The Life Cycle of Stars: Reading Answers & Explanations
IELTS Reading practice test · 14 questionsAcademicmedium
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About this passage
The passage opens: “A star may seem the very image of permanence. The same points of light have guided travellers and inspired stories for as long as human beings have looked up at the night sky, and within a single lifetime they appear not to change at all.”
- Passage length: about 806 words
- Questions: 14
- Question types: True / False / Not Given, Multiple Choice, Short Answer
“The Life Cycle of Stars” is an original IELTS-style practice passage written by IELTS-Bank. It is not taken from an official IELTS or Cambridge test, so these answers only apply to our version.
Answer key at a glance
The Life Cycle of Stars answers with explanations
Questions 1–6: True / False / Not Given
Do the following statements agree with the information given in the passage? Write TRUE if the statement agrees, FALSE if it contradicts, or NOT GIVEN if there is no information.
- 1
Stars are born in clouds of gas and dust found between existing stars.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “Stars are born in enormous clouds of gas and dust that drift between the existing stars of a galaxy.”
- 2
Nuclear fusion in a star joins hydrogen nuclei together to form helium.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “…the nuclei of hydrogen atoms start to join together to form helium, releasing a tremendous amount of energy.”
- 3
The most massive stars have the longest stable lives.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “A very massive star burns through its hydrogen at such a furious rate that it exhausts its supply in a comparatively short time”
- 4
The Sun will end its life as a supernova.
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Answer: FALSE
Why: This sentence directly contradicts the statement, so the answer is FALSE.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “A star about the size of the Sun will, in this late stage, gently shed its outer layers into space, leaving behind a small, dense, slowly cooling core known as a white dwarf.”
- 5
The colour of stars can be used to measure their distance from Earth.
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Answer: NOT GIVEN
Why: The statement claims that star color measures distance from Earth, but the passage neither confirms nor denies this, focusing instead on star life cycles and the role of mass in their evolution.
- 6
Supernova explosions spread heavier chemical elements into space.
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Answer: TRUE
Why: This sentence confirms the statement, so the answer is TRUE.
Evidence · Paragraph 6 “…they scatter into space the heavier chemical elements that were forged inside the star.”
Question 7: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. Its own gravity pulling it inward
- B. The heat of nearby stars
- C. The rotation of the galaxy
- D. A supernova explosion
- 7
What causes a cloud of gas and dust to begin collapsing into a star?
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Answer: A — Its own gravity pulling it inward
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports A — Its own gravity pulling it inward.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “Where such a cloud is dense enough, its own gravity begins to pull it inward, and it slowly collapses.”
Question 8: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. heat and light
- B. gravity pulling inward and energy pushing outward
- C. fusion and rotation
- D. expansion and cooling
- 8
During a star's long stable phase, the two forces at work are
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Answer: B — gravity pulling inward and energy pushing outward
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports B — gravity pulling inward and energy pushing outward.
Evidence · Paragraph 3 “The energy produced in the core pushes outward and tends to make the star expand, while gravity continues to pull all the material inward. For most of a star's life these two forces are almost exactly matched”
Question 9: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. Its distance from other stars
- B. Its colour
- C. Its mass
- D. Its position in the galaxy
- 9
What factor most determines the length of a star's stable life?
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Answer: C — Its mass
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports C — Its mass.
Evidence · Paragraph 4 “The length of this stable period depends above all on the star's mass.”
Question 10: Multiple Choice
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
- A. A neutron star
- B. A red giant
- C. A white dwarf
- D. A new gas cloud only
- 10
What does a Sun-sized star leave behind at the end of its life?
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Answer: C — A white dwarf
Why: This is the part of the passage that supports C — A white dwarf.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “…leaving behind a small, dense, slowly cooling core known as a white dwarf.”
Questions 11–14: Short Answer
Answer the questions below. Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
- 11
What is the process called in which hydrogen nuclei join to release energy in a star?(max 2 words)
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Answer: nuclear fusion (also accepted: fusion)
Why: The answer “nuclear fusion” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 2 “This process, called nuclear fusion, is the moment a true star ignites”
- 12
What does a star become when the hydrogen in its core runs low and its outer layers swell?(max 3 words)
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Answer: a red giant (also accepted: red giant)
Why: The answer “a red giant” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 3-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 5 “…the star becomes a red giant, far larger and cooler at its surface than before.”
- 13
What colossal explosion ends the life of the most massive stars?(max 2 words)
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Answer: a supernova (also accepted: supernova)
Why: The answer “a supernova” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 2-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 6 “…the star is torn apart in a colossal explosion called a supernova”
- 14
What extremely dense object may the crushed core of a massive star become?(max 3 words)
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Answer: a neutron star (also accepted: neutron star)
Why: The answer “a neutron star” is taken from this sentence — copy the word(s) exactly as they appear. It fits the 3-word limit.
Evidence · Paragraph 7 “The crushed core may become a neutron star, an object so dense that a spoonful of its material would weigh more than a mountain.”
Estimated band score for this test
Your raw score out of 14 scaled to the 40-question IELTS Reading (Academic) conversion table. This is the same estimate the practice page shows after you submit. A single passage is a small sample, so treat it as a guide.
| Correct answers | Estimated band |
|---|---|
| 14 / 14 | 9.0 |
| 13 / 14 | 8.5 |
| 12 / 14 | 7.5 |
| 11 / 14 | 7.0 |
| 10 / 14 | 6.5 |
| 8–9 / 14 | 6.0 |
| 7 / 14 | 5.5 |
| 6 / 14 | 5.0 |
| 5 / 14 | 4.5 |
| 4 / 14 | 4.0 |
| 3 / 14 | 3.5 |
| 2 / 14 | 3.0 |
| 1 / 14 | 2.0 |
| 0 / 14 | 0.0 |
Full-test score? Use the IELTS band calculator.
Tips for the question types in this test
True / False / Not Given
- Read the statement first and underline the key idea, especially any qualifiers like "all", "only", "never", "always", "more than" or dates and numbers.
- Because the questions follow the order of the passage, scan for the paragraph that deals with the same topic rather than re-reading everything.
Common trap: Confusing "False" with "Not Given": choose False only when the passage actively contradicts the statement; if the passage is silent, it is Not Given.
Full True / False / Not Given strategyMultiple Choice
- Read the question stem carefully before the options so you know exactly what is being asked.
- Because multiple-choice questions follow passage order, locate the relevant section and read it in full — the answer usually depends on more than one sentence.
Common trap: Distractors that use exact words from the passage but distort the meaning.
Full Multiple Choice strategyShort Answer
- Read the instructions and note the exact word limit; going over it means zero marks even if the meaning is right.
- Turn each question into a set of keywords and predict what kind of answer it needs (a person, a date, a place, a noun).
Common trap: Exceeding the word limit (writing four words when only three are allowed).
Full Short Answer strategyPractise “The Life Cycle of Stars” under exam conditions
Free, auto-marked, with the 20-minute timer and an instant band estimate.
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