HS-ESS1-3 | Stellar Nucleosynthesis · NYS standard · Regents questions

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Revision as of 08:06, 18 October 2026 by Conrad (talk | contribs) (PLD table: list all released questions at each level, matching the questions-by-performance-level pages)
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Communicate scientific ideas about the way stars, over their life cycle, produce elements.

Clarification statement: Emphasis is on how nucleosynthesis varies as a function of the mass of a star and the stage of its lifetime.

Assessment boundary: Details of the many different nucleosynthesis pathways for stars of differing masses are not assessed.

Reference Tables

Relevant reference tables:


Regents Exam Questions

Released New York State Regents exam questions that assess HS-ESS1-3 are listed here by exam and question cluster. Each link opens the question with its answer key.

Exam Cluster Question
August 2026 Earth and Space Sciences Regents Stars and Elements in the Universe Question 47
June 2026 Earth and Space Sciences Regents Stars and Stellar Evolution Question 5
The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) Question 23
Planetary Transits Question 45
January 2026 Earth and Space Sciences Regents Evidence for the Big Bang Theory Question 4
Evidence for the Big Bang Theory Question 5
August 2025 Earth and Space Sciences Regents Energy in the Sun Question 5
June 2025 Earth and Space Sciences Regents Stars and the Big Bang Question 17

Vocabulary

Terms from the Earth & Space Science Glossary that come from this standard or from the released exam questions that assess it.

From this standard
  • atomic nuclei
  • brightness
  • compositional elements
  • Earth
  • electromagnetic energy
  • element formation
  • elements
  • heavier elements
  • helium
  • hydrogen
  • iron
  • life cycle
  • light spectra
  • mass
  • mass of a star
  • massive stars
  • neutron
  • nuclear fusion
  • nucleosynthesis
  • proton
  • stars
  • supernova
  • universe
From released exam questions

Performance Level Descriptions

Every Regents exam question on HS-ESS1-3 is written to match one of the performance level descriptions (PLDs) below.

Level 1: Given a scientific idea, identify the claim, from those provided, that describes how stars form elements over their life cycle. August 2026 Question 47, August 2025 Question 5
Level 2: Identify the given scientific idea that describes how different elements are produced by different types of stars over their life cycle. June 2026 Question 45, June 2026 Question 5, June 2026 Question 23, January 2026 Question 4, June 2025 Question 17
Level 3: Describe or identify one scientific idea from a source about how stars, over their life cycles, produce different elements depending on their masses or their life cycle. January 2026 Question 5
Level 4: Communicate scientific ideas about the way stars, over their life cycles, produce elements.
Level 5: Synthesize valid and reliable scientific information in order to communicate scientific ideas in multiple formats (i.e. orally, graphically, textually, or mathematically) about the way stars, over their life cycles, produce elements.
Notice: PLD levels!

NGSS Dimensions

Performance expectation HS-ESS1-3 was developed using the following elements from the NRC document A Framework for K-12 Science Education:

Science and Engineering Practices
  • Obtaining, Evaluating, and Communicating Information
    • Communicate scientific ideas (e.g., about phenomena and/or the process of development and the design and performance of a proposed process or system) in multiple formats (including orally, graphically, textually, and mathematically).
Disciplinary Core Ideas
  • ESS1.A: The Universe and Its Stars
    • The study of stars' light spectra and brightness is used to identify compositional elements of stars, their movements, and their distances from Earth.
    • Other than the hydrogen and helium formed at the time of the Big Bang, nuclear fusion within stars produces all atomic nuclei lighter than and including iron, and the process releases electromagnetic energy. Heavier elements are produced when certain massive stars achieve a supernova stage and explode.
Crosscutting Concepts
  • Energy and Matter
    • In nuclear processes, atoms are not conserved, but the total number of protons plus neutrons is conserved.
Page contributors: Conrad Richman, Caroline Leonard
Earth and Space Science | HS. Space Systems
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