Stardust in My Pocket Trivia Quiz

Answer: Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the most abundant element in the universe. It serves as the primary fuel of a star. Current theories suggest that atoms of hydrogen formed minutes after the big bang. Pure hydrogen is extremely flammable and was used in the first airships until the Hindenberg disaster. Liquid hydrogen was one of the propellants used in rockets such as the Saturn V and the space shuttle.

Answer: Helium

Deep in the core of a main-sequence star, hydrogen atoms are fused together to form helium. Hydrogen in the core will continue to fuse into helium until there are no more atoms left to fuse. At this point, the star's core will shrink, but the outer layers will expand turning the star into a red giant.

Helium was discovered on Earth in 1868 and named after Helios, the Greek god of the Sun.

Answer: True

Once there is no more hydrogen left for a star to fuse into helium, the star's core collapses further and will start fusing helium atoms into carbon atoms. Life, as we know it, would not exist without carbon. Carbon is found in all organic matter and is also found within the Earth in the form of coal and diamonds.

Answer: an American quarter coin

A chicken nugget contains carbon as it comes from the flesh of an animal. The natural ingredients of its breaded exterior also contain carbon. A pencil contains graphite, which is an allotrope of carbon. A bag of M&M's has multiple sources of carbon. The paper of the packaging, which came from a tree has carbon, as well as the natural ingredients present in the M&M's themselves.

There is no carbon found in an American quarter.

Answer: Oxygen

As an even older star continues to burn through its fuel, eventually its core will begin to start fusing carbon into oxygen. Oxygen is an essential element for the survival of life on Earth. Oxygen is ingested via respiration by humans and animals and turned into carbon dioxide. Plants then ingest the carbon dioxide from the air and produce oxygen, thus maintaining the ecosystem of the Earth.

Answer: water

Dihydrogen monoxide is the chemical name for pure water. A water molecule contains two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen. Water is another substance that is required for life as we know it to survive. Scientists study other worlds both inside and outside of the solar system for signs of liquid water, which would be a good indication of whether life could potentially exist on that world.

Answer: Iron

As massive stars reach the twilight of their lives, they will continue fusing higher elements (neon, magnesium, silicon) until they reach iron. Once the star has started fusing iron, the star's core can no longer fuse elements any further. Iron is found in many items on Earth, including in humans and animals.

Answer: supernova

When a star has no more fuel left to fuse, it will die. The mass of the star will determine exactly how it will die. Stars the size of the Sun will expel their outer layers leaving a white dwarf. For stars much more massive than the Sun, once the star reaches its fusion limit, it can no longer produce enough energy to sustain itself and the star goes supernova. During a supernova, first the core of the star implodes and the mass surrounding the star begins to collapse.

In a matter of seconds the implosion turns into a massive explosion as the collapse of the star produces a shock wave that tears through the star, spewing its mass across the galaxy.

Answer: True

The intense energy from a supernova is enough to form the rest of the known natural elements. These elements include copper, nickel, silver, gold, platinum and other metals used in making coins. These elements are theorized to have been generated by a supernova that occurred before the formation of the solar system.

Answer: Yes

Humans (and their hands) are made from stardust. Our bodies contain most of the elements stated earlier in the quiz (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, iron, calcium, etc). So when you put your hands in your pocket, you are putting stardust in that pocket. Not to mention that the elements found in the clothes you're wearing are also made from stardust.