M1L2: Gizmo Lab: Star Spectra – fall- 2021 ALL ANSWERS 100% CORRECT AID GRADE A+

Vocabulary: absorption spectrum, binary star, blueshift, Cepheid variable, emission spectrum, giant star, nebula, redshift, spectrum, star Prior Knowledge Questions (Do these BEFORE using the Gizmo.) This band of colors is called a spectrum. Gizmo Warm-up The interior of a star produces a continuous spectrum of light, like a rainbow. Cooler gases in the outer layers of the star absorb certain wavelengths of light, causing dark lines to appear in the spectrum. The resulting absorption spectrum can tell astronomers a great deal about the star. On the Star Spectra Gizmo™, turn on Show labels. Select star 1 to see its absorption spectrum. Drag the Hydrogen spectrum next to the Star spectrum so that the e Drag the Helium spectrum next to the Star spectrum. Try out the other available spectra. Note: The elements in a star’s spectrum do not necessarily reflect what the star is made of. The absorption spectrum is mostly determined by the surface temperature of the star. Question: How are stars classified? Introduction: Late in the 19th century, Harvard astronomer Edward Pickering wanted to sort and catalog the thousands of star spectra that had been collected by the Harvard Observatory. He hired several women to do the work, paying them 25 cents a day. The most prominent of these women was Annie Jump Cannon, who devised a classification system still used today.