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IGCSE Physics > Space Physics > Flashcards

Space Physics Flashcards

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1
Q

Orbital speed

A

2Πr/T
r - average radius of orbit
T - orbital period

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2
Q

Hubble constant

A

Ho = 2.2 x 10^-18

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3
Q

Formula hubble constant

A

v/d

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4
Q

Age of the universe

A

d/v = 1/Hubble constant

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5
Q

1 light year

A

9.5 x 10^15

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6
Q

Milky Way diameter

A

100 000 light years

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6
Q

How much time does Earth take to rotate on its axis?

A

once every 24h

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6
Q

Time taken for Earth to orbit Sun

A

365 days

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6
Q

Why do we experience seasons?

A

Slight tilt of earth’s axis
eg: December: northern hemisphere angled away from Sun (less sunlight, winter)
southern hemisphere towards Sun (more sunlight, summer)

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6
Q

How long does it take the Moon to orbit the Earth?

A

1 month

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7
Q

Order of planets from sun

A

Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune

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8
Q

How many stars in our solar system?

A

One, the Sun

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9
Q

What are some examples of minor planets that orbit the Sun?

A

minor planets, like dwarf planets (Pluto)
asteroids in the asteroid belt

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10
Q

What is a moon?

A

A natural satellite of a planet

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11
Q

What are some other smaller Solar System bodies?

A

comets and natural satellites

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12
Q

What are natural satellites?

A

an object that orbits a planet or another body that is larger than itself

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13
Q

What are comets?

A

balls of ice
orbit the Sun elliptically, and when they come close to the Sun, they heat up, and some of the ice evaporates, becoming a visible tail

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14
Q

How can you describe the four innermost planets in the Solar System?

A

rocky and small

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15
Q

How can you describe the four outermost planets in the Solar System?

A

large and gaseous

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16
Q

Explore the accretion model

A

Slowly, dust from interstellar clouds gradually clumped together because of its own gravity, began to spin as a disc, eventually most ignited, became the Sun.
Particles in remaining disc of dust began to clump together and grow into larger and larger chunks, pulled together by gravity.

Close to the Sun, high temp: materials like H and He (low BP) could not solidify into planets. Heavier elements like iron were the only ones that could form planets close to the Sun. Planets closest to Sun became rocky planets, hydrogen and helium pushed further out.
Further from the Sun: H and He condense into a liquid to form planets

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17
Q

Why is the accretion model called this?

A

Because the planets slowly gain (accrete) mass over time as their gravity attracts more material.

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18
Q

Effect of gravity on accretion model

A

The bigger the mass, the greater the gravitational field strength at its surface.
All the planets orbit Sun since it contains almost all the mass of the Solar System therefore a much stronger gravitational pull than anything else

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19
Q

Describe orbit shapes

A

Planets, minor planets and comets have elliptical orbits, Sun is not at centre (except when orbit is approx. circular)

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20
Q

Explain planet’s movements in an elliptical orbit.

A

Planets move faster when it is closest to the star.

Conservation of energy:

As planet gets closer to the star, GPE is converted into KE – so it moves faster.
As it travels away, its KE is converted back into GPE, so it slows down.

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21
Q

Correlation between orbital distance and orbital speed

A

When orbital radius is greater, the planet moves more slowly.

22
Q

What does the strength of the gravitational field at the surface of a planet depend on?

A

mass of planet

23
Q

Correlation between strength of gravitational field around planet and distance from planet

A

Strength around a planet decreases the further you get away

24
Q

Why do the planets orbit the Sun?

A

because it contains most of the mass of the Solar System

25
Q

What keeps an object in orbit around the Sun?

A

force: gravitational attraction of the Sun

26
Q

What happens as you get further away from the Sun?

A

Sun’s gravitational field decreases
Orbital speeds of planets decrease

27
Q

Describe the Sun.

A
  • star of medium size
  • consists mainly of hydrogen and helium
  • radiates most of its energy in infrared, visible and ultraviolet regions of em. spectrum
28
Q

What are stars powered by?

A

nuclear reactions that release energy

29
Q

How are the nuclear reactions in stable stars?

A

fusion of hydrogen into helium

30
Q

What are galaxies made up of?

A

many billions of stars

31
Q

Many billions of stars make up…

A

galaxies

32
Q

Where is the Sun located in?

A

in a galaxy known as the Milky Way

33
Q

What is the relative distance of stars in the Milky Way?

A

other stars are much further from Earth than the Sun from Earth

34
Q

How can astronomical distances be measured?

A

light-years

35
Q

What is a light year?

A

distance travelled in the vacuum of space by light in one year

36
Q

How is a star formed?

A

from interstellar clouds of gas and dust that contain hydrogen

37
Q

What is a protostar?

A

an interstellar cloud collapsing and increasing in temperature as a result of its internal gravitational attraction. emits light.

38
Q

When does a protostar become a stable star?

A

when inward force of grav. attraction is balanced by an outward force due to high temperature in star’s centre

39
Q

What will eventually happen for all stars?

A

they will all eventually run our of hydrogen as fuel for the nuclear reaction

40
Q

What happens to stars when most of the hydrogen in its centre has been converted to helium?

A

most expand to form red giants. more massive stars expand to form red supergiants

41
Q

What does a red giant from a less massive star form?

A

a planetary nebula with a white dwarf at its centre

42
Q

What does a red supergiant form?

A
  • explodes as a supernova
  • forming a nebula containing hydrogen and new heavier elements,
  • leaving behind a neutron star or black hole at its centre
43
Q

After a supernova, what may happen?

A

the nebula from a supernova may form new stars with orbiting planets

44
Q

What is redshift?

A

an increase in the observed wavelength of e.m radiation emitted from receding stars and galaxies

45
Q

Why do we see redshift?

A

light emitted from distant galaxies appears redshifted compared to light emitted on the Earth

46
Q

What is redshift in light from distance galaxies evidence for?

A

Universe is expanding, supports Big Bang Theory

47
Q

What is cosmic microwave background radiation (CBMR)?

A

microwave radiation of a specific frequency is observed at all points in space around us

48
Q

When was CBMR produced? What happened to this radiation?

A
  • shortly after Universe was formed
  • this radiation has been expanded into the microwave region of the em spectrum as the Universe expanded
49
Q

How can we find the speed v at which a galaxy is moving away from the Earth?

A

the change in wavelength of the galaxy’s starlight due to redshift

50
Q

How can we determine the distance of a far galaxy d?

A

using the brightness of a supernova in that galaxy

51
Q

Define the Hubble Constant H0.

A

ratio of the speed at which the galaxy is moving away from Earth to its distance from Earth
v/d

52
Q

d/v=

A

1/H0

53
Q

1/H0=

A

d/v

54
Q

What is the equation 1/H0 = d/v?

A
  • estimate for age of Universe
  • evidence for idea that all matter in Universe was present at a single point
55
Q

H0 =

A

v/d

56
Q

estimate for H0

A

2.2 x 10^-18

IGCSE Physics (10 decks)

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