Choose which of the following is the main differences between the life cycle of low mass and high mass stars?

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A star's life cycle is determined by its mass. The larger its mass, the shorter its life cycle.

A star's mass is determined by the amount of matter that is available in its nebula, the giant cloud of gas and dust from which it was born.

Both 1) and 2)

None of these

answer is C.

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Detailed Solution

Concept: A star's life cycle is controlled by its mass. As its bulk grows, its lifespan shortens. A star's mass is determined by the quantity of substance in the star's nebula, the enormous cloud of gas and dust from which it emerged. Over time, gravity draws the hydrogen gas in the nebula together, and it begins to rotate.
Based on the rate of fuel combustion: Both low mass and high mass stars will begin by fusing hydrogen into helium, albeit the high mass star will burn it more quickly due to higher core pressure and temperature.
According to the potential to produce heavier elements, a high mass star will also burn carbon to produce heavier elements like neon, magnesium, oxygen, and even iron before nuclear fusion comes to an end. Low mass stars, like our Sun, will, nevertheless, convert hydrogen to helium more slowly. As a result of the high pressures and temperatures needed in the core, they will also be able to burn helium into carbon, but they won't be able to fuse carbon any farther.
A low mass star, like our own, with a mass of less than the Sun's mass would become a White Dwarf, a tiny, compact star the size of the Earth, according to the fate of stars after using up all of their fuel. When a star has a mass between and times that of the Sun, it will encounter such strong gravitational pull that it will collapse even deeper than a white dwarf before being halted by neutrons created by the core's tremendous compression.
Hence, the appropriate response choice (3) .

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