IGCSEPhysics: Co-ordinated Sciences (Double Award)CIETopic Questions6. Space PhysicsStars & the Universe

Stars & the Universe (CIE IGCSE Physics: Co-ordinated Sciences (Double Award))

Topic Questions

1 hour16 questions
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1a1 mark

Starting with the largest, list the following in order of decreasing size

 
Galaxy    Sun   Universe    Jupiter

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1b2 marks

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 → ................................... → ...................................

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1c4 marks

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 ...................................

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1d2 marks

Extended tier only

Explain what may form in nebulae created by a supernova.

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2a1 mark

State the approximate diameter of the Milky Way in light years.

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2b2 marks

Extended tier only

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 ...........................

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3a6 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

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3b2 marks

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

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3c1 mark

State what is meant by a supernova.

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13 marks

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]

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2a5 marks

Extended tier only

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. 

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2b2 marks

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

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3a2 marks

Extended tier only

Describe nuclear fusion in stars.

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3b5 marks

Derive the distance of 1 light year in metres.

Speed of light = 3.0 × 108 m/s

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3c2 marks

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 

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3d4 marks

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.

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1a5 marks

Derive the distance of 1 light year in metres.

Speed of light = 3.0 × 108 m/s

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1b2 marks

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 

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24 marks

Calculate the distance of 50 light-years in metres.

Speed of light = 3.0 × 108 m/s.

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3a4 marks

Extended Tier Only

The ‘big bang’ theory is one theory explaining the origin of the Universe.

6-2-4a-h-size-of-universe-time-graph

Fig 1.1

(i)
Sketch the graph of the size of the Universe with time on Fig 1.1.
[2]
(ii)
Explain how your graph in part (i) supports the Big Bang Theory.
[2]

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3b2 marks

Extended tier only

Suggest why our understanding of the very earliest moments of the Universe is unreliable.

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43 marks

Extended tier only

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. This graph is shown in Fig. 1.1.

6-2-5b-h-hubbles-law-graph-p-and-q

Fig 1.1

Describe how the visible light spectrum from galaxy Q looks different from the visible light spectrum from galaxy P.

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