The Solar System & Lifecycles of Stars (Edexcel GCSE Physics)

Exam Questions

2 hours12 questions
1a1 mark

The Sun is at the centre of our Solar System.

The planets orbit the Sun.

Which planet is nearest to the Sun?

  A Jupiter
  B Mars
  C Mercury
  D Venus

1b1 mark

The Moon orbits the Earth.

Which of these describes the Moon?

  A an asteroid
  B a comet
  C a nebula
  D a natural satellite

1c2 marks

Any object weighs less on the Moon than it does on the Earth.

The gravitational field strength on the Moon is different from the gravitational field strength on the Earth.

Suggest two reasons why the gravitational field strength on the Moon is different from the gravitational field strength on the Earth.

1d3 marks

The gravitational field strength on the Moon is 1.6 N/kg.

The mass of a rock on the Moon is 6.0 kg.

Calculate the weight of this rock on the Moon.

State the unit of weight.

Use the equation

 weight = mass  × gravitational field strength



weight of rock = ................................. unit ...................................

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2a
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6 marks

The stages of the life cycle of a star are shown below.

Put the stages in the correct order by placing numbers from 1 to 6 in the boxes below.

white dwarf square
planetary nebula square
protostar size 36px square
main sequence star size 36px square
interstellar clouds of gas and dust (stellar nebula) size 36px square
red giant size 36px square
2b
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4 marks

A star can remain stable in its main sequence stage for billions of years.

Figure 1 shows the forces acting within a main sequence star during this stable stage of its life cycle. 

7-1-e-2b-7-1-e-forces-in-stars-sq-edx-gcse

Figure 1

i)
State the names of the two forces in Figure 1.
[2]
ii)
State the origin of the force pushing outwards.
[2]
2c
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1 mark

The masses of some stars compared to the Sun's mass are shown in the table below.

Which star could eventually become a neutron star? 

  Star Mass / solar masses
square  A Proxima Centauri 0.1
square  B Alpha Centauri B 0.9
square  C  Aldebaran 1.7
square  D Betelgeuse 16.5

    2d
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    1 mark

    State what is meant by a supernova.

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    3a
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    1 mark

    A galaxy is a collection of

    square   A   planets

    square   B   moons

    square   C   stars

    square   D   comets

      3b
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      4 marks

      The following sentences are about astronomical objects.

      The Earth is an astronomical object.

      One astronomical object smaller than the Earth is ............................ .

      Two astronomical objects larger than the Earth are ............................ and ............................ .

      The Milky Way is the name given to our ............................ .

         

      Complete the sentences by writing words in the blank spaces.

      3c
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      1 mark

      Planets and comets in our Solar System orbit the Sun.

      State the name of the force which causes planets and comets to orbit the Sun.

      3d
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      3 marks

      Figure 1 shows the orbits of a planet and a comet around the Sun.

      7-1-e-3d-7-1-e-comet-planet-sun-sq-edx-gcse-1

      Figure 1 [not to scale]

      i)
      On Figure 1, label the planet, the comet and the Sun.
      [1]
      ii)
      Explain how it could be possible for a planet and a comet in our Solar System to collide.
      [2]

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      4a
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      1 mark

      Figure 1 shows four planets, P, Q, R and S, orbiting a star.

      7-1-e-4a-7-1-e-planet-moon-circular-orbits-edx-gcse

      Figure 1

      Planet Q has a moon.

      On Figure 1, draw the orbit of this moon.

      4b
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      2 marks

      On Figure 1, sketch the orbit of a comet.

      4c
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      2 marks

      State a difference between the orbit of a moon and the orbit of a planet.

      4d
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      1 mark

      Suggest why planets nearer to the star take less time to orbit the star.

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      1a1 mark

      Which of these planets is at the greatest distance from the Sun?

        A Jupiter
        B Mars
        C Neptune
        D Venus
      1b3 marks
      Use words from the box to complete the following sentences.

      galaxy planet satellite
      star solar system  

      (i) Saturn is a .............................................................. .

      (ii) The Moon is a .............................................................. .

      (iii) Halley’s Comet orbits a .............................................................. .

      1c3 marks
      Figure 3 shows a Mars Exploration Rover.

      fig-3-paper1f-june2020-edexcel-gcse-physics

      Figure 3

      The mass of the rover is 190 kg.

      i)
      The gravitational field strength on Earth is 10 N/kg.
      Calculate the weight of the rover on Earth.
      Use the equation

      weight = mass × gravitational field strength

      [1]

      weight on Earth = .............................................................. N

      ii)
      The weight of the rover on Mars is 700 N.
      Calculate the gravitational field strength on Mars.

      [2]

      gravitational field strength on Mars = .............................................................. N/ kg

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      2a1 mark

      The Asteroid Belt is part of our Solar System.

      Vesta is an asteroid in the Asteroid Belt.

      Vesta orbits the Sun between the orbits of

        A Venus and Earth
        B Earth and Mars
        C Mars and Jupiter
        D Jupiter and Saturn
      2b2 marks

      Vesta has an orbital speed of 1.9 × 104 m/s.


      Vesta travels a distance of 2.2 × 1012 m when it orbits the Sun once.

      Calculate the time taken for Vesta to orbit the Sun once.

      time = ............................................................. s

      2c2 marks

      Higher Only

      Explain why Vesta is accelerating even when it is travelling at a constant speed.

      2d3 marks

      Higher Only

       

      Energy is transferred from the Sun to Vesta by radiation.

      Explain why the temperature on Vesta does not continue to rise, even though it is absorbing energy from the Sun.

      2e4 marks

      The distance between Vesta and the Sun is 2.4 AU.

      1AU is the distance between the Earth and the Sun.

      The intensity of the Sun’s radiation reaching the Earth is 1400 W/m2.

      1W = 1 J/s
      The intensity of the Sun’s radiation at a distance, d, from the Sun is given by the equation

      intensity space equals space straight K over open parentheses straight d close parentheses squared

      where K always has the same value.

      i)
      State the unit of K.

      [1]

      ii)
      Calculate the intensity of the radiation from the Sun at Vesta.

      [3]

      intensity = ............................................................. W/m2

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      3a3 marks

      Describe how stars are formed.

      3b2 marks

      Explain why the star remains stable during the main sequence phase.

      3c4 marks

      The life cycle of a star following the main sequence period depends on the size of the star.  A particular star is much larger in size than the Sun. 

      Complete the stages of the life cycle of this star.

       
      8-2-4c-e-life-cycle-larger-stars-box-fill-sq-edexcel-igcse
      3d3 marks

      Describe what happens in the red giant phase.

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      4a6 marks

      Rearrange the stages of the life cycle of a star into the correct order.

       
      1 white dwarf
      2 planetary nebula
      3 protostar
      4 main sequence star
      5 interstellar clouds of gas and dust (stellar nebula)
      6 red giant

      4b2 marks

      A star can be in its main sequence phase for billions of years.

      Figure 1 shows the forces acting on the Sun during this stable stage of its life cycle. 

      7-1-m-4b-pressure-in-stars

      Figure 1

      (i)
      State the name of the force pulling inwards.
      [1]

       

      (ii)
      Explain what causes the force pushing outwards.
      [1]
      4c2 marks
      Two stars, Alpha Centauri B and Betelgeuse have solar masses of 0.9 and 16.5 respectively. The mass of the Sun is 1 solar mass.
       

      Explain which star could eventually become a neutron star.

      4d5 marks

      For stars with much larger masses than our Sun, the first 4 stages are almost exactly the same as for lower mass stars. For the later stages the processes begin to differ.

      Compare and contrast the final two stages in stars with much larger masses than our Sun and stars with similar masses to our Sun.

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      5a5 marks
      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. 

      5b2 marks

      State and explain whether the Sun will eventually become a black hole. 

      5c2 marks
      The table gives some information about gravitational field strength.
       

        Gravitational field strength (N/kg)
      Earth 10
      Mars 3.7
      Jupiter 24.7

       

      An identical 10 kg object is sent to each planet.

      (i)
      State on which planet the object will have the greatest weight.
      [1]
      (ii)
      State on which planet the object will have the least weight.
      [1]
      5d2 marks

      Describe the differences between the heliocentric and geocentric models of the solar system.

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      1a2 marks

      The Sun has a mass of 2.0 × 1030 kg.

      A white dwarf has a mass of 3.4 × 1029 kg.

      Calculate the value of

      fraction numerator mass space of space this space white space dwarf over denominator mass space of space the space Sun end fraction



      value = ..............................................................

      1b3 marks

      Figure 4 is a diagram giving some information about main sequence stars.

      Luminosity is a measure of how bright something is.

      An increase in luminosity means an increase in brightness.

      fig-4-paper1h-june2020-edexcel-gcse-physics

      Figure 4

      i)
      Estimate the temperature of the Sun.

      [1]
      temperature of the Sun = .............................................................. K

      ii)
      State how the brightness of a main sequence star changes with its temperature.

      [1]
      iii)
      State how the brightness of a main sequence star changes with its mass.

      [1]

      1c3 marks

      Nuclear fusion provides the energy source for stars including the Sun.

      Describe what happens during nuclear fusion.

      1d3 marks

      A nebula may evolve into a main sequence star, such as the Sun.

      Explain how a nebula may evolve into a main sequence star.

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      2a4 marks

      Figure 1 shows the 5 stages of the life cycle of a star that has a similar mass to the Sun. 

       

      Stage 1 Initially, there is a massive cloud of dust and gas in space.
      Stage 2  
      Stage 3 Hydrogen nuclei join together to make helium nuclei
      Stage 4  
      Stage 5 The star eventually becomes unstable. An outer layer of dust and gas is ejected leaving behind a core. The core collapses due to gravity.

       

      Figure 1  

      State and explain what happens in stage 2 of Figure 1. 

      Include details of the forces involved and what they depend on.

      2b
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      3 marks

      State and explain what happens in stage 4 of Figure 1.

      2c
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      2 marks

      The average length of time a star stays in stage 3 is 109 to 1011 years. 

      Explain why the star remains stable during stage 3 for this length of time.

      2d
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      6 marks

      For stars with much larger masses than our Sun, stages 1 to 3 in Figure 1 are almost exactly the same as lower-mass stars. The processes begin to differ for the later stages, 4 and 5.

      Compare and contrast the final two stages in stars with much larger masses than our Sun and stars with similar masses to our Sun.

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      3a
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      1 mark

      Figure 1 contains information on the mass of different stars.

       

      Star Name Star Mass / kg
      Earth's Sun 1.989 × 1030
      Proxima Centauri 2.446 × 1029
      VY Canis Majoris 3.381 × 1031

      Figure 1  

      Compare the masses of Proxima Centauri and VY Canis Majoris to the Sun.

      3b
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      3 marks

      Explain how these differences will affect the time these stars can remain stable.

      3c
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      5 marks

      Describe what will happen to each of the stars after they leave the main sequence stage.

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