The Mystery of

Dark Matter

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B. Dark Matter in a Nutshell
• In 1967, Vera Rubin observed that stars
within the Andromeda galaxy had
higher-than-expected orbital speeds.
• Physicists have also observed the same
phenomenon in the nearby Triangulum galaxy.
• By measuring the orbital speeds of stars within
Triangulum and using the formula
physicists have calculated that the mass of this
galaxy within a radius of r = 4.0 × 1020 m
is equivalent to 46 billion Suns.
• However, by measuring the brightness of
Triangulum, they have also calculated that its
mass within a radius of r = 4.0 × 1020 m is
equivalent to 7 billion Suns.
• The discrepancy between these two results
implies that there is 39 billion Suns’ of unseen
mass within Triangulum.
• This unseen mass is called “dark matter”.
• Physicists have observed many other galaxies
and most are now convinced that, on average,
dark matter accounts for 90% of the mass of
every single galaxy in the universe.
• Physicists also have independent evidence for
the existence of dark matter from observations
of distorted images of distant galaxies
(gravitational lensing).
• Although no one knows what dark matter is
made of, physicists currently have a number
of theories.
• One of the earliest theories of dark matter was
that it consists entirely of compact celestial
objects such as planets, dwarf stars, and
blackholes. Careful observations have ruled
out this theory.
• Most physicists today think that dark matter is
made of a type of subatomic particle that, to
date, has never been detected in the laboratory.
The two leading candidates are weakly
interacting massive particles (WIMPs)
and axions.
• Numerous experiments that are trying to
detect one of these particles are currently
underway worldwide.
• As physicists do not yet know what dark matter
is made of, they do not know the composition
of a large fraction of the universe.
Figure 1 Centripetal motion apparatus.

Figure 2 Set the orbital radius by adjusting the speed of the stopper so that the paper
clip lies just below the bottom of the tube.

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Student Activities

Effect of Dark Matter on the

Orbital Speeds of Stars

Demonstration 1

This demonstration illustrates how a star’s orbital speed depends on the mass around which
it orbits. Thus, measuring a star’s orbital speed can reveal the presence of unseen mass.
1. Place a number of washers on the end of the string and use a paper
clip to fix the orbital radius. The washers represent the inner stars in a
galaxy.

2. Swing the stopper around in a horizontal circle at constant orbital

speed. Make sure the paper clip sits just below the bottom of the
and that students observe the stopper’s orbital speed. The
stopper represents an outer star in a galaxy.
3. Tape some more washers together with black tape to represent dark
matter.
4. Attach the “dark matter” to the original washers, as shown in Figure 3,
thus increasing the mass.
tube (See Appendix A on the DVD-ROM for details). Thus, the greater mass
of washers in Step 5 leads to a higher orbital speed.
Surprisingly, the relationship in the previous equation is of the same
form as the one between the orbital speed v of a star in a spiral galaxy
orbiting at radius r and the mass Mgal within r:

5. Again, swing the stopper around in a horizontal circle with the same
orbital radius as before.
Thus, we can use this demonstration to illustrate how physicists use
the orbital speeds of stars to infer the masses of galaxies within
certain radii.

Concealing the Mass

Demonstration 2

Figure 3 Increasing the mass of the washers
In Step 5, the stopper will orbit with a noticeably faster orbital speed
than in Step 2. This is because, for constant orbital radius, the
mathematical relationship between the stopper’s orbital speed vS and
the mass of the washers, mw, is
This demonstration allows students to directly
compare the orbital speeds for two different
masses of washers.

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 1. Make two centripetal motion apparatuses with identical orbital
radii. One should have three times the mass of washers as the
other.

2. Have two students each swing one of the stoppers around in a

horizontal circle at the same time so that the rest of the class can
compare the orbital speeds in the two apparatuses. The students
should see that the speed depends on the mass of the washers.

3. Use plastic cups (or other similar objects such as envelopes) to

cover both sets of washers so they are hidden.

4. Have the two students leave the classroom. While they are
outside, have them either swap their apparatuses or not. Tell the
rest of the class about this, so that they will not know who has
which mass.
Figure 4 A light-emitting diode taped to the end of the rubber
stopper represents an outer star in a galaxy.
5. Have the two students return and get them to swing the stoppers
around in horizontal circles with identical orbital radii. Ask the class
to guess who has the larger mass of washers. The stopper that
Student Worksheets
moves with the fastest orbital speed should be attached to the
greater mass.
Demonstration in the Dark

Editable electronic copies of all worksheets are

located on the DVD-ROM so that you can modify
Demonstration 3 them if you wish.

Worksheet 1 Dark Matter Concept Questions

Worksheet 2 Video Worksheet
For a more vivid demonstration, we can modify Worksheet 3 Dark Matter within a Galaxy
Worksheet 4 Advanced Worksheet
the centripetal motion apparatus to make it
Worksheet 5 Dark Matter Lab
resemble the real-life situation (i.e., visible stars
and dark matter) more closely.
1. Tape a small light-emitting diode (LED) connected to a 1.5 V calculator
or watch battery to the top of the stopper so that the LED shines (Figure
4). The LED represents an outer star in a galaxy.

2. Attach some washers to the other end of the string, turn out the lights,
and get the LED to move in a horizontal circle at constant orbital speed.
The LED represents a star orbiting in a hypothetical galaxy without dark
matter.

3. Turn the lights back on, and increase the central mass by attaching
extra washers taped together with black tape. Turn out the lights and
again get the LED to move in a horizontal circle at constant orbital
speed with the same orbital radius as before. The LED’s orbital speed
will be noticeably higher. The LED now represents an outer star orbiting
at a much higher orbital speed due to the presence of dark matter.

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Student Activities

Worksheet 1
Dark Matter Concept Questions

v v v

r r r r
v

1. Which of the above graphs best shows the v against r relationship for planets orbiting the Sun?
a) A b) B c) C d) D

2. Which of the above graphs best shows the v against r relationship observed for stars orbiting the centre of
a galaxy?
a) A b) B c) C d) D

3.When astronomers measure the mass of the galaxy Triangulum using the Brightness Method the result they
get is much less than when they measure the mass using the Orbital Method. This fact can best be
explained by the fact that
a) the stars in Triangulum are made of lighter elements than those in the Sun.
b) the Orbital Method underestimates the mass of Triangulum.
c) Triangulum contains a large amount of unseen mass.
d) Triangulum contains only mass that emits visible light.

4. Observations that indicate the presence of dark matter have been made in
a) only the Andromeda and Triangulum galaxies.
b) only the Andromeda, Triangulum, and Milky Way galaxies.
c) every galaxy that has been examined for dark matter.
d) many, but not all, galaxies that have been examined for dark matter.

5. Evidence for dark matter comes from observations of

a) the orbit of the Moon around Earth and gravitational lensing.
b) the orbits of stars and gravitational lensing.
c) the orbit of the Moon around Earth and the orbits of stars.
d) the orbits of stars, the orbit of the Moon around Earth, and gravitational lensing.

6. Dark matter is called “dark” because it

a) only emits high-energy radiation such as X-rays and gamma rays.
b) only emits low-energy radiation such as microwaves and radio waves.
c) reflects light but does not emit other radiation like stars do.
d) does not emit or reflect any type of radiation or light.

7. Most physicists think that most dark matter is made of

a) WIMPs or axions.
b) brown dwarf stars.
c) black holes or planets.
d) stars like the Sun.

8. Which of the following is true?

a) Physicists know exactly what dark matter is made of.
b) Physicists have no idea what dark matter is made of.
c) Only some physicists know what dark matter is made of.
d) Physicists have some ideas about dark matter, which they are currently testing by experiments.