White dwarf

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/white-dwarf

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the scientific name?White dwarf
2. What is a white dwarf star?A white dwarf is the tiny, bright core left after a star finishes burning its fuel. It is about the size of Earth but still glows very brightly.
3. How do white dwarfs stay so bright even though they are so small?They keep shining because they still have hot interior energy, and they cool very slowly, losing heat over billions of years.

Electron Degeneracy Pressure: A quantum mechanical pressure that prevents electrons from occupying the same energy states, resisting gravitational collapse in white dwarfs.
Chandrasekhar Limit: The maximum mass (approximately 1.4 solar masses) a white dwarf can have before electron degeneracy pressure fails, leading to collapse or explosion.
Type Ia Supernova: A powerful stellar explosion resulting from runaway nuclear fusion in a white dwarf that has accreted sufficient mass from a companion star.