Q3 Lesson 1 – Physical Science

NUCLEOSYNTHESIS: THE BEGINNING OF ELEMENTS

4. A soup of matter in the form of subatomic particles was formed
and nuclei of light atoms were created via nucleosynthesis or
nuclear fusion between protons and neutrons.
5. Electrons interacted with these nuclei to form actual, primordial
atoms (hydrogen and helium) via the process of recombination.

EVIDENCE OF BIG BANG

 Vesto Slipher and Carl Wilhelm Wirtz (1910)

 Measurement of redshift.
 Observed that most spiral galaxies were moving away
from the earth.

 Georges Lemaître (1927)

Introductory Concepts:  Proposed alternative idea that the universe is
expanding.
o Atoms – building blocks of chemistry
o Subatomic particles – proton, neutron, electron
 Edwin Hubble (1929)
o Atomic number – upper left corner; Z; the number of protons
 Calculated distances between the earth and several
in the nucleus of an atom. The number of protons define the
galaxies using redshift of light.
identity of an element (i.e., an element with 6 protons is a
 Observed distant galaxies were moving away from the
carbon atom, no matter how many neutrons may be present).
Earth and one another.
o Mass Number - sum of number of protons and neutrons; A; add
protons and neutrons
 Robert Wilson and Arno Penzias (1965)
o Isotopes – number of subatomic particle in an element
 Discovered cosmic microwave background radiation
o Atomic mass – the average mass of the protons, neutrons, and
(CMBR)—a low, steady humming noise believed to be
electrons in an atom.
energy remains.

o Cosmology – the body of science that studies the origin,  Modern astronomy (2014)
evolution, and eventual fate of the universe.  Universe is estimated to be 13.8 billion years old with
 Religious or mythological cosmology explains the origin of 5% of its composition existing as ordinary matter
universe and life based on the religious beliefs of a specific
tradition. BIG BANG NUCLEOSYNTHESIS
 The concept of creatio ex nihilo (Latin for "creation out of
nothing")  Big bang nucleosynthesis (BBN), also known as primordial
 God creating the universe as written in the book of Genesis. nucleosynthesis, is the process of producing the light
o Physical cosmology explains the origin of universe based on elements during the big bang expansion.
scientific insights, studies, and experiments.  It yields two stable isotopes of hydrogen, two isotopes of
 Nicolaus Copernicus and the heliocentric nature of the helium, some lithium atoms, and beryllium isotopes.
universe (helio means “sun” and centric means “in the  A proton (p) and a neutron (n) may fuse together to yield a
center”) high-energy photon (γ) and an isotope of hydrogen (H)
 The expanding universe through Albert Einstein’s theory of called deuterium (D or 2H, with one p and one n).
relativity.
 The big bang theory
 Two D nuclei may fuse together to form either of the
BIG BANG THEORY following:
a. The radioactive H isotope tritium (T or 3H, with one p
A cosmological model that describes how the universe started its
and two n) and one p ; or
expansion about 13.8 billion years ago, states that the universe
continues to move and expand.

1. The universe began as a singularity or a point containing all b. The isotope helium-3 (He-3 or 3He, with two p and one
space, time, matter, and energy. n) along with one n
2. It expanded rapidly in nothingness through a rapid yet peaceful
process called inflation.
3. The universe cooled down as it expanded.  Helium-4 (He-4 or 4He, with two p and two n) may be
formed from three fusion reactions.
a. The fusion of one p and a T atom
o STELLAR FORMATION THEORY – The star formation theory
states that stars formed when gravity acted on the particles
b. The fusion of D with T expanding with the universe.
 Stellar nurseries form from dense molecular regions.
 Protostars are formed when these regions collapse.
c. The fusion of D with He-3
STELLAR NUCLEOSYNTHESIS

 He-4 may still undergo further fusion in the presence of a T  Elements associated with both living and nonliving things
atom, yielding the lithium-7 atom (Li-7 or 7Li, with three p mostly originated from stars
and four n) and a γ.  Processes that occurred inside stars were responsible for
the formation of these elements
 Elements heavier than beryllium were formed through
Li-7 may react with one p to produce two stable He-4 nuclei.
stellar nucleosynthesis.
 H and He produced from BBN started to combine in
 He-4 may also fuse with He-3 to yield the unstable isotope nuclear fusion reactions.
beryllium-7 (Be-7 or 7Be, with four p and three n) along  Very high amounts of energy were released in the form
with one γ. of light, heat and radiation.

STELLAR EVOLUTION

 The nuclear reactions as predicted by the big bang Stellar evolution refers to the process in which a star changes
nucleosynthesis. through its lifetime.

 The abundances of elements a star contains change as it

evolves.
 The course of evolution is determined by its mass.

All stars are formed from stellar nurseries called nebulae.

 A nebula breaks into smaller fragments as it further

collapses before contracting into a protostar, a very hot
stellar core that continues to gather gas and dust as it
contracts and increases in temperature.
 Nuclear reactions like the proton-proton fusion reactions
occur at a temperature of around 10,000,000 K.

Protostars evolve into main sequence stars upon reaching

gravitational equilibrium.
The correlation between predicted and observed cosmic abundances
of H and He was the major proof of the big bang theory.  Nuclear reactions form subatomic particles called neutrinos
and positrons.
 Almost all available neutrons have combined with protons,
 An increase in pressure brought about by positrons and
forming 24% He-4 by mass.
neutrinos halt the contraction of the protostar.
 About 74% H by mass remained uncombined.
The sun is believed to be in the middle of the main sequence
To verify these observations, scientists measured abundances of
phase of stellar evolution.
primordial material in unprocessed gas in some parts of the universe
with no stars, as well as in parts of meteorites known as chondrites  It will remain as such for at least five billion years.
that commonly fall to Earth.  Red dwarf stars stay on the main sequence phase for at
STELLAR EVOLUTION AND THE FORMATION OF HEAVIER ELEMENTS least 100 billion years due to the slow rate of hydrogen
fusion.
o The tiny stars shining in the sky are actually giant balls of
Not all protostars become main sequence stars.
hydrogen and helium.
o Earth is just a tiny part of the vast complex universe.  Brown dwarf stars are only able to fuel deuterium fusion
o The BBN did not give rise to elements heavier than beryllium. reactions.
 Drop in temperature resulted in insufficient energy levels  They cool gradually and have an average lifespan of less
for fusion reactions to push through. than a billion years.
 Nucleosynthesis continued with the expansion of the
universe. Main sequence stars evolve into red giant stars when all
hydrogen atoms in their cores get depleted.

1. Helium becomes the major component of the core.

 Proton-proton chain reactions use hydrogen to
produce helium.
 Hydrogen fusion moves to the outer shell and the
core's surface.
2. Fusion stops when all hydrogen atoms in the core are used
up.
 Pressure in the core decreases.
3. Helium atoms or alpha particles are converted to carbon via
the alpha fusion processes.
4. Temperature can increase to approximately 10 million K.
 Pressure also increases.
 Hydrogen is pushed away from the core.
 The resulting expansion eventually transforms the Elements heavier than iron are formed after a supernova.
main sequence star to a red giant.
1. An exploding multiple-shell red giant is called a supernova.
 happens when its core can no longer produce energy
to resist gravity
2. It releases massive quantities of high-energy neutrinos.
 Neutrinos break nucleons and release neutrons.
3. The generated neutrons are picked up by nearby stars.
 Key step in the formation of elements heavier than
iron.

STELLAR EVOLUTION

Fusion of elements in a red giant 1. The discovery of interstellar gas and dust in the early 1900s
2. The study of different stages of stellar evolution happening
Low mass stars turn into white dwarf stars when the majority of throughout the universe
helium in their cores are consumed.  Infrared radiation (IR) can be detected from different
stages of stellar evolution.
1. Hot and inert carbon core eventually becomes the white
 IR released by protostar is measured and compared to
dwarf.
IR from nearby area with zero extinction.
 Lower amounts of helium in the core decrease the rate
 approximation of energy, temperature and pressure
of the alpha processes.
from IR
 Outer shell expands into space, forming a planetary
nebula.
2. A white dwarf’s composition depends on its predecessor’s
mass.
 A sun-sized main sequence star lacks energy to fuse
carbon and the white dwarf would mostly contain inert
carbon and some oxygen.
 A smaller star will produce a white dwarf mostly
composed of helium and a bit of hydrogen.

Massive stars evolve into multiple-shell red giant stars.

1. A high mass star can reach pressure and temperature levels

favorable for carbon fusion.
2. It evolves through several stages where heavier elements
are fused in the core and in the shells around it eventually
forming multiple shells.
 Multiple elements formed in a series of reactions in the
following order:

3. Elements lighter than iron can be fused since the nucleus

produced has a mass lower than the sum of their masses.
 Missing mass is released as energy.
4. Stellar nucleosynthesis of elements heavier than iron is not
possible due to its energy requirement.