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6.2 Stars & The Universe
Question Paper
Course
CIE IGCSE Physics
Section
6. Space Physics
Topic
6.2 Stars & The Universe
Difficulty
Easy
Time allowed:
10
Score:
/5
Percentage:
/100
Page 1 of 3
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Question 1
Which two elements are the most commonly found in the Sun?
A. Hydrogen and oxygen
B. Helium and carbon
C. Hydrogen and helium
D. Nitrogen and oxygen
[1 mark]
Question 2
Light from distant galaxies appears red-shifted to observers on Earth.
Which of the following ideas does this provide evidence for?
1. The Big Bang Theory
2. The Universe is expanding
3. Distant Galaxies are moving both towards us and away from us
A. 1 only
B. 1 and 2
C. 2 only
D. 1, 2 and 3
[1 mark]
Question 3
Extended
Which of the following describes the lifecycle of a star about the size of the Sun?
A. interstellar hydrogen clouds → protostar → main sequence star → red supergiant → black hole
B. interstellar hydrogen clouds → planetary nebula → main sequence star → red giant → protostar→ white dwarf
C. interstellar hydrogen clouds → protostar → main sequence star → red giant → planetary nebula → white dwarf
D. interstellar hydrogen clouds → protostar → main sequence star → red supergiant → neutron star
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[1 mark]
Question 4
Extended
What does the constant 2.2 × 10–18 s–1 represent?
A. 1 light year
B. Red-shift
C. The CMBR
D. The Hubble constant
[1 mark]
Question 5
Which part of the electromagnetic spectrum does the Sun radiate most of its energy in?
A. radio, visible and gamma
B. infrared, visible and ultraviolet
C. infrared, X-rays and gamma
D. infrared, visible and gamma
[1 mark]
Page 3 of 3
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6.2 Stars & The Universe
Question Paper
Course
CIE IGCSE Physics
Section
6. Space Physics
Topic
6.2 Stars & The Universe
Difficulty
Medium
Time allowed:
10
Score:
/5
Percentage:
/100
Page 1 of 3
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Question 1
Which of the four possible shapes of galaxies shown could be the Milky Way?
[1 mark]
Question 2
Which is the best description of redshift?
A. Distant galaxies only emit light from the red end of the spectrum.
B. Only red light can reach Earth from very distant stars.
C. Stars in the Milky Way mostly emit light at the red end of the spectrum,
D. The light received from distant galaxies is moved towards the red end of the spectrum.
[1 mark]
Question 3
How many years would it take light to travel from the centre of the Milky Way to the outer edge?
A. 500 years
B. 50 000 years
C. 100 000 years
D. 100 000 light years
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[1 mark]
Question 4
What is the process which makes stable stars such as the Sun shine, and which element produced in the reaction?
A
B
C
D
Process
fusion
fission
fusion
fission
Element
oxygen
hydrogen
helium
hydrogen
[1 mark]
Question 5
Extended
Which of the following equations represents the age of the Universe?
A. t
B. H0
C.
v
d
D.
d
v
[1 mark]
Page 3 of 3
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6.2 Stars & The Universe
Question Paper
Course
CIE IGCSE Physics
Section
6. Space Physics
Topic
6.2 Stars & The Universe
Difficulty
Hard
Time allowed:
10
Score:
/5
Percentage:
/100
Page 1 of 3
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Question 1
Which is the correct value of one light year?
A. 9.5 × 1015 km
B. 9.5 × 1015 m
C. 9.5 × 1015 s
D. 9.5 × 1015 days
[1 mark]
Question 2
The planet Uranus has an average orbital radius of 4 500 million km. How long does it take light from the Sun to travel to
Uranus?
A. 4 minutes
B. 1 hour
C. 4 hours
D. 4 days
[1 mark]
Question 3
Galactic speeds and distances cannot be measured directly as speed and distance are on Earth. Instead they must be
measured using indirect methods. Select the correct row from the table.
A
B
C
D
Galactic speeds
redshift
redshift
brightness of supernovae
brightness of supernovae
Galactic distances
redshift
brightness of supernovae
redshift
brightness of supernovae
[1 mark]
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Question 4
Hubble's equation states that the Hubble Constant,
H0 =
v
d
What does the equation allow astronomers to calculate?
1. The distance to other galaxies
2. The speed of galactic recession
3. The age of the Universe
A. 1 only
B. 1 and 3
C. 3 only
D. 1, 2 and 3
[1 mark]
Question 5
Extended
The Andromeda galaxy is 2.5 million light-years away from Earth. What is the velocity of the galaxy as it moves away from
Earth?
1 light year ≈ 9.5 × 1015 m
The Hubble constant ≈ 2.2 × 10–18 s–1
A. 5200 m/s
B. 52 km/s
C. 5.2 km/s
D. 520 km/s
[1 mark]
Page 3 of 3
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6.2 Stars & The Universe
Question Paper
Course
CIE IGCSE Physics
Section
6. Space Physics
Topic
6.2 Stars & The Universe
Difficulty
Easy
Time allowed:
50
Score:
/39
Percentage:
/100
Page 1 of 8
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Question 1a
Explain the term galactic redshift.
[3 marks]
Question 1b
Explain why galactic redshift is considered as evidence supporting the Big Bang theory.
[2 marks]
Question 2a
Define the Hubble Constant.
[1 mark]
Question 2b
State the equation for the Hubble constant and define all the variables.
[3 marks]
Page 2 of 8
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Question 2c
State the equation to calculate the age of the Universe.
[1 mark]
Question 2d
The Hubble constant is estimated to be 2.2 × 10–18 s–1
Calculate the age of the Universe in years.
1 year = 3.15 × 107 s
[4 marks]
Question 3a
Starting with the largest, list the following in order of decreasing size
Galaxy Sun Universe Jupiter
[1 mark]
Question 3b
State the stages in the life cycle of a star the size of the Sun after the main sequence in the gaps below
Main sequence → ................................... → ...................................
[2 marks]
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Question 3c
State the stages in the life cycle of a star much greater than the size of the Sun after the main sequence in the gaps below
Main sequence → ................................... → ................................... → ................................... or ...................................
[4 marks]
Question 3d
Explain what a planetary nebula forms after it has been created by a supernova.
[2 marks]
Question 4a
State the approximate diameter of the Milky Way in light years.
[1 mark]
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Question 4b
Extended
Nuclear fusion occurs in the core of a stable star.
Complete the sentence explaining nuclear fusion.
Nuclear reactions in the core of a star involve the fusion of ........................... into ...........................
[2 marks]
Question 4c
The Virgo A galaxy and Messier 90 galaxy are 6.2 × 1020 km and 5.5 × 1020 km from Earth respectively. They are both moving
away from Earth.
State and explain which galaxy is moving faster away from Earth.
[2 marks]
Question 4d
Extended
Explain how the distance of a far galaxy can be determined.
[1 mark]
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Question 5a
Rearrange the stages of the life cycle of a star into the correct order.
1
2
3
4
5
6
white dwarf
planetary nebula
protostar
main sequence star
interstellar clouds of gas and dust (stellar nebula)
red giant
[6 marks]
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Question 5b
A star can be in its main sequence phase for billions of years.
Fig 1.1 shows the forces acting on the Sun during this stable stage of its life cycle.
(i)
State the name of the force pulling inwards.
[1]
(ii)
Explain what causes the force pushing outwards.
[1]
[1 mark]
Question 5c
Two stars, Alpha Centauri B and Betelgeuse are 0.9 and 16.5 solar masses respectively.
State which star could eventually become a neutron star. Explain your reasoning.
1 solar mass = mass of the Sun
[2 marks]
Question 5d
State what is meant by a supernova.
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[1 mark]
Page 8 of 8
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6.2 Stars & The Universe
Question Paper
Course
CIE IGCSE Physics
Section
6. Space Physics
Topic
6.2 Stars & The Universe
Difficulty
Medium
Time allowed:
50
Score:
/40
Percentage:
/100
Page 1 of 8
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Question 1a
The Sun is our nearest star.
(i)
State the three main forms of electromagnetic radiation emitted by the Sun.
[2]
(ii)
State the two main elements that are found in the Sun.
[1]
[3 marks]
Question 1b
State and explain what can be deduced from the ‘redshift’ observed by astronomers in the light from all distant galaxies.
[3 marks]
Question 2a
Extended
Describe and explain how a stable star is formed.
[3 marks]
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Question 2b
Extended
Describe and explain what can be deduced from cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR).
[1 mark]
Question 3a
Extended
Some main sequence stars become black holes.
Describe the evolution of a main sequence star to the point at which it becomes a black hole.
[5 marks]
Question 3b
Extended
State and explain whether the Sun will eventually become a black hole.
[2 marks]
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Question 4a
The visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum from a star includes a dark line. This line is at a specific wavelength.
Fig 1.1 shows the position of the dark line in the spectrum from the Sun and in the spectrum from two different galaxies, galaxy
A and galaxy B.
Explain what the spectrum ‘shifts’ of the dark lines tells us about the direction of the galaxies.
[2 marks]
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Question 4b
State which galaxy is:
(i)
is moving faster.
[1]
(ii)
is further away.
[1]
[2 marks]
Question 4c
Extended
Galaxy A is 150 000 × 109 m away.
Calculate its recession velocity.
Hubble constant = 2.2 × 10–18 s–1
[4 marks]
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Question 4d
Extended
A galaxy C is twice as far as galaxy A.
Determine the recession velocity of galaxy C.
[2 marks]
Question 5a
Extended
Describe nuclear fusion in stars.
[2 marks]
Question 5b
Extended
Derive the distance of 1 light year in metres.
c = 3.0 × 108 m/s
[5 marks]
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Question 5c
Extended
The Milky Way is approximately 100 000 light years in diameter.
Calculate the time it would take a spacecraft travelling at the speed of light to travel from one side of the Milky Way to the
other.
time = ......................................... s
[2 marks]
Question 5d
Below are some statements related to Cosmology.
1. Galaxies are made of up millions of stars
2. The Sun is a planet because it has a core
3. Other stars that make up the Milky Way are much further away from the Earth than the Sun is from the Earth
4. There may be other galaxies in the Milky Way
State all of the statements that are false and explain why.
[4 marks]
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Page 8 of 8
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6.2 Stars & The Universe
Question Paper
Course
CIE IGCSE Physics
Section
6. Space Physics
Topic
6.2 Stars & The Universe
Difficulty
Hard
Time allowed:
70
Score:
/51
Percentage:
/100
Page 1 of 11
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Question 1a
Extended
Edwin Hubble was an American scientist who studied galactic recession.
Define the Hubble constant, H0.
[1 mark]
Question 1b
Extended
State the current value of the Hubble constant.
[2 marks]
Question 1c
Extended
The Andromeda galaxy is the Milky Way's largest galactic neighbour. The Andromeda galaxy is approximately 2.5 million light
years from Earth.
Calculate the speed with which the Andromeda galaxy is receding from Earth. You should give your answer in km/s.
............................................................... km/s
[4 marks]
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Question 2a
Extended
State and explain the two pieces of evidence which support the Big Bang Theory of the origin of the Universe.
[4 marks]
Question 2b
Calculate the distance of 50 light-years in metres.
c = 3.0 × 108 m/s.
[4 marks]
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Question 2c
Extended
Redshift measurements show that a galaxy is receding from Earth at a speed of 32 000 km/s.
Use Hubble's Law to calculate how many light-years the galaxy is distant from the Solar System.
Take the Hubble constant to be 2.2 × 10-18 s–1.
[5 marks]
Question 3a
Extended
Explain what type of radiation the CMBR will eventually change into over the next billion years
[2 marks]
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Question 3b
Extended
Scientists measure the wavelength of the radio waves from galaxy A travelling at 260 km/hr away from Earth to be 63.2 m.
Sometime later, the wavelength is measured to be 63.4 m.
The wavelength of the radio waves from galaxy B is initially measured to be 63.4 m and at the same time later, measured to be
63.8 m.
Calculate the velocity of galaxy B.
velocity of galaxy B = ...................................... m/s
[4 marks]
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Question 3c
Extended
By measuring the red-shift, Hubble was able to calculate the speed at which the galaxies are moving away from the Earth. He
was also able to calculate the distance of these galaxies from the Earth. The graph in Fig 1.1 shows some of the data
calculated by Hubble.
Fig 1.1
The graph in Fig 1.1 was used to calculate the most up-to-date value of the Hubble constant, H0.
Megaparsecs are a unit for large distances commonly used in Astronomy and Cosmology. 1 megaparsec = 3.1 × 1022 m.
Calculate H0 in km/s megaparsec.
[3 marks]
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Question 3d
Extended
Show that H0 is roughly 2.0 × 10–18 s–1.
[3 marks]
Question 4a
The ‘big bang’ theory is one theory explaining the origin of the Universe.
Fig 1.1
(i)
Sketch the graph of the size of the Universe with time on Fig 1.1.
(ii)
Explain how your graph in part (i) supports the Big Bang Theory.
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[4 marks]
Question 4b
Extended
Describe and explain the important properties of the CMBR. Explain their significance as evidence for the evolution of the
Universe.
[5 marks]
Question 4c
Extended
Explain why our understanding of the very earliest moments of the Universe is unreliable.
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[2 marks]
Question 5a
Extended
Nuclear fusion reactions in the Sun fuse hydrogen to make helium.
In the Solar System, the inner planets, such as the Earth, contain elements which are heavier than the elements hydrogen and
helium.
Explain how this can be the case.
[2 marks]
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Question 5b
Extended
From the data collected, a graph can be drawn that links the speed of a galaxy with the distance of the galaxy from the Earth.
Fig 1.1
Describe how the visible light spectrum from galaxy Q looks different from the visible light spectrum from galaxy P.
[3 marks]
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Question 5c
Extended
A third galaxy, R, seems to be travelling away from the Earth at about 110 000 km/s.
Estimate how far galaxy R might be from the Earth, showing how you use the graph to do this.
[3 marks]
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