Fred Hoyle was a well-known scientist for at least forty years but attention given to his support for minority ideas such as the Steady State Theory and panspermia has resulted in his earlier invaluable work on the life cycle of stars to be forgotten.

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NC KS4 Sc3.4.c how stars evolve over a long timescale
Sc3.4.d ideas used to explain the origin and evolution of the universe
Sc3.4.e the search for evidence of life elsewhere in the universe

The role Hoyle has played in stimulating discussion of these issues should be an integral part of these topics.

Answers

1 Oxygen, silicon, aluminium and iron

2 Hoyle and other scientists and philosophers could not accept the idea that the universe and hence time had a beginning and an end. Even today many people ask what happened before the Big Bang.

3 Controversies are resolved when the evidence for one theory becomes overwhelming. For most scientists the evidence of the microwave background radiation was overwhelmingly in favour of the Big Bang theory. It could therefore be said that Hoyle was a poor scientist in not siding with the majority. However evidence is rarely absolutely conclusive and there have been occasions in the past when a theory has been overturned despite the weight of evidence in its favour up to a point. Hoyle was thus being a good scientist in trying to find further ways to test the Big Bang and Steady State theories.

4 Evidence of life on other planets that is similar (i.e. based on DNA or RNA) to that on Earth. Many of the molecules of life (including amino acids) have been discovered in interstellar space.

5 Hoyle can be seen as a typical Yorkshireman - not afraid to get in to intellectual fights and not bothered by being in a small minority. (there are plenty of non-Yorkshiremen with the same attributes however!).

6 Hoyle's theories about the origins of life are relatively accessible to the general public and the media always like a good argument especially when the protagonists are not afraid to defend their ideas. Many scientists were dismissive of Hoyle's work late in life.