Question

Which factors are most likely to influence whether a star eventually ends up as a neutron star or as a black hole?

Answer 1

The mass of star.

Explanation:

Black holes and neutron stars form when stars die. While a star burns, the heat in the star exerts pressure outside and balances the force of gravity. When the star's fuel is spent, and it stops burning, there is no heat left to counteract the force of gravity. The material left over collapses in on itself.

While stars about the size of Sun become white dwarfs, those about three times the mass of the Sun compact into neutron stars. And a star with mass greater than three times the Sun's gets crushed into a single point, which we call a black hole.