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Question 1
This question is about the evolution of stars. |
a) | Stars begin their life cycle as a stellar nebula. Describe what a nebula is.
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b) | State the name of the stage of stellar evolution that our Sun is in.
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c) | During this stage, the star is stable. Explain why the star is stable during this stage of its evolution.
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d) | Describe what will happen to our Sun between this stage and the end of it's stellar life cycle.
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e) | Rigel is a blue star in the constellation of Orion. The table below shows some data about Rigel and our Sun. Show that the wavelength of emitted light at peak intensity for the Sun is around 500 nm.
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Question 2
This question is about the structure of the universe. |
a) | According to the cosmological principle, the Universe is isotropic, homogeneous and the laws of physics are universal. State what is meant by homogeneous.
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b) | The following are all astronomical objects:
Rank them from smallest to largest.
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c) | State the name of the galaxy that Earth is in.
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d) | The international space station is an artificial satellite. Explain what is meant by the term artificial satellite.
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d) | State the name of the natural satellite that orbits the Earth.
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Question 3
This question is about astronomical objects in the universe. |
a) | Which list shows the astronomical objects in order of size, starting with the smallest? A galaxy - Solar system - planet - Moon B planet - star - Solar system - galaxy C star - planet - Moon - Solar system D planet - Solar system - star - galaxy
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b) | State the name of the planet closest to the Sun.
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c) | Describe the shape of a planet's orbit around the Sun and state the name of the force holding it in orbit.
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d) | Describe how the orbit of Mars is different to the orbit of Earth.
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Question 4
Rigel is a star that is much larger than the Sun. |
a) | Describe the evolution of Rigel through it's stellar life cycle.
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b) | State the name of the gas fused during the early stages of the stellar life cycle.
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c) | Rigel has a surface temperature of 12,000 K and a luminosity of 4.62 x 1031 W. Calculate the radius of Rigel.
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Question 5
This question is about the life cycle of our Sun. |
a) | Fill in the blanks to name the stages in the evolution of our Sun.
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b) | Explain why the Sun is described as stable during the main sequence phase.
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c) | Stars undergo nuclear fusion during the main sequence phase of their life cycle. Describe the process of nuclear fusion in stars.
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d) | The equation below shows the fusion of deuterium and tritium in the core of a star. 12​H +13​ H → 24​He + 01​ n binding energy of 12​H = 1.1 MeV binding energy of 13​H = 2.6 MeV binding energy of 24​He = 6.8 MeV Calculate the energy released by the fusion of deuterium and tritium.
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Question 6
This question is about the life cycle of a star with a similar mass to our Sun. |
a) | Describe the evolution of a star with a mass similar to our Sun.
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b) | Calculate the luminosity of a star which has a surface temperature of 9000 K and a diameter of 15.3 x 106 m.
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c) | Sketch the shape of the graph to show how intensity varies with wavelength for a star of surface temperature 9,000 K.
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Question 7
This question is about the Hertzsprung-Russell diagram (HR diagram) and the classification of stars. |
a) | Stars can be classified by their colour. Describe the relationship between the temperature and the colour of a star.
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b) | The diagram below shows the axes for a HR diagram. Complete the diagram by adding the main sequence, red giant and white dwarf regions.
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Question 8
This question is about the classification of stars and the HR diagram. |
a) | Explain why the Moon does not appear on the HR diagram.
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b) | A student has drawn a HR diagram below. Mark the following on the students diagram.
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Question 9
This question is about the work of Edwin Hubble. |
a) | Explain how Hubble could tell that all galaxies were moving away from Earth.
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The table below shows some of Hubble's data. |
b) | Plot a graph of distance against velocity of galaxy.
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c) | Describe the relationship shown by the graph.
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d) | A galaxy is 35 MPc away from Earth. Use the graph to determine the velocity of this galaxy.
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Question 10
This question is about the Hubble telescope. |
a) | The Hubble space telescope is in orbit around the Earth. State the name of the force holding the telescope in orbit.
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b) | The Hubble space telescope detects light from distant galaxies. Explain how the light from these galaxies provides evidence for the big bang.
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c) | Define the Hubble constant.
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d) | The velocity of a galaxy was 4,073 km/s. Calculate the distance of the galaxy from Earth. Give your answer in standard form in km. The Hubble constant has a value of 2.2 x 10-18 s-1.
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Question 11
This question is about the origins of the universe. |
a) | State what is meant by the big bang.
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b) | State two pieces of evidence in support of the big bang.
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c) | Explain how CMBR provides evidence for the big bang theory.
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Question 12
This question is about the expansion of the universe. The diagram below shows light emitted from 4 distant galaxies compared to the same light here on earth (laboratory source). |
a) | Explain how the image above provides evidence for the expansion of the universe.
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b) | Which galaxy is the furthest away from Earth?
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c) | State the equation linking change in wavelength, reference wavelength, recessional speed of galaxy, and the speed of light.
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d) | Calculate the recessional speed of galaxy B. The reference wavelength is 390 nm.
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Question 13
This question is about the origin of the universe. |
a) | Which of the following is a piece of evidence for the big bang? A all electromagnetic waves can travel through a vacuum B the speed of light is the fastest speed in the universe C the wavelength of light from distant galaxies appears to be increasing D the supernova of a red supergiant
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b) | Explain what CMBR stands for and how it provides evidence for the big bang.
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c) | What causes the red shift of light from distant galaxies? A the scattering of light due to star dust B the doppler effect due to the relative motion between the observer and the source C the presence of dark matter in the universe D the huge gravitational attraction of black holes
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Question 14
This question is about the light emitted from distant galaxies. |
a) | Describe how light from distant galaxies provides evidence of the universe expanding.
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b) | Andromeda is a galaxy which is moving towards Earth. Explain how the light form Andromeda appears to astronomers on Earth.
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c) | The light received from a distant galaxy has a wavelength of 430 nm. An astronomer is using the light with a reference wavelength of 390 nm. Calculate the speed of the distant galaxy. The speed of light is 3 x 108 m/s.
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Question 15
This question is about the light emitted from distant galaxies. |
a) | Describe how light from distant galaxies provides evidence of the universe expanding.
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b) | Andromeda is a galaxy which is moving towards Earth. Explain how the light form Andromeda appears to astronomers on Earth.
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