> Chapter 24 m=rlacaieite the Sle Sys em> cOURSEBOOK Each of these pictures relates to our Solar System Share your facts with the class. Award ips, identify what each point for a correct fact and two points fact related to i fact which no other groups have mentioned, our exploration of it. In picture shows and write24 Earth and the Solar System HOW MANY PLANETS’ re 24.2: This artist's impression shows the Sun and planets we now know orbit the Sun, Humans have known about the first five planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars and Jupiter, for a long time as we can see them with the naked eye. In 1610, the newly invented telescope allowed Galileo Galilei to discover Saturn, Uranus was added by William Herschel in 1781. Careful observations of the orbit of Uranus showed it did not follow a smooth orbital path as the other planets did. Astronomers predicted ‘this was due to the effect ofthe gravitational pull of another planet. They calculated where this should be and found Neptune in 1846. Tiny, distant Pluto was discovered in 1930 bringing the total to nine planets. And so it remained until 2006. In the 1990s, several objects with similar mass to Pluto were discovered. This created a problem. Should these be named as planets, and if not, could Pluto stil be classed as a planet? The international Astronomical Union decided a new definition for the title planet was needed. it came up with three rules. To be a planet, a body must: * orbit the star (our Sun) * have enough mass that its gravity pulls it into a spherical shape + have a large enough gravitational pull to clear away any other objects ofa similar size near its orbit around the Sun. Pluto failed the third rule due to the discovery of a object named Eris, about the size of Pluto, orbiting close to Pluto. Pluto and Eris were both reclassified as a dwarf planets, leaving a total of eight planets. Discussion questions 1 Why is itimportant to have international agreement about the definition of a planet? ‘Are there any other areas where scientists have agreed standard definitions? 2 Alotof people felt that Pluto should have kept its status as a planet. What consequences would this have had? 24.1 Earth, Sun and Moon Day and night ‘The most obvious sign of movement in the Solar System is the cyclical daily change from light to dark It is not surprising that our ancestors thought the Sun travelled round the Earth, Each day we see the apparent movement of the Sun from rising in the east to setting in the west, We now know that this effect is caused by the Earth spinning on its axis (the imaginary line between the poles). The side of the Earth facing, the Sun experiences daylight whilst the other side is in darkness. At sunrise at a particular spot on Earth, the Sun is just visible on the eastern horizon, As the Earth turns, the spot moves into the full glare of the Sun so the Sun appears directly overhead at midday. As the Earth continues to turn, the spot moves out of the direct sunlight until, at sunset, the Sun appears to slip below the western horizon,Figure 24.3: As light travels in straight lines, only half the Earth receives sunlight at any one time. Years position of Earth month hemisphere As well as the daily changes, early civilisations were aware of periodic changes which happened over a longer ‘time — the difference between seasons. The Earth orbits ‘the Sun. It takes just over 365 days to complete one orbit. The seasons occur because of the tilt of the Earth’s axis. Figure 24.4 shows how the seasons change as the Earth orbits the Sun, ‘Consider a country in the northern hemisphere (the half of the Earth north of the Equator). In Figure 24.4a, due to the tit of the Earth, itis tipped away from the Sun and ‘the energy from the Sun's rays is more spread out, making it colder. This means that area receives fewer hours of sunlight. These countries are experiencing winter. In Figure 244c, the northern hemisphere is tipped towards ‘the Sun, so it receives longer hours of more direct sunlight, These countries are experiencing summer. N N & r » $ ? $ 7 southern northern hemisphere e ae oe December summer winter » Mach autumn (faring i eo June winter summer } é September spring = autumn ald - Figure 24.4: The Earth orbits the Sun every 365.25 days, The tit of the Earth causes seasons.24 Earth and the Solar System KEY WORDS axis: the imaginary line between the Earth’s North and South poles orbit: the path of an object as it moves around a larger object hemisphere: half of a sphere; the Earth can be considered to be made of two hemispheres divided by the Equator {the} Equator: an imaginary line drawn round the Earth halfway between the North Pole and the South Pole Countries at the Equator do not experience seasons because the Sun’s rays always hit them at the same angle ‘The seasonal differences are more apparent the further from the Equator you are. In the far north or south, seasons are so extreme that, in winter, the Sun is hardly seen and, in summer, it can be sunny at midnight. Figure 24,5 shows how, in Alaska, the Sun dips lower in the sky towards midnight but then starts to rise again, Figure 24.5: This multiple exposure photograph shows the pposition ofthe Sun in the hours before and after mishnight in Alaska in mideummer, Months ‘The most obvious object in our sky after the Sun is the Moon. The Moon features in many folk tales It has often been seen as a mystical object due to its fainter light and its changing shape, With the benefit of telescopes and space travel, we know the Moon is a rocky sphere which we only see when it reflects light from the Sun. The Moon, orbits Earth every 27.5 days Its position relative to Earth changes the way it appears to us as different parts of it are illuminated by the Sun. This causes the changes called the phases of the Moon, The phases of the Moon are shown in Figure 246. first quarter waxing gibbous © waxing crescent sung uO Yao e varingaibbows eri tee third quarter Figure 24.6: The phases ofthe Moon, As the Moon orbits the Earth, the half of the Moon that faces the Sun willbe it up by ‘the Sun. As the Moon moves, the shape of the light part which canbe seen from the Earth, changes. The outer circle of Moon diagrams shows how the Moon looks to an observer on Earth. phases of the Moon: the different ways the Moon looks when viewed from Earth over a period of one month Modelling day, night and seasons Use a lamp to represent the Sun and a ball with a rod through it to represent the Earth. Mark your position on the Earth using a pen or a piece Of modelling clay. In a darkened area, hold the ‘Earth’ near to the ‘Sun’, and turn the Earth on its axis to model day and night Tilt the Earth on its axis and investigate the seasons by moving the Earth around the Sun. Investigate the difference in seasons between the southern and northern hemispheres. Figure 24.7: Mocel of the Earth and Sun, «ss )> CoURSEBOoK Questions 1 Copy and complete the following A day is the time taken for the n for the A year is the time taken for the The Earth is tilted on its axis and this causes __ which do not occur at the Equator. 2 Explain why it is summer in the northern hemisphere when itis winter in the southern hemisphere, Include a drawing in your answer. 3 Look at the photograph of the Moon (Figure 24.8) igure 24.8: The Moon. ‘@ Which phase of the Moon is this? b How many days are there from one full Moon to thenext? 24.2 The Solar System Figure 24.9: An artist's impression ofthe Solar System with a visiting comet. The picture isnat to scale, The Solar System consists of the Sun which is our star, and all the objects which orbit it. It includes the following: * | There are cight Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. + There are such as Pluto and Bris In 2014, the International Astronomical Union recognised five dwarf planets but it is believed there are more than 200 in all, * Moons that orbit planets and dwarf planets, * Millions of and these are rocky objects which are smaller than planets. Most asteroids are found in the asteroid belt between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter. . , Which are often described as giant snowba orbit the Sun in very irregular orbits, When they are furthest from the Sun, they are frozen balls of gas, rock and dust. As they get nearer to the Sun they heat up and leave a trail of dust and gases behind them. (Note: this tral of dust isnot the tal of the comet; the tail always points away from the Sun, so could actually be at 90° to the motion of the comet.) Figure 24.102: Asteroids and meteoroids sometimes enter the Earth’s atmosphere. Smaller meteoroic inthe Earth’ atmosphere and ate seen as shooting stars. bs It is believed that large astercid hitting the Earth creating a huge creter and throwing up so much dust that the Sun's rays could not reach Earth for more than a year. e: Comet Hele-Bopp was visible to the naked eye in the summer of 1995. [tis not expected to » visible again so0n as it takes 2533 years to orbit the Sun! ‘due toa he dinosaurs became extn24 Earth and the Solar System The Sun’s gravitational pull The orbits of the planets are almost circular. To move in a an object needs a force pulling it towards the centre of the circle. Imagine spinning a ball on the end of a piece of string. The ball will spin in a circle as long as you hold fon. Once you let go, the bal will fly outwards. The force needed to keep the planets orbiting the Sun comes from the gravitational attraction of the Sun. The formation of the planets Evidence collected by astronomers suggests that the planets were formed at the same time as the Sun. The Solar System began as a nebula, which isa huge swirling ball of dust and gas Most of this gas was hydrogen, but there ‘were also other elements formed by fusion in other stars, which had exploded at the end of their life cyele, sending, their contents out into the clouds of interstellar gas, As gravity pulled this mass together, the centre formed a star. You will learn more detail about this in Chapter 25. The planets formed from the materials of the nebula, which were not pulled into the Sun, The spinning motion, of the dust and gas formed a flat, spinning ring dise accretion disc. Gravity pulled dust and gas So they joined to make rocks which then join 10 make larger rocks. The process of the dust and gas being pulled together by gravity is called accretion and it led to the formation of the inner, rocky planets. The intense heat forced some of the lighter materials further away and these formed the outer planets ~ the gas giants. ‘The four inner planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars, are small and rocky. After Mars there is the asteroid belt This is made up of left-over pieces of rock. The outer four planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, are hhuge balls of gases. These planets are much bigger than the inner planets. Figure 24.11: This artists impression shows a star “The uneven, swirling mass of rack and gas around is flattened by its rapid rotation into an accretion disc where the planets eventually form ing. planet: a large spherical object that orbits the Sun without another similar object close to it minor planet: an object which orbits the Sun but is not large enough or far enough from another object to be defined as a planet asteroids and meteoroids: lumps of rock which orbit the Sun comet: a ball of ice, dust and gas which orbits the Sun in 2 highly elliptical orbit accretion disc: a rotating disc of matter formed by accretion accretion: the coming together of matter under the influence of gravity to form larger bodies Distances and times in the Solar System Distances ins the Sulit Systeu sre Just uniaginably big. The Earth is approximately 150 million kilometres from the Sun. This is similar to circling the Earth 4000 times. Distances are often expressed in terms of how long it takes light to travel; one light-year is the distance travelled by light in a year. The next nearest star after the Sun is Proxima Centauri, which is 4.2 light-years from Earth. You will learn more about light-years in Chapter 25, Calculate the time for ight from the Sun to travel the 150.000 000 km to Earth. Give your answer in minutes, Step 1: Write down what you know: speed of light = 300000000 m/s distance travelled = 150000000 km ‘Step 2: Convert distance to metres, so units are consistent. 150000000 km = 150.000.0000 ma a TEE] as?)‘Step 3: Write the equation down and calculate the time taken: distance traveled speed 150.000.000.000 m 300000 000 m/s = 500seconds time taken Step 4: Convert to minutes 500 + 60 = 8.3 minutes Answer 8.3 minutes Questions 4 The Moonis approximately 390000 km from Earth Calculate the time it takes for light to travel from the Moon to the Earth 5. How long will it take for light from the Sun to reach: ‘2 Mercury, which is approximately 60.000 000 km from the Sun. b Neptune, which is approximately 4500 000 000 km from the Sun. 6 Ittakes sunlight 43 minutes to reach Jupiter. Calculate the distance from Jupiter to the Sun. 7 Calculate how many kilometres a light-yearis equivalent to. More about the planets ‘Table 24.1 gives data about the planets in the Solar System. It shows how the planets differ from each other, for example looking up from the surface of Jupiter you might see 16 moons. Forces ‘The Sun is atthe centre of the Solar System. It is by far the most massive object in the Solar System and ‘makes up about 99.8% of the mass of the Solar System. As gravitational attraction depends on mass, the ‘gravitational field strength of the Sum is far larger than the field of any other object in the Solar System. ‘The planets, minor planets, asteroids and meteoroids and comets all orbit the Sun. They are held in orbit by the ‘gravitational attraction of the Sun. Like other non-contact forees such as magnetism and static electricity, gravitational attraction decreases with distance. This means thatthe outer planets experience less gravitational force from the Sun than the inner planets do. Mercury : 0 Venus 08 06 5200 470. 0 Earth ASO A 5500 =81058 10 1 Mare 228 19 4000) =B10-5 4 2 Jupiter 778 2 1300 1510.20 26 %6 Saturn 1427 30 700 = 140 iW 20 Uranus 2870 84 1300 =200 it 15 Neptune 4497 165 1700 =220 12 8 Table 24.124 Earth and the Solar System Although the planets are small compared to the Sun, they are very massive objects. Jupiter has a mass of 1.9 x 107 kg. The more massive the planet, the greater the gravitational force experienced by objects at its surface. On Earth we experience a force of 10. Nike, ‘On Earth a 60 kg student has a weight of 600N. ‘On Mercury, where gravity is 4Nikg, the same student ‘would weigh 240. The gravitational pull of planets is ‘enough to cause moons to orbit them. Orbits and energy ‘The orbits of the planets are not completely circular. ‘Their shape is that of a slightly squashed circle, called an ellipse, The orbits are described as elliptical. The amount, the orbit is squashed is called its eccentricity. Comets, have very cocentric orbits. Comets travel far from the Sun aand then return close to it. the orbit ofa comet planetary orbits Figure 24.12: The orbit of Halley's comet is much more ‘eccentric than those of the planets and minor planets, Why are orbits elliptical? To explain this, we need to think about the early swirling mass of the Solar System, Imagine an object moving past the Sun at high speed, carried along by its own momentum from the explosive start of the universe. As it passes near the Sun the gravitational force of the Sun starts to aet on the object and to pull it towards the Sun. This force also causes it to accelerate, This means the mass speeds up and its kinetic energy carries it slightly further out to the furthest point of the orbit. The object slows down and is pulled in again towards the Sun, The Sun is not quite atthe centre of a planets elliptical orbit. There is @ point close to the centre of an ellipse called the focus. The Sun is at the focus of the elliptical path of each of the planets. The planet moves closer to, and further away from the Sun during each orbit The Sun's gravity pulls the object in, speeds it up and then the speed carries it on to the furthest part of the orbit ‘The object’ orbital speed is therefore greatest when itis nearest to the Sun and slowest when itis furthest from the Sun, Comets, which have the most elliptical orbits of any body in the Solar System accelerate greatly as they approach the Sun and are slung back at high speed to the far reaches of their orbits. A planet orbiting in space does not experience any friction or air resistance, so its energy remains the same throughout its orbit. It has two types of energy: + kinetic energy ‘© gravitational potential energy, ‘When itis nearest the Sun, a planet has its minimum gravitational potential energy and is moving at its Fastest so has its maximum kinetic energy. When itis at its furthest from the Sun, it has maximum gravitational potential and minimum kinetic energy. Pe Sun 4 @ ° Mercury Figure 24.13: Mercury has the most elliptical orbit of any of the planets in the Solar System, At point A itis 46 milion kin from the Sun, travelling atts fastest speed but with least potential energy. At point 8, iis 70 milion km from the Sun, travelling atts slowest speed but with most potential energy, Speeds ‘The speed of a planet in orbit round a star is called its orbital speed (»). As the planets’ orbits are almost circular, the distance they travel can be calculated if we know the average orbital radius, which is the average distance of the planet from the Sun, or the average radius of the orbit 150)>» CAMBRIDGE IGCSE™ PHYSICS: COURSEBOOK Sun \v @e Figure 24.14: To calculate the orbital speed, we assume that the orbits are circulor. ‘The distance travelled by the planet is the circumference of its orbit, The circumference of a circle is equal to 2ar. If we also know the time for the planet to orbit the Sun = known as its orbital period (7) — we can calculate the speed: distance speed = 2 time So, the average orbital speed v, can be calculated from its orbital period, 7; and its average orbital radius r, using the equation: 2ar ne Raase turn =2 «nx orbital radius average orbital speed =~" bital period Peawones ellipse: a squashed circle eccentricity: @ measure of how elliptical an orbit is orbital radius: the average distance of the planet from the Sun orbital period: the time taken for a planet to complete one full orbit of the Sun Calculate the orbital speed of Earth. Step Write down what you know: = 150000000km T=1 year ‘onvert T'to seconds. x 365 = 365 days 5760 hours Step 2: ‘Substitute values for T and r into the equation andcalelate » 2a ae 315360008 =30kmis Step 3: Planetary patterns Much of what astronomers have discovered has been through observing the skies, gathering huge amounts of data and then looking for patterns in the data. Ancient astronomers knew the planets were different from the stars because of the way their positions in the sky changed. Mercury was named by ancient Grecks after the messenger of the gods, which isa fitting name for the planet which orbits the Sun faster than any other. ‘Sometimes we can learn as much from observations that ‘are exceptions to a pattern as from those that fit our predictions. ‘The data in Table 24.1 can be used to investigate patterns in the properties and behaviours of planets. Plotting data on a scatter graph can give a clear indication of whether there is a correlation between two sets of data, For example, a graph of density against distance from the Sun (Figure 24.15) shows that there is not a clear correlation between the two. However, it is clear that the four inner rocky planets are more dense than the outer ‘gas giants rey seater graph: a way displaying two sets of data to see if there isa correlation, or connection= 4 © 7000 2000 3000 4000 5000 Distance from Sun / millions of km Figure 24.15: There is a pattern in this data but not a direct correlation, 24 Earth and the Solar System Questions 8 a Name the force which causes planets to orbit the Sun, What shape are planetary orbits? € Hows the orbit of a comet different to the orbit of a planet? Describe the energy changes in @ comet as it orbits the Sun 9 Calculate the weight of a 30 kg sheep on: a Earth b Mars © Jupiter. 10. Use information from Table 24.1 to caleulate the orbital speeds in mvs of: a Venus b Saturn 11. Using Table 24.1, draw and comment on scatter ‘braphs to investigate the relationship between: orbital distance and average temperature b gravitational field strength and the number of Solar System quiz Some great ways of learning are: + finding information from a variety of sources ‘summarising the information ‘+ writing questions and answers on the information you have gathered '* answering questions written by your peers. Figure 24.16 This task asks you to bring all these together to help you become an expert on our Solar System. Make up a quiz about the Solar System. The quiz Gan be on paper the computer, oF on a mobile device such as phone or tablet (there are lots of good quiz making apps available). it should be aimed at students who have studied this chapter, and who have a good general knowledge. Spend some time revising and researching to find interesting facts to include. You may want to rate ‘questions as ‘easy’, ‘medium’ or ‘hard!’ and give ‘more points for harder questions. You can include mathematical questions and questions which require data interpretation. You should include at east 20 questions. Think about how you will group your questions. You could include: ‘+ Apicture round: use pictures from the Internet ‘or draw your own. '* Definitions: you could give 2 definition, such 2, ‘this is the time it takes for the Earth to orbit the Sun’ or, ‘this has the most elliptical orbit of any object in the Solar System’, and ask what is being defined.> CAMBRIDGE IGCSE™ PHYSICS: COURSEBOOK sn you have written your questions, t ‘some questions for which the answers canbe on another group. Are your questions clear enough? ‘worked out from a data chart you supply. If there are two possible answers you need to adapt + History of astronomical discoveries: use the the question to make it more cles Internet and this book to help you. fase Se When you exchange quizzes with another group, give them feedback on their questions. Rate questions ‘green’, ‘amber’ or ‘ted’: + green: great question ‘+ amber: good idea but needs to be clearer + red: do not use this question as it is misleading or contains wrong information. For questions rated amber or red, you should also give written feedback. [After feedback and improvement work following the feedback, try your quiz out on some other students, aaeselen) Think about what you found most useful in this project. Was it researching and summarising? Maybe you enjoyed writing the questions, or the challenge of answering questions set by others. What does this tll you about how you like ( leetn? Huw will you apply this in your future revision? EtG ‘The Earth spins on its axis every 24 hours causing day and night “The Earth i tilted on its axis This causes the seasons as the Earth orbits the Sun every 365 days. ‘The Moon orbits the Earth every 27.5 days, causing the phases of the Moon, “The Sun is orbited by four rocky inner planets, four gaseous outer planets and minor planets, moons and comets All objects orbiting the Sun are kept in orbit by its gravitational attraction, ‘Light from the Sun takes approximately eight minutes to reach the Earth. The distances for sunlight to reach other planets can be calculated using the equation speed = distance/time. ‘The speed of an object in orbit can be calculated using the equation v oT ‘where r is the radius of the orbit and Tis the orbital duration. “The orbits of the planets are slightly elliptical. The Sunis not at the centre of the ellipse. Comets have highly elliptical orbits. ‘The Sun contains almost all of the mass of the Solar System and so has a very strong gravitational field. "As distance from the Sun inereases, is gravitational field strength decreases and the orbital speed of any orbiting ‘object decreases24 Earth and the Solar System eon =a) "| When an orbiting object is at its closest to the Sun, it has ts maximum kinetic energy and minimum || gravitational potential energy. Planetary data about orbital distance, orbital duration, density, surface temperature and gravitational field strength can be analysed to show patterns in the properties and behaviour of the planets. 1 Which of the following objects is a planet? tt) ‘A the Moon B Hale-Bopp Pluto D Uranus 2. Which statement about the orbits of the Earth and Moon is correct? fn A. The Moon rotates on its axis in 24 hours and orbits the Earth in 27.5 days. B The Earth rotates on its axis in 24 hours and orbits the Sun in 365 days. € The Moon orbits the Sun in 27.5 days, D The Earth rotates on its axis in 24 hours and orbits the Moon in 27.5 days. ‘3. What force keeps the planets in orbit round the Sun? io} A momentum — B airresistance tension D gravity 4 The diagram shows how people 1000 years ago though: the Solar System Inoked oMea) State ome way in which this model is different from what we now know about the Solar System. a state: express in clear terms State one way in which this model is similar to whet we now know about . tessa oie ¢ State one way in which the planets Mercury, Venus Earth and Mars are figures or information similar. ty d State one way in which Jupiter and Saturn are different to the planets in arte. 1 © Mars is 228 million km from the Sun, Calculate the time it takes for light to travel from the Sun to Mars. The speed of lightis3 x 10'm/s [3] [otal: 7]> CAMBRIDGE IGCSE™ PHYSICS: COURSEBOOK Lanrieis landing at point X on the Barth’ surface, light from theSun ei ‘a How can you tel it is night time at point X? m b_ Redraw the diagram to show where point X will be after 12 hours. 1 ileese The Moon does not emit light. 'xplain how Laurie is able to ee the explain: set out Moon. 11 | purposes or d_ Name the force which keeps the Moon in orbit around the Earth. a) Laer @ Describe the movement of the Moon, i i aa A ball dropped on Earth will all faster than an identical ball dropped SHEE Oe ‘on the Moon. What does this tell you about the Moon's gravity? | ity andlor how and Total: 7] support with relevant evidence The table shows some data about the obje rt describe: state the Et eee it points of a topic; give eo 3 : 2 characteristics and main features Sn Ne ee Pee ea ee ro} Which planet takes the least time to go round the Sun? fo} ens Cag Sn eee its density’. To what extent do you agree with this statement’ fe) Se eee a os Peers re} Calculate the average orbital speed of Jupiter. Give your answer in km/s Penney fe} hoc)LF-EVALUATION CHECKLIST Explain how the Earth's rotation on its axis causes day and night and the apparent change in position of the Sun. 24 Earth and the Solar System Explain how the Earth's tilted axis and its rotation, around the Sun cause seasons. Explain how the Moon orbiting the Earth leads to the different phases of the Moon. ‘State how long it takes for the Earth to rotate, for the Earth to orbit the Sun and for the Moon to orbit the Earth, ‘Name the different objects which orbit the Sun, Explain the difference between the inner and outer planets. ‘Calculate the time it takes for light to travel from the Sun to a given planet. ‘Name the force which keeps the planets in orbit. ‘Describe the shape of planetary orbits and state the position of the Sun within this shape. Calculate orbital speed using the equation v = Describe how gravitational potential energy and Kinetic energy vary as an object moves in an elliptical orbit. ‘Explain why the Sun has the largest gravitational ficld of any object in the Solar System, Tterpret planctary data and describe patterns in this data.describe the Sun and galaxies, including the Milky Way learn about the relative separation of planets, stars and galaxios learn that the redshift of light from distant galaxies supports the Big Bang theorySpend two minutes thinking about these questions before comparing notes with your neighbour for a further two minutes, adding to or correcting your ‘own work. Be prepared to share your thoughts with the class, ‘+ List the differences between planets and stars, 25. Stars and the Universe ‘= Where does the Sun get its energy? + What colour are stars? ‘+ What is a galaxy and what is the name of our galaxy? ‘+ Uist what you know about the Universe MAGS IN SHINE? We know many things about the Sun but a lot of that knowledge has been gained very recently. Working ‘out what makes the Sun shine was a process of eliminating different hypotheses (ideas) until one was found that best fits the evidence. The Greek philosopher Aristotle believed the Sun was made of ether, a perfect substance that glows forever. However, in 1613, Galileo Galilei observed sunspots on the Sun and these ‘imperfections’ showed that the Sun could not be made of ether. Coal was burned in steam engines to power the UK's Industrial Revolution. This made scientists wonder whether the Sun was a giant lump of coal, but calculations showed that a Sun made of coal ‘would shine for less than 1500 years and this is a shorter time than recorded history. However, efforts to understand steam power led to the principle of conservation of energy. This led scientists to look for other sources of energy (that could be transferred by light. Scientists ike Hermann von Helmholtz believed the kinetic energy of meteorites (lumps of rock) colliding with the Sun could be this source of energy. However, the total mass of meteorites was too small and they were not moving fast enough to provide the required energy. Other scientists imagined that the Sun was once much bigger so that it only just fitted inside the Earth's orbit, But the gravitational energy released when it collapsed to its present size could only have provided enough energy for 100 milion years, which was not enough time for the evolution of different species on Earth to have taken place. Then radioactivity was discovered, and Einstein showed that mass can be transformed into energy. This led scientists to work out that the Sun is powered by thermonuclear fusion, though a fully formed theory did not appear until 1939. Figure 25.1: The Sun shining, tussion questions 1. List at least three things that most people used to believe about what makes the Sun shine. For each one, write down how scientists showed that the belief was incorrect. wr)>» CAMBRIDGE IGCSE™ PHYSICS: COURSEBOOK 25.1 The Sun The Sun is an average or medium mass star and is made _|_ stable star: a star that is not collapsing or expanding up of about 75% hydrogen and about 24% helium. The because the inward force of gravity is balanced by rest (about 1%) is made up of other elements, such as radiation pressure, which pushes outwards ‘oxygen and carbon. plasma: a completely ionised gas in which the ‘The glowing hydrogen at the surface of the Sun radiates | temperature is too high for neutral atoms to exist nergy. About 40% of this energy is visible light, about ‘0 it consists of electrons and positively-charged 50% is infrared radiation, and the remaining 10% is atomic nuclei ultraviolet, Earth's atmosphere absorbs a lot of this solar mass: equal to the mass of the Sun. ultraviolet radiation. The ozone layer, in particular, x 10g) absorbs most of the harmful (more ionising) ultraviolet. , Stars are powered by nuclear reactions that release energy. Stable stars like our Sun are powered by the nuclear fusion 5 (or thermonuclear fasion) of hydrogen into helium. This. Questions makes the Sun shine. Isso hot inside the Sun that mater lemen exists as plasma (positive ions and electrons), Although the eae eee teeta Sun produces gamma rays because of the nuclear fusion oni process collisions withthe plasma mean that it takes 2. Give an approximate value for: lbout 100000 years for that energy to reach the Sun's fa thirtemparuinin the Suny ove surface. In addition, because the energy is spread over @ a acette eations big surface (called the photosphere) the temperature is ee Jower atthe Sun’ surface (about S800 K compared to a € thesolar mass core temperature of about 15000 000K). the percentage of sunlight that isin the “Tha Rath obit 1x Bk wd aassunaia eBabout 15) infrared, visible and ultraviolet parts of the nillion kilometres, which is within the habitable zone. electromagnetic spectrum. This is the zone where water can exist in liquid form (an 3. Name the process that makes stable stars, such, essential requirement for life as we know it). If it was as our Sun, shine. . hotter, the water vapour would never condense; if it was colder, ice would never melt. 4 Imagine that Earth orbited a star that gives off most of its energy in the ultraviolet region of the ‘The Sun has a mass of 2 x 10°kg. This is referred to as spectrum, Discuss whether our eyes would stil have the solar mass as it provides a simple way of comparing eralized eo see viable fights the mass of other stars to the mass of our Sun. For example, a star with eight solar masses would have cight times the mass of the Sun, The Sun contains over 99.86% of the mass of the Solar System so it exerts a big gravitational force on the planets and causes them to follow nearly circular orbits. ‘What colour is the Sun? supplementary questions to help you reach the Spend two minutes writing down your thoughts and Correct answer. answers to the questions. Then spend one minute 1 Why do most people think the Sun is yellow? discussing them with a partner. 2. Isthisthe correct colour of the Sun? Your teacher may give you additional time to How do we know? research these questions using the Internet, or ask25. Stars and the Universe REFLECTION Did you already know the correct answer to Activity 25.17 Its important in science to avoid locking for evidence that supports an idea that you already think is correct. Scientists must also avoid not looking for evidence at all and assuming that they already know the answer. if you thought the Sun is yellow, did you question this idea? If you guessed that the Sun is not yellow, did you know what ‘questions to ask to work out its correct colour? Were you able to think objectively and find evidence to support the correct answer? This is how science progresses and itis the approach outlined in the Science in context section What makes the Sun shine? that led to correctly understanding how stars shine. 25.2 Stars and galaxies ‘When you look into the night sky, the light that you see from the stars las been travelling for many years. ‘Astronomers use this idea as a way of measuring vast distances. A light-year is a measure of distance (not time). Its the distance that light travels through space in ‘one year. Light travels at a constant speed of 3 % 10® mis through a vacuum. This means that the time it takes to travel somewhere is directly proportional to distance, ‘One light-year is the distance that light travels in one year. distance = speed time So, one light-year = 3 x 10 m/s x 365.25 days x 24 hours % 3600 seconds = 9.5 10'°m light-year: the distance travelled in space by light in one year (itis equivalent to about 9.5 x 10'S m) The distance between stars is much bigger than the size of cach solar system. After the Sun, our next nearest staris Proxima Centauri, which is about 4.2 light-years ‘away. When you see Proxima Centauri the light lft it 4.2 years ago; sunlight only takes cight minutes to reach us because the Sun is much closer to us. Pluto has an elliptical orbit but, on average, it is 40 times further from ‘the Sun than the Earth is. But this is dwarfed by the distance between Proxima Centauri and the Sun, whch is, 7000 times further from the Sun than Pluto is. Questions 5 The Suns about eight light-mimutes away. It takes sunlight about eight minutes to reach Earth on its journey from the Sun, a Given that the speed of light is 3 x 10*m/s, how far away is the Sun in kilometres? b_ How many years would it take a car to get to the Sun travelling at 120 km/h? 6 After our Sun, Proxima Centauri is our next nearest star. It is about 4.2 light-years away. a How many seconds does it take light from Proxima Centauri to reach Earth? b How far away is Proxima Centauri in km? © Helios 1 & I hold the record as the fastest ever space probes at 252738 kn/h (about 70 km/s). ‘How many years would it take these space probes to reach Proxima Centauri? How long would it take them to reach the nearest galaxy 250000 light-years away from us? ‘The force of gravity pulls stars together in groups called galaxies. Our Sun is one of many billions of stars in our zalaxy, the Milky Way. There might be 200 billion (2 x 10") stars in the Milky Way, about 20 stars for every person (on Farth. The Milky Way isa spiral galaxy with a central bulge (see Figure 25.2) It has a diameter of 100000 ight- years and the discis about 2000 light-years thick. Our Solar System is located about 30 000 ight-years from the galactic centre, two-thirds of the way along a spiral arm. The Milky ‘Way is spinning and it takes our Solar System about 225 ‘million years to travel once around the galaxy. 100,000 light years —+: igure 25.2: A schematic diagram of the Milky Way Galaxy. ‘The Milky Way is one of many billions of galaxies, that make up the Universe, Most people consider the Andromeda Galaxy (Figure 25.3) to be our closest galactic neighbour and itis certainly our closest spiral galaxy ‘However, our nearest galactic neighbour is the Canis Major a9)>» CAMBRIDGE IGCSE™ PHYSICS: COURSEBOOK Dwarf Galaxy, which is 25 000light-years away from us and 42000 ight-years from the centre of the Milky Way. Figure 25.3: An infrared image of the Andromeds Galaxy, our closest spiral galaxy Questions 7 @ Make two sketches to show the Milky Way Galaxy; one sketch should show its spiral structure and the other should show the galaxy edge on. b On your sketches mark the diameter of the Milky Way in lignt-years. © Mark the position of the Sun inthe Milky Way. dHowmany stars are there in the Milky Way? 8 The Solar System has existed for 4.6 billion years How many times has the Solar System travelled around the Milky Way in that time? 9 How can the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy be closer to us than we are to the centre of our own galaxy? 10 Assuming that the average mass ofa star is equal to the mass of the Sun (2 x 10g), what isthe mass of the Milky Way? 11. Emagine that the Milky Way is shrunk down to fit into the space between the Earth and the Sun, On this sale, calculate how far away the following bodies would be from Earth a Proxima Centauri (in km) b Pluto (ia km) the Sun (in metres) d__ the Moon (in em), 12. Write a sentence or two comparing your answers to question 25.11 with the length of a pencil, the length of a cricket pitch (about 20 metres), a 400 metre athletics track, and the radius of the Earth (6400km), Rein How do astronomers measure distances to faraway objects? Astronomers have many techniques to measure distances in space. For nearby stars within our ‘own galaxy, they can use parallax. This is when the star appears to move across the sky when viewed from opposite sides of our orbit around the Sun, as shown in Figure 25.4. You can experience this yourself. Stretch out {an arm in front of you and stick up your thumb. Close one eye and open the other and then ‘swap over which is closed and open. Your thumb should appear to move from side to side against the background (which should be at least two arm lengths away) background stars Byte ge ge BHR Fy * te ® Earth in summer arth in winter A Parallax in nearby stars Figure 25. When a telescope is pointed at a nearby star in the summer it appears to be at location X against, the background stars. When the telescope is pointed in the same direction six months later (shown by the dashed line from B), the astronomer would need to swing the telescope through twice the parallax angle in order to get the telescope back onto the star, which appears to have moved to position Y against the background stars. 1 In.groups, use the biggest space available to you to mark out three positions to represent the locations of the Earth in summer (A), the Earth in winter (8), and distant star (C), located roughly south of A and B. Ensure that the distant star is on the perpendicular bisector of the line joining A and B. Measure the distance between the Sun and the star. 479.25. Stars and the Universe As the force of gravity pulls the hydrogen gas molecules closer together, their gravitational potential 2 Measure the distance between A and B. energy is transferred to kinetic energy. As the molecules ‘Compass apps are standard on mobile collide, their kinetic energy is transferred into thermal phones. Stand at position A and use the app | energy. The clump contracts into a spinning sphere to measure the angle to C. Then move to B of super-hot gas known as a protostar. A protostar ‘and measure the angle to C. Subtract the two | continues to grow by pulling in more material from the angles and divide by two to get the parallax | molecular cloud. Its final mass determines what happens angle. Use trigonometry or a scale drawing to it. A protostar becomes stable when the inward force to find the distance between the Sun and of gravitational attraction is balanced by an outward the star. Check whether your answer is within | force due to the high temperature of a star caused by 10% of the distance measured. If your answer | nuclear fusion, is incorrect, identify the source of the error. 3. Repeat step 2 with the layout produced by | ther groups but keep the distance to your star’ a secret until the end. The winning {group is the one that gets consistently closest to the actual value. interstellar cloud: a cloud of gas and dust that occupies the space between stars protostar: a very young star that is still gathering mass from its parent molecular cloud molecular cloud: a cloud of interstellar gas that i i consists mostly of molecular hydrogen and is cold A protostar — how a star is born | sa‘senso-enaugh to ealapse to fom store AA protostar is the first step in star formation, Stars form from interstellar clouds of gas and dust that contain hydrogen called molecular clouds, which are both cold i and dense enough for star formation. The Orion Nebula Questions (Figure 25.5) in the Milky Way is about 1350 light-years away and itis the closest region of star formation to us Itis visible to the naked eye in the night sky just south of Orion's Belt in the constellation of Orion, 13 What two properties do molecular clouds have that ow them to collapse? 14 a Explain how stars are formed. bb» What causes the centre of a star to warm up when it forms? 15 a Explain what is meant by nuclear fusion. b Why can nuclear fusion only occur at high temperatures? Stable stars Hot bodies radiate heat and this radiation exerts a force called radiation pressure. The hotter the object, is, the higher the radiation pressure. The very high temperature of a star leads to a radiation pressure that acts outwards, making the star expand. This acts in the opposite direction to the force of gravity pulling the star inwards, making the star contract. When these | Figure 25.5: The Orion Nebula, the closest egion ofstar _forees are balanced, the star is stable and stays the same | formation and visble vo the naked eye size as shown in Figute 25.5 An increase in the core ee temperature of a star increases the radiation pressure | ‘Tiscollapesofia cuanpaPmoleculay load dunto and the star inereases in size. A sta shrinks when its core gravitational attraction start a series of energy transfers. t’mperature falls _ Sie a REMERON RSIANK ITT Ste any>» “CAMBRIDGE IGCSE™ PHYSICS: COURSEBOOK radiation pressure: the outward force due to the high temperature of the star | outward radiation pressure Figure 25.6: A star ie stable when the inward pull of gravity is balenced by the outward push of rediation pressure, wh 2 force The life cycle of a less massive star like our Sun Like allstars, it begins life as a protostar before a entering a stable period. Once the star starts running out of hydrogen, nuclear reactions slow down, This reduces, the radiation pressure so the star contracts, This turns some gravitational potential energy into thermal energy, which raises the temperature of both the core of the star and the outer shell of hydrogen. The core becomes hhot enough for the fusion of helium. Helium needs a higher temperature to fuse because there is a bigger electrostatic repulsion between the helium nuclei. This is because each helium nucleus has a charge of +2 (instead of +1 for hydrogen). Heating the outer shell causes it to expand and then cool (turning it red). Therefore, the star becomes a red giant, which isa bigger star with & cooler surface Our Sun is 4.6 billion years old and is half-way through its time as a stable main sequence star, It will become ared giant in about 5 billion years from now when it will expand beyond Earth's orbit. Eventually, the core wp collapses into a white dwarf star. A white dwarf cannot exceed a mass of about 1.4 solar masses and typically has a radius of 1000 km. When the Sun becomes a white dwarf, its radius will be about 1% of its present radius, which means it will shrink to about the size of the Earth Though it has a white hot surface (hence the colour), itis not hot enough inside to fuse heavier elements, so it will, 001 to become a black dwarf. Radiation pressure blows away its outer shell to create a planetary nebula like the Cat's Bye Nebula (Figure KEY WORDS red giant: a star that began with fewer than eight solar masses and is burning helium in its core; its shell of hydrogen has expanded and cooled main sequence: a stable star that is burning hydrogen in its core; once it has used up 12% of its hydrogen it goes onto another stage of its life cycle white dwarf: the final stage of a star that started with fewer than eight solar masses after all its fuel has been used up planetary nebula: a bubble of gas surrounding a white dwarf star that used to be the outer shell of 2 red giant from which it collapsed Figure 25.7: The planetary nebula NGC 6543, known as the Eye Nebula, taken from the Hubble Space Talescope. The white dot in the middle is a white dwarf star, which is wha ‘Sun will become in about 5 billion years.25. Stars and the Universe The life cycle of a star exceeding eight solar masses Like all stars it begins life as a protostar before a entering a stable period. The core of more massive stars gets so hot that the nuclei of heavier elements can fuse. The star is hot enough for the fusion of lighter elements to continue in shells further from the core, as shown in Figure 25.8, The outer shell expands into a red iant, However, itis not possible to make elements heavier than iron by nuclear fusion so a star with at least eight times the mass of the Sun ends its cycle of nuclear reactions with iron at its core surrounded by shells of progressively lighter elements, rnon-burning hycrogen hydrogen fusion: helium fusion. carbon fusion — ‘oxygen fusion — neon fusion iron fusion” Figure 25.8: More massive stars have shells of differe elements, with the heavier elements falling towards the care, ‘Once all the fuel has run out, the star collapses one final time and then explodes as a supernova, This provides. the energy required to create elements heavier than iron and push them into space as a nebula, along with lighter elements (including hydrogen). The nebula provides the building blocks for possible future stars and solar systems. A supernova will briefly outshine its galaxy. The Crab Nebula (Figure 25.9) is what remains of a supernova observed by Chinese astronomers in 1054. What happens after a supernova depends on the mass of the core that remains. IF the core is less than about three solar masses, a neutron star forms, The force Of gravity is so strong that electrons and protons are forced together to create neutrons. An even more massive core will continue collapsing until it becomes so dense that not even light can escape and the star becomes a black hole Figure 25.9: A supemova in 1054 left behind the Crab Nebula and a neutron star somewhere within, red supergiant: similar to red giants, they farm when stars with at least eight times the mass of the Sun run out of hydrogen fuel in their core but fusion of hydrogen continues in the outer shells, supernova: an exploding star that began life with more than eight solar masses and has run out of fuel neutron star: a collapsed star composed almost entirely of neutrons which forms when a star with more than eight solar masses reaches the end of | its life black hole: the final stage in the life cycle of a star that started with more than eight solar masses; it has enough mass left over after exploding as a supernova to collapse to a point where gravity is so strong that not even light can escape ‘The possible life cycles of stars is summarised in Figure 25.10. Allstars begin asa protostar but the future path of a star is determined by its mass when it moves onto the main sequence, a stage in its life when it is stable and burning hydrogen. Stars that are more massive spend less time on the main sequence as they have a higher core temperature and use up their fuel more quickly a3)> CAMBRIDGE IGCSE™ PHYSICS: COURSEBOOK Figure 25.10: The life ¢ before joining the main sequence. Stare with a starting mass of fewer than eight solar masses follow the top row while heavier explode as supernovae. After the supernova stage, the light Jecome neutron le of a star depends on its intial (starting} mass. All stars begin as protestars in molecular clouds stars move along the bottom row a stars while the rest b jecome black holes. as sth The Universe has only recently been discovered: on New Year's Day, 1925, This is when Edwin Hubble’ scientific h paper was presented that ended the ‘Great Debate’ and proved thatthe Universe is bigger than the Milky Way. Astronomers had observed what looked like whirlpools of gas and dust inside our galaxy. But when Hubble focused the new Mount Palomar telescope onto them he realised. they were other galaxies beyond our own. Along with 53 i other galaxies and dwarf galaxies, we are part of the local Questions group of palace, which fe part of the Virgo Supercluster Spectroscopy - learning about stars from their starlight It is remarkable what starlight can tell us about a sta d whited Spectroscopy, or the scientific study of spectra, began ‘with Isaac jewton in 1666. He discovered that a prism lar block of glass) disperses white light into the colours of the visible spectrum as covered in Chapter 13, In 1814, Joseph Fraunhofer noticed that many dark lines a cross the spectrum of sunlight, These dark lines are the wavelengths of light missing from the sunlight because = A Bien see ciecermtonomier Gers | a>25 Stars and the Universe the cool gas in the Sun's atmosphere absorbs them. A spectrum with these absorption lines is known as an absorption spectrum (see Figure 25.11). For reasons that are beyond this course, each element has a unique set of lines (sometimes known as a spectral fingerprint) similar toa barcode. These lines allow astronomers to work out what elements are inside a star, Figure 25.11: An absorption spectrum found in an experiment on Earth, b: The redshifted spectrum observed from a distant galany. ‘The spectrum for hydrogen and other elements has been found in experiments on Earth, However, when astronomers looked for the same spectra in distant. galaxies, they discovered that they are redshifted (shifted towards the red end of the spectrum), This does not mean that electromagnetic radiation (including visible light) from distant galaxies turns red. It means light shifts towards longer wavelengths because the wave is stretched out and the wavelength is increased, For example, as can be seen in Figure 25.11, absorption lines that are normally in the blue part of the spectrum can shift into the green part of the spectrum. absorption spectrum: dark lines in a spectrum that are produced when light passing through cooler gas is absorbed redshift: an increase in the observed wavelength of electromagnetic radiation (including visible light] from a star or galaxy because it is moving away from us The Doppler effect You may already have noticed the Doppler effect. As @ very fast vehicle passes you, the volume of the sound rises and falls. However, the pitch also increases as the vehicle approaches and decreases as it recedes (moves away). The sound wave is compressed in front of the vehicle as it approaches. This is because once the crest (or compression) of a sound wave leaves the car, the car catches up with it before the next erest of the wave leaves the car, as shown in Figure 25.12. The sound wave is stretched out behind the vehicle as it moves away, Figure 25.12: This diagram shows crests of a sound wave modified by the Doopler effect, with the wave compressed ahead of the ambulance (so person A hears a higher pitch) and redshifted behind (s0 person B hears a lower pitch), By the time it emits the next crest, the ambulance has moved forward, clasing the gap on the previous crest. a5)Figure 25.15: Robert Wilson and Aino Penzias in front of the radio telescope that detected the cosmic microwave background radiation. Figure 25.16: Full sky map of cosmic microwave beckground radiation. This isthe radiation emitted when the Universe was 379 000 years old but redshifted into ‘the microwave region ofthe electromagnetic spectrum. This shows that the Universe has a uniform temperature of 2.726K in all itections, with only very tiny variations, indicated by the false colours Despite the name, the Big Bang was not an explosion. Itis the expansion of the space between the galaxies. Imagine your universe is the two-dimensional surface of a balloon, Everything inside or outside of the balloon does not exist. As space expands (that is, the balloon inflates), clusters of galaxies move further apart with their recession speeds increasing with distance as shown in Figure 25.17. No matter the direction we look, galaxies appear to be moving away from us suggesting wwe are at the centre of the Universe. However, aliens on a distant galaxy would also think they were at the centre of the Universe, with all other galaxies moving away from them. Actually, the Universe does not have a centre or an edge, Do not worry if you find this idea impossible to imagine because nobody can. The best we can do is to present models. @- Figure 25.17: The Universe represented by the surface of an, expanding balloon, ACTIVITY Using Hubble's law to find the centre of the Universe Work individually, in pairs, or in groups (four would be ideal) on this task. If you have a strip of elastic with buttons sewn into it, you can do this as an experiment under the guidance of your teacher. You need to stretch the elastic by the same amount for each ‘time interval’ so that it looks something like Figure 25.18. If buttons and elastic are not available, take measurements from the diagram: Each button represents a cluster of galaxies. Cluster A represents the local group (where the Milky Way Galany is located), The scale is 3 mm = 40 million light-years. 1 Measure the distances between the centres of the clusters and record them on a copy the Table 25.12. Compare your measurements with other students and reach a consensus (agreement). Check that the value in the final column for each row is equal to the sum of the three previous columns. 2. Ifyou ate working in a group then each of you should take one of the clusters and work out the distance to all the other clusters, using the distances you agreed in the previous step. For example, if you are allocated cluster (button) C, you will be @ scientist looking at the expanding universe as if you were living on a planet in cluster C and working out the distances to clusters B, A and D. 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JOGA25. Stars and the Universe ‘You have two tasks, 1. Use the Internet to find more information on one * The search for life within our Solar System: of the following: you could look at, for example, Mars, ‘+The search for Earth-like extrasolar planets Europa or Titan. paundreine eae irertie ora be 2. Use the information presented here or the match the conditions required for life on Earth): you will find there are many other requirements for more complicated life forms (for example, the spin of the planet has to be stable). You can probably think of more before going online. information you have found on the Internet to complete a short piece of creative science fiction writing, based on scientific fact. Aim for ‘a maximum of 800 words (or what your teacher suggests). Use your imagination, but make sure that your story is concise and the science is dlear and correct. a Our Sun isan average star and is made mainly of hydrogen and helium. Stable stars shine because of the thermonuclear fusion of hydrogen, ‘The Sun shines in the infrared and ultraviolet as well as the visible light. ‘A light-year is the distance that light travels in one year A light-year is defined as 9.5 x 10% metres ‘The Sun is of one of many billions of stars in our Milky Way Galaxy. ‘The distance between stars is thousands of times bigger than the distance between a star and planets in its solar system, if it has one. Our Milky Way Galaxy is one of billions of others in the Universe. ‘Our nearest galaxy is more than 25 000 light-years from Earth. So, galaxies are much further apart than stars, and stars are much further apart than planets. ‘Al stars begin as protostars from the collapse of interstellar (molecular) gas clouds and then start using hydrogen as their fuel. ‘A stable star uses hydrogen as its fuel and the outward force of radiation pressure duc to its high temperature balances the inward force of gravity. ‘Low mass stars (less than eight times the mass of the Sun) swell into red giants when they run out of hydrogen fuel for their nuclear reactions. ‘When red giants run out of helium, they form a planeta’y nebula and shrink into white dwarfs, High mass stars (more than eight times the mass of the Sun) will explode as supernovae that create elements hneavier than iron and send this material into the interstellar medium as a nebulae that form the raw material for ‘new stars and solar systems. ‘A star that explodes as a supemova collapses to becomea neutron star or, if it has a bigger mass, a black hole. Redshift is the increase in the wavelength of electromagnetic radiation (including visible light)> CAMBRIDGE IGCSE™ PHYSICS: COURSEBOOK Light from distant stars and galaxies is redshifted, which suauests that they are moving away from us. “The fact that galaxies are moving away from us suggests that the Universe is expanding and supports the Big Bang theory. ‘The speed that @ galaxy appears to be moving away from us can be found from the redshift in the staright. | The Hubble equation describes how the speed of galaxies is proportional to their distance from us. “The reciprocal of the Hubble constant tells us the age af the Universe, \ | | The cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) is electromagnetic radiation from the early Universe that _ | has been redshifted and its wavelength stretched into the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum. ‘The distance to a distant galaxy can be determined by the brightness of a type La supernova. eae sen 41 Why do stars shine? tt ‘A They are burning. B_ Nuclear fusion is taking place inside the star. © They are made of hot gases that are heated up when they collapsed from gas clouds. D They are made of ether. 2 What is a ight your? nm) A. the distance light travels in one year B 366 days © the time it takes light to travel in one year D 1.44% 10! metres 3. Which of the following is not a star? 1 A. neutron star B white dwarf supernova D ted giant 4° Which of the following is not evidence of the Big Bang? m A. cosmic microwave background radiation everywhere B galaxies are moving closer together stars that are redshifted D. the Universe is expanding 5 a What do we calla large group of stars? a b Why do these groups form? tt) € What is the name of the group where we live? 1 d_ How many other groups of stars do we think exist in the Universe? [1] [Total: 4}25. Stars and the Universe 6 a What causes the redshift in the light arriving from distant galaxies? [2] 0.0 0 16 270 23 360 3.0 470 17 890 56 990, 66 1050 73 1150 'b The table shows data for a parallel universe. Plot a graph of recessional speed (in km/s) versus distance (million light-yearsi to each galaxy for this parallel universe, 3) ve the graph you plotted to find the Hubble consiant, making it clear erent 5 describe: state the Breen ern points of atopic; give characteristics and 8 What is the Big Bang theory and what evidence is there to support it? 3) main features> CAMBRIDGE IGCSE™ PHYSICS: COURSEBOOK Describe what the Sun is made of ‘Recall what parts of the electromagnetic spectrum arc emitted by the Sun, Describe what powers a stable star ‘Recall the relative distances between planets, stars and galaxies Recall what a light-year is. Define a light-year. Describe how a protostar is formed and how becomes a stable star. Describe the life eycle of a star like the Sun, including the names of the different stages. ‘Describe the life cycle of stars exceeding eight solar ‘masses, including the names of the different stages. Describe the role of supernovae in creating heavy elements and spreading them. Recall the number of stars in the Milky Way and the umber of galaxies in the Universe. Recall what redshift is. Recall how the redshift of electromagnetic radiation from distant stars and galaxies supports the Big Bang theory. ‘Know that the redshift of light from distant galaxies can be used to work out their speed of recession (how fast they are moving away from us). Recall Hubble's Law and use it to work out the age of the Universe, Recall where to find the CMBR (cosmic microwave ‘background radiation) and describe its origin (how it came into existence). Describe how the distance to a galaxy can be determined using a type 1a supernova,