Objective Students will learn about the elements created in the cores of high- mass stars in this activity. Students should be familiar with basic chemistry. Students should also have read the background sections on the Life Cycles of the Stars and the Dispersion of Elements . Introduction Elements are produced in the cores of high-mass stars by fusion reactions.
All stars start by burning hydrogen and end up creating many heavier elements inside their cores.
It is this kind of star that will eventually spread the elements it created in its core when it dies in a supernova explosion. If time allows, the class can do this themselves, otherwise, the teacher can demonstrate it for the class. Use another color of clay to make a layer over the first. Do this until you have 8 layers of clay, each a different color, each at least half an inch thick. The inside shows the different layers present in the core of a high-mass star.