Question

1. practice: life cycle of stars
2. practice: life cycle of stars

respond to the following based on your reading.
question 1
briefly describe why the mass of a star determines its fate after a supernova explosion.
question 2
stars are classified according to their temperature and luminosity. using the hertzsprung - russell diagram compare and contrast white dwarfs with super giants.

Explanation:

For Question 1: The mass of a star after a supernova explosion determines if it becomes a neutron - star or a black - hole. If the remaining mass is below a certain threshold (about 3 solar masses), neutron degeneracy pressure can support it against gravitational collapse, forming a neutron star. If the remaining mass is above this threshold, gravity overcomes all known forces and a black - hole is formed.
For Question 2: On the Hertzsprung - Russell diagram, white dwarfs are hot but have low luminosity due to their small size. Super giants are very luminous and can be either hot or cool, but are extremely large in size compared to white dwarfs.

Answer:

Question 1: The mass determines if it forms a neutron star (if mass is below a certain limit) or a black - hole (if mass is above that limit) as neutron degeneracy pressure can only support a certain mass against gravitational collapse.
Question 2: White dwarfs are hot with low luminosity and small size, while super giants are very luminous and large, and can be hot or cool.