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General Concepts

• What is thermal pressure?
• Which sources can the interior of a star get heat from?
• Do stars shine forever?
• Why aren't stars eternal?
• When would we call a star "young"?

Main Sequence

• What do all main sequence stars have in common?
• What percentage of its life does a star spend on the main sequence?
• How long does a star like the Sun stay on the main sequence?
• What is the main nuclear reaction occurring inside normal, main sequence stars?
• What element is produced from hydrogen fusion in main sequence stars?
• What keeps main sequence stars from shrinking down to smaller sizes?
• What does convection have to do with how a stars works?
• How long does it take for energy produced in the core of a Sun-like star to reach the surface?

After the Main Sequence

• Which stars are considered to be low-mass? Intermediate-mass? High-mass?
• What is the helium flash?
• When does a star become a red giant?
• Why does a star become red when it enters the giant/supergiant phase?
• How big will the Sun become when it enters the red giant phase?
• Can a star like the Sun produce energy in the core after the supply of H is finished?
• What kind of star is Aldebaran?

Planetary Nebulae and White Dwarfs

• What is a planetary nebula?
• Are there planetary nebulae in our own galaxy?
• Have we seen planetary nebulae in other galaxies?
• What would you expect to find at the center of an old planetary nebula?
• What is a white dwarf?
• What keeps white dwarfs from continuously shrinking to smaller sizes?
• What is degeneracy pressure?
• What kind of star is Sirius B?
• What is a Roche lobe?
• What is strange about the star Algol?
• Why is Algol strange?

Massive Stars

• What is the heaviest element that can be formed by fusion in a star's core?
• Which stages will (won't) the Sun go through at some point in time?
• What is a star 5 times as massive as the Sun likely to do/become at the end of its life?