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I. OBJECTIVES At the end of the lesson the students will be able to;
describe an element
identify the light elements formed during Big Bang and describe how are these elements
formed
write the nuclear reactions which lead to the formation of these elements.
state how the elements which are heavier than iron were formed in the universe.
The learners demonstrate an understanding of ;
A. Content Standards 1. the formation of the elements during the Big Bang and during the stellar evolution
2. the distribution of the chemical elements and the isotopes in the universe.
The learners make a creative representation of the historical development of the atom or the
B. Performance Standards chemical element in a timeline.
The learners;
C. Learning Competencies/ give evidence for and explain the formation of the light elements in the Big Bang Theory
Objectives (S11/12PS-IIIa-1)
give evidence for and describe the formation of heavier elements during star formation
and evolution. (S11/12PS-IIIa-2)
write the nuclear fusion reactions that take place in stars, which lead to the formation of
new elements. (S11/12PS-IIIa-3)
describe how elements heavier than iron were formed. (S11/12PS-IIIa-b-4)
How the elements found in the universe were formed.
II. CONTENT
III. LEARNING RESOURCES
A. References
1. Teacher’s Guide pages None
2. Learner’s Materials pages
3. Textbook pages
4. Additional Materials from None
Learning Resource (LR) portal
B. Other Learning Resources http://sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Just-Elemental/Science-Ideas-and-Concepts/How-elements-
are-formed retrieved Oct. 29, 2016
http://curious.astro.cornell.edu/about-us/84-the-universe/stars-and-star-clusters/nuclear-
burning/402-how-are-light-and-heavy-elements-formed-advanced retrieved Oct. 29, 2016
Learning Station 2 Earth is in the path of this energy stream, which warms the planet, drives weather and provides
energy for life. The Earth’s atmosphere is able to screen out most of the harmful radiation, and the
Earth’s magnetic field can deflect the harmful effects of the solar wind.
What are the lightest elements
in the universe?
Dying stars
Why is fusion reaction possible
in the early universe?
When a star’s core runs out of hydrogen, the star begins to die out. The dying star expands into a
What kind of stars produces the red giant, and this now begins to manufacture carbon atoms by fusing helium atoms.
lightest elements?
How are the elements heavier More massive stars begin a further series of nuclear burning or reaction stages. The elements
than iron were formed? formed in these stages range from oxygen through to iron.
During a supernova, the star releases very large amounts of energy as well as neutrons, which
allows elements heavier than iron, such as uranium and gold, to be produced. In the supernova
explosion, all of these elements are expelled out into space.
Our world is literally made up of elements formed deep within the cores of stars now long dead. As
Britain’s Astronomer Royal Sir Martin Rees said, “We are literally the ashes of long dead stars.”
When you buy a party balloon that floats in air, it is filled with helium gas – most of which was
created when the universe was only 3 minutes old!
Learning Station 2
The lightest elements (hydrogen, helium, deuterium, lithium) were produced in the Big Bang
nucleosynthesis. According to the Big Bang theory, the temperatures in the early universe were so
high that fusion reactions could take place. This resulted in the formation of light elements:
hydrogen, deuterium, helium (two isotopes), and lithium and trace amounts of beryllium.
Nuclear fusion in stars converts hydrogen into helium in all stars. In stars less massive than the
Sun, this is the only reaction that takes place. In stars more massive than the Sun (but less
massive than about 8 solar masses), further reactions that convert helium to carbon and oxygen
take place in successive stages of stellar evolution. In the very massive stars, the reaction chain
continues to produce elements like silicon up to iron.
Elements higher than iron cannot be formed through fusion as one have to supply energy for the
reaction to take place. However, we do see elements higher than iron around us. So how did these
elements form? The answer is supernovae. In a supernova explosion, neutron capture reactions
take place (this is not fusion), leading to the formation of heavy elements. This is the reason why it
is said that most of the stuff that we see around us come from stars and supernovae (the heavy
elements part). If you go into technical details, then there are two processes of neutron capture
called rapid process (r-process) and the slow process (s-process), and these lead to formation of
different elements.
E. Developing mastery Using periodic table of elements, students in group of three will write the nuclear reactions which
lead to the formation of new elements.
1. 16O + 4He → _____________ (20Ne)Neon
2. 2H + 2H → ______________ (4He)Helium
3. H + H → ______________ (2H) Deuterium
4. He + 3H → ______________ (7Li) Lithium
4
1. A/n ___________ (element) is a pure substance made of atoms that are all of the same
type.
2. Hydrogen, ____________ (helium), deuterium and a trace of lithium and beryllium are
the lightest elements formed during the Big Bang.
3. The elements hydrogen and helium were formed through _______________. (Big Bang
nucleosynthesis)
4. Write the nuclear reactions which lead to the formation of the following elements during
the Big Bang:
a. Helium or 4H (2H + 2H → 4H)
b. Deuterium or H (H + H) → 2H)
2
5. With the formation of stars, heavier nuclei were formed from hydrogen and helium
through ___________________. (stellar nucleosynthesis)
6. ________________ (supernova nucleosynthesis) leads to the formation of elements
heavier than iron.