Space Part 1

ThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThe PiXL
The PiXL Club The PiXL Club The PiXL
PiXL Club The PiXL Club The PiXL Clu
PiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClu
Club The PiXLClub The PiXL Club The PiXL Club The PiXLClub The PiXL Club The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXL Club The PiXLClub
Club XLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXL Club The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The
b The PiXLClub ThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThe PiXLClubThe PiXLClubThe PiXLClubThe PiXLClub ThePiXLClub The PiXLClubThe PiXLClub The
b ThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThe
PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The
PiXLClub ThePiXLClubThe PiXLClubThe PiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub The PiXLClubThe PiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClubThe PiXLClubThe PiXLClubThe
PiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClubThePiXLClub ThePiXLClubThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClubThe PiXL
Club ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClubThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClubThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThe PiXLClub
ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClubThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClubThePiXLClub The PiXLClub The
PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The
ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClubThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClubThePiXLClub The PiXLClubThe
PiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClubThePiXLClub ThePiXLClubThePiXLClub ThePiXLClubThe PiXLClub ThePiXL
Club The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The
PiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThe PiXL
Club The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The
PiXL
PiXL
PiXL
PiXL
PiXL
PiXL
Club The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXL Club The PiXL Club The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXL Club The PiXL Club The PiXLClub The PiXL Club The
This resource is strictly for the use of member schools for as long as they remain members of The PiXL Club. It may not be copied, sold nor transferred to a
third party or used by the school after membership ceases. Until such time it may be freely used within the member school.
All opinions and contributions are those of the authors. The contents of this resource are not connected with nor endorsed by any other company,
organisation or institution.
The PiXLClwubwTwhe.pPixiXl.LoCrglu.ubkThePiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLCluTbheThPeiXPLiXCLluClbubLtTdh,eCPoiXmLpCalunbyTnhuemPibXeLrC0lu7b3T2h1e6P0i7XLClub The PiXLClub The PiXLClub
ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClubThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClubThePiXLClub The PiXLClubThe
PiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClubThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub ThePiXLClub The iXLClub ThePiXL
PiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClub©TheCPioXLpClyubriTghehPtiXLTChlubeThPeiPXiXLLCClulbuThbePLiXtLdC,lub2T0he1P7iXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClubThePiXLClub The
PiXLKnowIT!
GCSE Physics
AQA Topic– Space physics

Overview
Space physics (physicsonly)
Solar system: stability of
orbital motions;satellites
(physics only)
• Our solar system
• Thelife cycle of astar
• Orbital motion, naturaland
artificial satellites
Red shift (physicsonly)
• Redshift
• Bigbang theory

LearnIT!
KnowIT!
(physics only)
• Orbital motion, natural
and artificial satellites

Space physics; orbital motions and satellites –
Our solar system
Our solar system is asmall part of agalaxy called the Milky Way.
Our star (The Sun) is just one of
approximately 300 000 000 000 starsinour
galaxy.Thewhole solar system is too small
to seeon this picture of the Milky Way.
There is thought to be amassiveblackhole
at the centre of the Milky Way.
TheUniverse is thought to have formed about 13.7billion yearsago.
Thesolar system formed around 4.6billion yearsago.

Our solar system
The solar system is any object that is bound by gravity to aSun.All objects in
the solar systemorbit TheSun.
Our solar systemthere is:
• one star – theSun
• eightplanets
• dwarf planets
• natural satellitescalled
moons that orbitplanets.
Other objectsin
Thesolar system include:
• Comets
• Asteroids
• Satellites
Dust, ice and rocks makeup
the remainingmass.

Formation of the sun and solar system
(a) Theuniverse contains ‘clumps’of
dust and gas each called anebula.
(b) Gravitational attraction pulls this
dust and gastogether.
(c) Forming the Sun(astar).
(d) Fusion reactions lead to an
equilibrium between the
gravitational collapse of thestar and
the expansion of astar due tofusion
energy.
(e) The remaining parts of the solar
system form from the remaining
dust and gas.

Stability of the sun
TheSun,like all stars,releases energythrough nuclearfusion reactions in the
core.
Twoisotopes of Hydrogen (Deuterium and
Tritium) are forced together under high
temperature and pressure.Nuclearfusion
occurs to form Helium andaneutron.
Atiny amount of mass is converted into a
large amount of energy,which is whystars
emit alot ofenergy.
Theheat produced in the fusion processmakesthestar
expand through thermalpressure.
Gravitational attraction is pulling the massof thestar
inwards.
In astable star, thermal expansion and gravitational
attraction are equal sothe star remains the samesize.
Thisbalance canchangelater in astar’s life when agreat
increase in thermal pressure cancauseit toexpand.

Life cycle of a star
Stars go through a life cyclewhich is differentfor massivestars and smaller stars.
Stars about the
same size asthe
Sun
Starsmuch
biggerthan
theSun
Nebula
(Cloudof
gas and
dust)
Protostar
Main sequencestar
RedGiant
Whitedwarf
Blackdwarf
Red supergiant
Supernova
Neutronstar Blackhole
Small stars
live a lot
longer than
massive stars
as they useup
their fuel
moreslowly.
TheSun will bea
main sequence
star for 20billion
years.Massive
stars can lastless
than a million
years.

Stars and the elements
• Fusion processes in stars produce all of the naturally occurring elements.
• Elements heavier than iron are produced inasupernova.
• Theexplosion of a massive star (supernova) distributes theelements
throughout the universe.
How fusion processeslead to to the formationof new elements:
Starsbegin with hydrogen astheir “fuel”. Hydrogen nuclei join to becomes
helium during the fusion process. Further fusion processescontinue tocreate
larger elements (asbig asiron on the periodictable).
Elements bigger than iron are produced in asupernova.Thesupernovae
distribute elements throughout theUniverse.

Orbits and speed
Sun
Gravity
Gravity pulls the Earth (andother
planets) towards the sun.Theplanetis
effectively “falling” towards the sun
but is travelling fast enough sothat it
constantly missesfalling into thesun.
This is like a cannon firing a cannonball at
just the right speed so it does not escape
into spaceor fall down toEarth.
Thisis how planets, moons andartificial
satellites remain in orbit around larger
objects in space.
Theforce of gravity increases the closer an object orbits. Toavoid beingpulled
into the sun, aplanet must be travelling faster, the closer it is to the sun.
This is why Mercury’s orbit of the sun takes 3Earth months whereas it takes
Neptune 165Earth years to orbit the sun.

Orbits and speed (HT)
In aperfectly circular orbit, abody will travel at constant speed to maintain its
orbital distance.
However,gravity is constantly changing the directionof the body.Asvelocity
depends on speedand direction, the velocity is constantly changing even
though speed remains thesame.
Thisapplies to planets, moons andsatellites.
Planets velocity is in a straightline.
Gravity causes body to change
direction so velocity must be
changing

QuestionIT!
(physics only)
• Orbital motion, naturaland
artificial satellites

Solar system: stability of orbital motions; satellites
(physics only) – QuestionIT
1. Name the star in our solarsystem.
2. How many planets in our solarsystem?
3. What is the difference between amoon and adwarfplanet?
4. What do we call the natural satellites in the solar system?
5. Name the galaxy our solar system is partof.
6. How wasthe sun formed, and what causedthis tohappen?

7. List the major bodies found in the solar system.
8. What is anebula?
9. What determines the life cycle astar willtake?
10. Describe the lifecycle of astar the size of the sun.
11. Describe the lifecycle of astar more massive than thesun.

12. What processesproduce all of the naturally occurring elements?
13. Where are elements heavier than ironproduced?
14. How are these elements distributed throughout theuniverse?
15. What force enables planets and satellites to maintain their circular
orbits?

Solar system: stability of orbital motions; satellites (physics only)
– QuestionIT
16. Main sequence stars are stable despite opposing forces actingon
the star. Describe forcesAandB.
A
17. The international space station takes 92 mins to orbit the Earth.
The Moon takes 27.3 days to orbit the Earth. Explain why these
orbital times aredifferent.
B

physics only) (HT) – QuestionIT
18. Thediagram shows asatellite orbiting the Earth.
Explain how the Earth’s gravity can result in the
satellites velocity changing but not its speed.
19. Explain why satellites in apolar orbit must travel at much higher
speeds than asatellite in ageostationaryorbit.

LearnIT!
KnowIT!
• Redshift
• Bigbang theory

Redshift
Thereare billions of galaxies in the Universe.We can see them because the
stars within them give off lightwhichtravelsto Earth.
Nearbystar
Distantgalaxy
Light from anearby star appearswhite asthe wavelength of lightemitted
coversthe whole visiblespectrum.
Thelight we receive from adistant galaxy hashad its wavelengthincreased.
Aslonger wavelengths of light are the red end of the spectrum, the light
appearsredder than from the nearby star – this is called RED SHIFT.
Red shift happensbecausethe galaxyis
moving away from usat high speed,causing
the wavelengths of light tobe stretched.

Redshift
Light emitted by ahot object
produces acontinuous spectrum.
When light is emitted by astar, the
light hasto travel through thegases
which makeup the star.
Thesegasesabsorb specific
wavelengths of light, leavingblack
lines in the spectrum.
Absorption spectra from starsin every galaxy would look the sameif all the
galaxieswere afixed distance from the Earth. Galaxieshavedifferent amountsof
red shift which meansthey are moving awayfrom usat different speeds.
Thefastera galaxy is moving,the furtherawayit is.
Spectrum from a starin our galaxy – no redshift
Spectrum from a starin another galaxy – some
redshift
Spectrum from a distant galaxy – a lot of red
shift

Redshift
Summary
• Redlight hasalonger wavelength than blue light.
• Most distant galaxies show an increase in wavelength oflight.
• Thefurther away the galaxies the faster they are movingand
the bigger the increase inwavelength.
• Thiseffect is called the RED-SHIFT.
• Theobserved red-shift provides evidence that the universeis
expanding and supports the Big Bangtheory.

Big Bangtheory
Likeaballoon expanding, all galaxies are moving away from each other and from
apoint of origin. Only the fastest moving galaxieswould be on the surface of this
model. Slower moving galaxieswould be on the inside but still moving awayfrom
the centre. Theseobservations haveprovided evidence of an expandingUniverse.
Galaxies
Universe
expands
overtime
Redshift measurements of many galaxieshavegiven evidence that all
galaxiesare moving away from asingle point of origin at different speeds.
This hasled to the Big Bang theorythat the Universe expanded from asingle
point ofmatter around 13.7 billion yearsago.

Understanding the Universe
Over the last century, much hasbeen discovered about ourUniverse:
• Theageof the Universe.
• TheUniverse is more than just ourgalaxy.
• Thesizeof the Universe.
• There are probably billions of other planets beyond ourSolar System.
• TheUniverse is expanding.
• Cosmicmicrowave background radiation supporting the BigBangtheory.
However,there is still much we do not yet understand about the Universe.
• Dark matter and dark energy – continued expansion and accelerationof
the Universe suggests there must be a lot more matter and energy than
we can see. This is described as dark matter/energy that we have yet to
find.
• Fateof the Universe.Isthe Universe going tocontinue forever or
collapse back to apoint and startagain?
• Isour Universe just one of aseriesofmultiverses?
• Doeslife exist anywhere else in the Universe?

QuestionIT!
• Redshift
• Bigbang theory

Red shift and Big Bang theory – QuestionIT
1. Which colour of light hasthe longestwavelength?
2. The diagram shows the spectrum of light from astar in our galaxy.
Copythe secondbox by adding the spectra you would expect froma
star in adistant galaxy.
3. Thelight reaching Earth from distant galaxiesexhibits redshift.
Explain why red shift occurs.
Blue Red Blue Red

4.
GalaxyA Galaxy B
If galaxyAhasamuch bigger red shift than galaxy B,what doesthis
tell you about galaxyA?
5. Which theory about the origin of the Universe does red shift of
galaxies support?
6. Approximately how many years agodid the Universe begin? (Circlethe
correct answer)
14 million 14 billion 14 trillion

7. What does the diagram suggestis happening to the Universeover
time?
8. Describe the current theory of how theUniverse began.
9. Atoms are only thought to makeup about 5%of the knownUniverse.
What do scientists think the remaining 95%is made upof?
10. Themost distant galaxiesin the Universe are thought tobe:
(tick the correct box)
Thebiggest galaxies
Slowing down
Accelerating
Thecoldest

Space Part 1

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (20)

Similar to Space Part 1

Similar to Space Part 1 (10)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Space Part 1