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9th grade The Sun's life from start to finish worksheet

6 printable versionsBuilding Confidence10 questions · answer keyFree · no account

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The Sun's life from start to finish

Grade 9 Science Worksheet - Building Confidence

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Circle the best answer.

  1. Timeline ruler of the Sun's life with a dot at now. The Sun is now fusing hydrogen into helium in its core. Which stage of life is it in, by Ari's reading?

    • White dwarf
    • Protostar
    • Main sequence
    • Red giant

  2. The Sun's last stage is a hot core about the size of Earth that slowly cools. What is it called, by Kira's reading?

    • A black hole
    • A neutron star left by a supernova
    • White dwarf
    • A small star still fusing hydrogen

  3. Which order matches the Sun's life from start to finish, by Jun's reading?

    • Protostar → red giant → main sequence → white dwarf
    • Nebula → main sequence → white dwarf → red giant
    • Nebula → protostar → main sequence → red giant → white dwarf
    • Nebula → protostar → main sequence → supernova

  4. What comes right after the main sequence for the Sun, by Luz's reading?

    • It shrinks straight to a white dwarf
    • It goes dark at once
    • It swells into a red giant
    • It explodes as a supernova

  5. What happens right before the Sun becomes a white dwarf, by Milo's reading?

    • A protostar forms
    • A supernova blast
    • Its outer layers drift away as a planetary nebula
    • The main sequence begins

  6. On the timeline, about how long ago did the Sun form, by Noah's reading (NASA)?

    • About 4.6 million years ago
    • About 4,600 years ago
    • About 10 billion years ago
    • About 4.6 billion years ago

  7. About how much main-sequence time does the Sun have left, by Ren's reading?

    • About 5 billion years
    • It ends within the next century
    • About 10 billion years more
    • About 50 years

  8. Star card cutaway of a red giant with its core marked. What does the core of a red giant like the future Sun fuse, by Tala's reading (NASA)?

    • Nothing; fusion has stopped for good
    • Hydrogen into helium, just as now
    • Iron into gold
    • Helium into carbon

  9. Why does a white dwarf glow, by Zee's reading (NASA)?

    • It reflects light from other stars
    • It fuses hydrogen like the Sun today
    • It is still hot and slowly cools; no fusion happens
    • It fuses helium in its core

  10. About how big is a white dwarf, by Esme's reading (NASA)?

    • Hundreds of times the Sun's size
    • About 20 km across, like a neutron star
    • The same size as the Sun now
    • Roughly the size of Earth
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9th grade The Sun's life from start to finish worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

The Sun's life from start to finish. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can put the Sun's life stages in order: nebula, protostar, main sequence, red giant, planetary nebula, white dwarf.
  • I can read and scale the timeline: about 4.6 billion years old, about 10 billion years on the main sequence, about 5 billion left.
  • I can explain why each stage changes, why the Sun will not explode, and how astronomers know from other stars.

Standard: HS-ESS1-1

Words to know

main sequence: The long, steady stage when a star fuses hydrogen into helium in its core

red giant: A swollen, cooler-surfaced star whose core fuses helium into carbon

planetary nebula: The glowing shell of outer layers a red giant sheds

white dwarf: The hot, Earth-sized core left behind; it no longer fuses

deep time: Spans of millions and billions of years

Common mistakes

Your child matched the wrong life stage. The Sun goes nebula, protostar, main sequence, red giant, planetary nebula, white dwarf.

Your child expected the Sun to explode. Only stars many times the Sun's mass end as supernovas; the Sun will end as a white dwarf.

Your child shrank the Sun's time scale. The Sun formed about 4.6 billion years ago and has about 5 billion years of main-sequence life left (NASA).

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with the sun's life from start to finish?

Your child matched the wrong life stage. The Sun goes nebula, protostar, main sequence, red giant, planetary nebula, white dwarf.

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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