After the Big Bang, our Universe was hot, dense plasma. For the first 200 million years of its existence, the Universe was in the Dark Ages. The formation of the first stars made our Universe much more complex and these stars became the engines of light and heat for future complexity to emerge.
In this activity, students will put the steps that lead to star formation in order. Then, they will watch a video about how the death of stars made the Universe more complex. Finally, students will use what they’ve learned about stars to do some informal writing about how stars increased complexity in the Universe and how they might help us in the future.
Opener: How Did Stars Form?
Break the class up into small groups (three to four students in each) and hand out five index cards or sticky notes to each group.
Have student groups write the following statements on the cards (one statement per index card/sticky note):
- Temperature reaches 10 million degrees Celsius.
- Gravity pulls matter together forming areas of hydrogen and helium.
- The first stars form.
- Denser clouds of hydrogen and helium cause gravity to increase.
- Collisions generate heat.
Ask students to arrange the cards in the order that they think leads to the formation of a star.
As a class, watch the Big History Project video Threshold 2: Stars Light Up and have student groups check their work.
What Did the Stars Give Us?
Have students watch the Big History Project video What Did the Stars Give Us? and complete the chart in the Stars Student Guide.
Closer: Stars Quick Write
Students will use evidence from what they’ve learned about stars to answer two of the following questions:
- How did the formation of stars add new complexity to the Universe?
- How does the death of stars add even more complexity to the Universe?
- How could stars help us in the future?
Cover image: Sun emits a solstice CME, by NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, public domain.