Answer the following questions. a. Do all stars have the same mass? Write with examples as evidence to support your answer. b. How does the enormous amount of energy get released in stars? c. Do all stars have same colour? What do the colour of the star suggest about its lifespan?

a. No, all stars do not have the same mass. Stars can range from small, low‐mass M-dwarfs (red dwarfs) to massive O-type stars. For example, the Sun is a relatively average star with one solar mass, while many red dwarfs have less than half of that mass. On the other hand, some stars can have tens of times the Sun’s mass. This variation in mass affects a star’s brightness, lifetime, and evolution. Brown dwarfs, for instance, are objects that never accumulate enough mass to sustain hydrogen fusion in their cores. b. The enormous amount of energy released in stars comes primarily from nuclear fusion occurring at their cores. In most stars, hydrogen atoms fuse to form helium in a process that converts a small fraction of mass into energy, according to Einstein’s relation E = mc². In later stages of a star’s life (depending on its mass), fusion processes can combine helium and other light elements to create heavier elements, releasing energy in successive stages until the star reaches a final state (like a white dwarf, neutron star, or black hole). c. No, not all stars have the same color. A star’s color is mainly determined by its surface temperature, which also hints at its lifespan. Blue stars, which are very hot, have high rates of nuclear fusion and therefore burn through their fuel much more quickly, leading to relatively short lifespans (often only a few million years). Red stars, on the other hand, are cooler and burn their fuel slowly, allowing them to live for tens or even hundreds of billions of years. Therefore, the color of a star is a clue to both its temperature and its evolutionary pathway.