Exploding Stars: Questions & Answers

1. What do you currently know about how distances are measured in space?(Answer not provided)

2. Select the supernova by clicking on the image.

3. Click on the supernova in the image.
4. What is the best way to describe how the brightness of this supernova changes over time?(No selection)
5. Which type of supernova is the most energetic and intrinsically bright?(No selection)
6. The peak brightness of a Type IIp supernova depends on the(Answer not provided)of the star that explodes.
7. Which type of supernova remains relatively bright for about 90 days?(No selection)
8. Which type of supernova always has about the same peak brightness?(No selection)
9. Which type of supernova arises from stars that are much more massive than the Sun?(No selection)
10. Which graph shows a supernova that increases until reaching a peak brightness, then its brightness level drops slightly, and its brightness remains approximately the same for several months?(No selection)
11. Which graph shows a supernova that increases to peak brightness and then continues to dim over a period of months?(No selection)
12. Which graph shows a Type Ia supernova?(No selection)

13. Use the controls to play, pause, and skip between images. Click on the supernova when you find it.
14. What type of supernova is this?(No selection)
15. Explain your answer — which aspects of the light curve caused you to choose this type?(Answer not provided)
16. Does the graph show a supernova formed from a white dwarf or a high mass main sequence star?(No selection)

17. Use the controls to play, pause, and skip between images. Click on the supernova when you find it.
    
18. What type of supernova is this?(No selection)
19. Explain your answer — which aspects of the light curve caused you to choose this type?(Answer not provided)
20. Does the graph show a supernova formed from a white dwarf or a high mass main sequence star?(No selection)

21. Use the controls to play, pause, and skip between images. Click on the supernova when you find it.
22. What type of supernova is this?(No selection)
23. Explain your answer — which aspects of the light curve caused you to choose this type?(Answer not provided)
24. Does the graph show a supernova formed from a white dwarf or a high mass main sequence star?(No selection)
25. Which supernova (A or B) shown in the graph decreases in brightness more rapidly?(No selection)
26. Does the supernova that decreases in brightness more rapidly have a smaller or larger value for 𝚫m15?(No selection)
27. Which supernova is more intrinsically bright?(No selection)
28. The supernova that declines more rapidly in brightness will have a(Answer not provided)𝚫m15, will be(Answer not provided)intrinsically bright, and will have a(Answer not provided)peak absolute magnitude number.

29. Practice fitting the Type Ia supernova model light curve to the sample data. You can adjust both the vertical position of the model light curve and its width to fit the data. Since you are using real data, it is highly unlikely that you will get a perfect fit for all of your points. It is most important to fit the data from 10 days before the peak to 40 days after the peak, especially the 𝚫m₁₅ section of the data. You can use the arrow keys to fine-tune the position of the curve. Make small adjustments in the curve width or vertical placement until you are satisfied with the fit. 

    Then, move the dotted horizontal line to the peak of your light curve to determine the peak apparent magnitude.
30. Enter the value for your 𝚫m15 to calculate the peak absolute magnitude of the supernova.(Answer not provided)
31. Record the values for 𝚫m15, peak apparent magnitude (m), and peak absolute magnitude (M) of the supernova in the table below.

    Supernova	$$\mathrm{\Delta }{m}_{15}$$	Peak Apparent Magnitude (m)	Peak Absolute Magnitude (M)
    Supernova Data

32. Enter the peak apparent magnitude (m) and absolute magnitude (M) for the supernova into the calculator to find its distance from Earth. (Don’t forget to include the negative sign for M.)(Answer not provided)
33. Enter the distance for the supernova in Mly.(Answer not provided)

34. Fit the model light curve to your data. Then, move the dotted line to the peak of your light curve to determine the peak apparent magnitude.
    
35. Enter the value for your 𝚫m15 to calculate the peak absolute magnitude of Supernova A.(Answer not provided)
36. Enter the peak apparent magnitude (m) and absolute magnitude (M) for supernova A into the calculator to find its distance from Earth. (Don’t forget to include the negative sign for M.)(Answer not provided)
37. Record the values for 𝚫m15, peak apparent magnitude (m), peak absolute magnitude (M), and distance of supernova A in the table below.

    Supernova	$$\mathrm{\Delta }{m}_{15}$$	Peak Apparent Magnitude (m)	Peak Absolute Magnitude (M)	Distance (Mly)
    Supernova A

38. Fit the model light curve to your data. Then, move the dotted line to the peak of your light curve to determine the peak apparent magnitude.
39. Enter the value for your 𝚫m15 to calculate the peak absolute magnitude of Supernova B.(Answer not provided)
40. Enter the peak apparent magnitude (m) and absolute magnitude (M) for supernova B into the calculator to find its distance from Earth. (Don’t forget to include the negative sign for M.)(Answer not provided)
41. Record the values for 𝚫m15, peak apparent magnitude (m), peak absolute magnitude (M), and distance of supernova B in the table below.

    Supernova	$$\mathrm{\Delta }{m}_{15}$$	Peak Apparent Magnitude (m)	Peak Absolute Magnitude (M)	Distance (Mly)
    Supernova B

42. Fit the model light curve to your data. Then, move the dotted line to the peak of your light curve to determine the peak apparent magnitude.
43. Enter the value for your 𝚫m15 to calculate the peak absolute magnitude of Supernova C.(Answer not provided)
44. Enter the peak apparent magnitude (m) and absolute magnitude (M) for supernova C into the calculator to find its distance from Earth. (Don’t forget to include the negative sign for M.)(Answer not provided)
45. Record the values for 𝚫m15, peak apparent magnitude (m), peak absolute magnitude (M), and distance of supernova C in the table below.

    Supernova	$$\mathrm{\Delta }{m}_{15}$$	Peak Apparent Magnitude (m)	Peak Absolute Magnitude (M)	Distance (Mly)
    Supernova C

46. Which of the three Type Ia supernovae appears brightest from Earth?(No selection)
47. Supernova(Answer not provided)is most intrinsically bright, so its light curve will decrease in brightness(Answer not provided)during the 15 days following its peak apparent brightness.
48. Suppose two Type Ia supernova have the same Δ 𝑚 15. Supernova A has a smaller peak apparent magnitude number than Supernova B. Which supernova is closer to the Milky Way Galaxy?(No selection)
49. Are the locations of supernovae evenly distributed on the map? If not, what patterns do you notice?(Answer not provided)
50. Are there equal numbers of supernovae at all distances? If not, at what distance are more supernovae located?(Answer not provided)
51. Describe where your 3 supernovae are in relation to the Milky Way Galaxy (above, below, close, far, etc.)(Answer not provided)
52. In this investigation, you have learned how to classify (categorize) types of supernovae according to the shape of their light curves. Provide an example of how your personal life and/or society have been affected by the use of categories.(Answer not provided)
53. At the beginning of the investigation, you were asked to share what you knew about measuring distances in space. Look back to the first page of the investigation to reflect on your initial response. Now that you have further explored this topic, how would you add to your initial response to explain how supernovae are used to measure distances in space?(Answer not provided)
54. Different types of stars can explode to form supernovae. A star that is more than 8 times the mass of the Sun forms a Type(Answer not provided)supernova. A Type(Answer not provided)supernova forms from a(Answer not provided)in a binary star system.
55. Type Ia supernovae achieve an intrinsic peak brightness that is(Answer not provided)than the intrinsic peak brightness of Type IIp supernovae. After reaching its peak brightness, the light output from a Type Ia supernova(Answer not provided)for a few months.
56. Type(Answer not provided)supernovae cannot be used for distance measurement because the stars that become this type of supernova have a range of(Answer not provided)
57. Copy and paste each statement from the list above into this table in the correct order from beginning to end. For instance, if you think E is the first step, copy and paste statement E next to Step 1. Note: There is more than one correct way to order the tasks.

    Order	Task
    Step 1
    Step 2
    Step 3
    Step 4
    Step 5
    Step 6