eli5 why do high-mass stars live for a shorter period of time than low-mass stars
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The more mass the stars have, the more pressure there is at their cores, and so the faster the fusion reaction takes place. The fusion reaction outpaces the mass as you add more mass, so a higher mass star, despite having more fuel, burns that fuel *much* faster.
Normally, stars only burn the mass in their cores. In the smallest stars (red dwarfs), there are actually convection currents that move matter throughout the star. This means that they can use their *entire* mass as a fuel source, not just their core mass, which extends their lifetimes even more.
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