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The life-span of every star is related to mass, which determines luminosity (brightness). The table shows the masses, lifetimes, and luminosities of two stars compared to that of the Sun.



How does the Sun's lifetime compare to other main sequence stars? Move each lifetime into the table next to the star it describes.

Response area with 3 blank spaces
,begin bold,Star,end bold, ,begin bold,Mass ,end bold,(solar mass) ,begin bold,Main Sequence Lifetime ,end bold,(years) ,begin bold,Luminosity ,end bold,(solar luminosity)
Proxima Centauri 0.12
Blank space 11 empty

0.0017
Spica 11
Blank space 12 empty

2,200

Sun 1
Blank space 15 empty

1


Answer options with 3 options.

1 answer

To fill in the lifetimes of the stars in the lifetime column next to each star, we can use the information provided and some standard knowledge about these stars. Here are the filled-in options:

  1. Proxima Centauri: This star is a red dwarf, and it has a very long main sequence lifetime compared to the Sun, often estimated to be around 4 trillion years. Since it is a low-mass star, we can assume its lifetime is significantly longer.

  2. Spica: This is a massive star with a main sequence lifetime of approximately 20 million years, as high-mass stars exhaust their nuclear fuel much faster than lower-mass stars.

  3. Sun: As listed, the lifetime of the Sun is approximately 10 billion years.

Putting these into the table, the filled areas would look like:

| Star | Mass (solar mass) | Main Sequence Lifetime (years) | Luminosity (solar luminosity) | |---------------------|-----------------------|-----------------------------------|------------------------------------| | Proxima Centauri | 0.12 | ~4 trillion | 0.0017 | | Spica | 11 | ~20 million | 2,200 | | Sun | 1 | ~10 billion | 1 |

So the lifetimes would be:

  • Proxima Centauri: ~4 trillion years
  • Spica: ~20 million years
  • Sun: ~10 billion years

If you need specific text answers for the blank spaces based on the choices, please provide those options, and I can assign them accordingly.