Question

What characteristic differentiates high mass stars from low mass stars?

Answer 1

High mass stars are the largest, hottest and brightest while the low mass stars are the smallest, coolest and dimmest. High mass stars use their hydrogen fuel rapidly and have short lives while the low mass stars use hydrogen fuel slowly and have long lives. High mass stars pass through the Red Supergiant stage before dying in supernovae explosions while the low mass stars simply die by burning up their fuel to leave behind the white dwarfs which themselves cool and contract further to black dwarfs.