Question

Red dwarf stars (stars between 0.08 and 0.5 solar masses) evolve very differently than other stars as they age because ____.

a. ​they are formed from pure hydrogen
b. ​they never reach the minimum temperature required to fuse carbon
c. ​they never form white dwarf as remnants
d. ​their interiors are well mixed, through strong convection
e. ​they are always part of a close binary system

Answer 1

Red dwarf stars evolve differently than other stars because their interiors are well mixed through strong convection, enabling hydrogen fusion to happen throughout the star, thereby extending their lifetime.

Step-by-step explanation:

Red dwarf stars, which are stars between 0.08 and 0.5 solar masses, evolve differently than other stars due to strong convection in their interiors. This characteristic means option d. 'their interiors are well mixed, through strong convection' is correct.

Strong convection causes the fusion of hydrogen to occur throughout the entire star rather than solely in its core. This process is contrary to larger stars where convection mixes only a part of the star, and most of the fusion happens in the core.

In consequence of this, red dwarf stars can use almost all their hydrogen fuel for fusion, extending their lifetime significantly. Eventually, they will exhaust their fuel and become white dwarfs, but this process takes considerably longer than it does for larger stars.

Learn more about Red Dwarf Stars