree: stars like the Sun make gold
    • Disagree: gold is made inside Earth

  5. Oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and others. Noah's friend says people are made of star stuff. Which response is best?

    • Disagree: our atoms came from the Big Bang
    • Agree: apart from hydrogen, most of our atoms were made in stars
    • Disagree: our atoms were made on Earth
    • Agree: our atoms came from splitting stars and gas apart into pieces

  6. Read this first

    Where elements were mainly made (NASA)

    ElementAtomic numberMain origin
    hydrogen1Big Bang
    helium2Big Bang
    carbon6star cores
    oxygen8star cores
    iron26massive stars and their supernovas
    gold79neutron-star collisions

  7. Which pair of elements was made in the same kind of place, by Pia's reading?

    • Helium and gold, in the Big Bang
    • Gold and carbon, in Earth's core
    • Iron and hydrogen, in the Sun
    • Carbon and oxygen, in star cores

  8. Why is hydrogen still the most common element today, by Ren's reading?

    • Stars have fused only a small share of it
    • Stars keep making new hydrogen by splitting
    • Hydrogen forms on planets
    • The Big Bang is still making it

  9. Masses (NIST, rounded)

    ParticleMass (u)
    helium-44.0026
    carbon-1212.0000

  10. Three helium-4 nuclei (4.0026 u each, NIST) fuse into one carbon-12 nucleus (12.0000 u). How much mass becomes energy, by Zee's math?

    • Zero, since mass is kept
    • About 0.0078 u
    • Mass is gained, so energy is used up
    • About 0.078 u

  11. Which fusion makes magnesium (12), by Ari's reading?

    • Iron (26) splitting in half
    • Oxygen (8) + helium (2)
    • Neon (10) + helium (2)
    • Carbon (6) + helium (2)

  12. Gold has 79 protons and iron has 26. How many more protons does a gold nucleus have, by Bo's math?

    • 53
    • 79
    • 105
    • 52
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9th grade How stars make the elements worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

How stars make the elements. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can say where an element was mainly made: the Big Bang, star cores, supernovas or neutron-star collisions.
  • I can climb the fusion ladder by adding atomic numbers and explain why star cores stop at iron.
  • I can trace an atom in my body or a rock back to its origin, and judge the evidence for it.

Standard: HS-ESS1-3

Words to know

nucleosynthesis: The making of new atomic nuclei

atomic number: The number of protons in a nucleus

fusion ladder: The order in which a star's core fuses elements, up to iron

kilonova: The glow from colliding neutron stars, where heavy elements form

supernova remnant: The expanding cloud a supernova leaves

Common mistakes

Your child thought the Big Bang made every element. It made hydrogen, helium and a little lithium; stars and star explosions made the rest (NASA).

Your child thought Sun-like stars make heavy elements. Sun-like stars fuse up to about carbon; massive stars reach iron; heavier elements come from supernovas and neutron-star collisions.

Your child thought fusion keeps going past iron. NASA: fusing iron takes in energy, so star cores stop there; heavier elements form in explosions and collisions.

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with how stars make the elements?

Your child thought the Big Bang made every element. It made hydrogen, helium and a little lithium; stars and star explosions made the rest (NASA).

Are these 9th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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