Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

physics igcse > space physics- topic 6 > Flashcards

space physics- topic 6 Flashcards

1
Q

how often does the earth spin in its axis

A

once every 24 h

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

how long does the earth take to orbit the sun

A

365 days

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

why do we experience seasons

A

his is because of the slight tilt of the Earth’s axis.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

formula for orbital speed

A

2πr/ T

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

why does the moon shine

A

the Moon shines brightly because it reflects the light from the Sun

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

how long does the moon take to orbit the earth

A

a month

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

how is the earth tilted angle wise

A

23.5 degrees

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

why does the length of day vary

A

the tilt of the earth causes the length of night and day to vary according to latitude (north-south) location, and this changes throughout the year

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

what side of the moon faces the earth

A

the same side

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

what changes the phase of the moon we see

A

depends on the angle of the sun, the moon and the earth

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

what are planets

A

spheres of matter, orbiting the Sun

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

whats the order of the planets in the solar system

A

Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

describe each planet

A

mercury- small rocky planet
Venus- small rocky planet
earth- small rocky planet
Mars- small rocky planet
jupiter- gas giant planet
saturn- gas giant planet
uranus- gas giant planet
neptune- gas giant planet

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

dwarf planets

A

Small, rocky bodies orbiting the Sun, not big enough to be called planets. Pluto is an example.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

asteroid belt

A

Millions of rocks, much smaller than planets, orbiting the Sun between Mars and Jupiter

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

comet

A

Balls of ice which orbit the Sun in elliptical orbits. When they come close to the Sun they heat up and some of the ice evaporates, becoming a visible tail.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

what is a natural satellite

A

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

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

what are interstellar clouds

A

also known as nebulas, made from gas and dust all around the Universe and they are made from a variety of different elements

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

how did the solar system appear

A

dust from interstellar clouds clumped together beacuse of its own gravity, began to spin as a disc and eventually most ignited and became the sun.
particles in remaining disk combined by pull of gravity, these are the planets, called acretion model
most common elements in this acretion disk is hydrogen followed by helium, hydrogen and helium were pushed out and became giant gas planets, while iron became the rocky small planets close to the sun.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

what is the relationship between mass, and gravitational field strength

A

The more mass an object has, the greater the gravitational field strength at its surface.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

speed of light

A

3 x 10^8 m/s

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

equation for light to reach other planets

A

v= s/t
v=speed of light
s=distance light travels
t=time taken

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

what is the effect of distance on light and temperature intensity, and gravitational field strength

A

further away from the sun, less light intensity, weaker gravitational field strength

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

explain speed in eliptical orbits, and relationship

A

The planet moved faster during the part of the orbit where it was closest to the star
As the planet gets closer to the star, its gravitational potential energy is converted into kinetic energy – so it moves faster. As it travels away again, the kinetic energy is converted back into gravitational potential energy, so it slows down
when the orbital radius is greater, the planet moves more slowly,This is because the gravitational force of attraction from the Sun is weaker at these larger distances.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

what is a star

A

a ball of gas which radiates energy in the form of electromagnetic waves.
but they are usually (unless they are dying) made of hydrogen and helium

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

what energy does our sun emit, does this vary between stars?

A

Our Sun emits most of its energy in the infrared, visible and ultraviolet regions of the electromagnetic spectrum (see subtopic 3.3). This can vary depending on the size and temperature of the star.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

where does the energy from stars come from?

A

nuclear fusion reactions
hydrogen atoms are joined together with enough force to make them stick together (or fuse) into helium atoms. This reaction produces a lot of energy, and this energy is released from the star in the form of electromagnetic waves.

28
Q

what is a stable star

A

a star that fuses hydrogen together, by nuclear fusion, to emit energy

29
Q

what are galaxies

A

Galaxies are collections of billions of stars, all orbiting around a galactic centre which is usually a black hole

30
Q

how is distance in space measured

A

in light years

31
Q

what is a light year

A

the distance travelled by light waves through the vacuum of space in one Earth year.

32
Q

how far is a light year

A

9.5 × 10ˆ15 m

33
Q

how are stars formed

A

all stars are born from interstellar clouds of gas and dust. The element hydrogen must be present in the cloud for a star to form.
Because of gravity, the interstellar cloud starts to collapse upon itself and all the hydrogen (and other elements) clump together. As this happens, the temperature increases because hydrogen nuclei start fusing together. As gravity pulls in more material, the temperature increases further. At this stage, the star is called a protostar.

34
Q

explain forces in a protostar

A

Gravity pulls material inwards towards the centre of the star, but as the temperature increases, the outwards force increases too. Eventually, the forces balance and the star becomes stable.

35
Q

stellar nebula

A

The cloud of hydrogen and dust before a star is born is known as a stellar nebula.

36
Q

protostar

A

The stellar nebula gradually collapses under its own gravity. As it collapses, the temperature increases, and it starts to emit light. This is a protostar.

37
Q

average star

A

If the star has a relatively low mass, like our Sun, it forms an average sized stable star. The force of gravity is balanced by the outward force due to the high temperature in the centre.

38
Q

red giant

A

When average stars begin to run out of hydrogen, the outer layers expand, and the star becomes a red giant.

39
Q

plenetary nebula

A

When the red giant eventually runs out of fuel, the outer layers will spread out further while cooling down, eventually becoming a loose cloud of gas and dust. Despite the name, a planetary nebula has nothing to do with planets.

40
Q

white dwarf

A

After the outer layers of the red giant have spread out, the core of the star remains. No fusion happens, but the temperature is still extremely high, so it glows white and so it is called a white dwarf.

41
Q

massive star

A

If the star has a relatively high mass, around five times bigger than our Sun, it forms a massive stable star. The force of gravity is balanced by the outward force due to the high temperature in the centre.

42
Q

red supergiant

A

When massive stars begin to run out of hydrogen, the outer layers expand, and the star becomes a red supergiant

43
Q

supernova

A

A red supergiant is so massive that it has a huge amount of gravity. When the star finally runs out of fuel, this gravity pulls all the matter back into the centre. This creates a huge amount of pressure, which causes the star to violently explode. This explosion is called a supernova and it is one of the brightest events in the Universe. A supernova can create a stellar nebula, which in turn can form new stars and planets.

44
Q

neutron star

A

After the supernova, the core of the star is left behind. There is so much mass and therefore so much gravity that atoms cannot even exist and are crushed together to form a block of neutrons. This is known as a neutron star.

45
Q

black hole

A

After the supernova, If the star’s core is massive enough, even neutrons cannot exist because gravity is crushing them together with so much force. All the matter in the core of the star is crushed together to a single point, creating the most dense object in the Universe, a black hole.

46
Q

processes of a star (of small mass)

A

stellar nebula, protostar, averga star, red giant, planetary nebula, white dwarf

47
Q

process of a star (of large mass)

A

stellar nebula, protostar, massive star, red supergiant, supernova, neutron star, blackhole

48
Q

Which property of light is affected by its frequency?

A

colour

49
Q

when galaxies are not moving relative to the Earth…

A

we see no change in the observed wavelength of light from the galaxy.

50
Q

When galaxies are moving away from the Earth…

A

we see an increase in the observed wavelength of light from the galaxy.

50
Q

When galaxies are moving towards the Earth….

A

we see a decrease in the observed wavelength of light from the galaxy.

50
Q

the further away the galaxy is from Earth….

A

the more light is redshifted

51
Q

Light from the beginning of the Universe is called….

A

cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) and it is detectable everywhere in the Universe.

51
Q

explain redshift and relationship with speed and distance

A

If light is redshifted, it means the galaxy is moving away from us. The more the light is redshifted, the faster the galaxy is moving away from us. All the galaxies we can see are moving away from each other, and the further away they are from us, the faster they are moving.

51
Q

what is the CMBR

A

The microwave radiation left over from the Big Bang, which is observed everywhere in the Universe.

52
Q

what happened to radiation from big bang

A

The whole Universe was emitting a huge amount of radiation . Ever since then, this radiation has been travelling across the Universe. It is now extremely faint and has been redshifted so much that it is now in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum

53
Q

hubbles constant explanation

A

the relationship between how fast galaxies were receding (moving away) from us and their distance from Earth. do this by measuring how bright something is and how bright it looks from earth

54
Q

hubbles constant formula

A

hubbles constant= receeding speed/ galaxy distance

55
Q

hubbles constant number

A

2.2×10ˆ−18

56
Q

what does big bang theory state

A

at the beginning of the Universe all the matter was in the same place, including the matter that would one day make up the Earth and the galaxy we are measuring

57
Q

the age of the universe formula

A

1/ Hubbles constant
or
distance from galaxy / receeding speed

58
Q

why do planets orbit the sun

A

because the sun contains most of the mass of the solar system

59
Q

what is the force that keeps the objects around orbit of the sun

A

the gravitational attraction of
the Sun

60
Q

what decreases as distance from the sun increases

A

strength of gravitational field and orbital speed

61
Q

what is the galaxy the sun is found in

A

the milky way

62
Q

what is relevant distance of others stars in milky way, to sun comparison

A

other stars that make up the Milky Way are
much further away from the Earth than the
Sun is from the Earth

63
Q

approximate diameter of the milky way

A

100 000 light years

physics igcse (8 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions