What differentiates the life cycle of normal-mass stars from more massive stars?

The correct answer highlights that both normal-mass stars and more massive stars begin their life cycles in stellar nurseries, which are dense regions of gas and dust in space where new stars are formed. This process involves gravitational collapse leading to the formation of protostars in both scenarios.

While it’s true that more massive stars do collapse more quickly, this differentiation is not what sets their life cycle apart from normal-mass stars. Both types of stars undergo a phase of stellar formation within the same stellar nurseries, although their subsequent evolution diverges.

Normal-mass stars and massive stars do form protostars; therefore, stating that they do not form protostars is inaccurate for both categories of stars.

While it is correct that massive stars end their life cycles as supernovae and normal-mass stars generally end as red giants before shedding their outer layers to form planetary nebulae, the question specifically focuses on the beginning of their life cycles, which is not represented by this choice. Thus, the differentiation of their life cycles begins in those stellar nurseries where both types start their journey into becoming stars.