SHS

PHYSICAL SCIENCE
Quarter 2 – Module 10
The Physics in Cosmos

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Science– Grade 11/12
Quarter 2 – Physical Science: The Physics in Cosmos

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Regional Director: Gilbert T. Sadsad

Assistant Regional Director: Jessie L. Amin

Development Team of the Module

Writer: Jiji Erick Matias

Lay out Artist: Jose Gamas Jr.

Language Editor: Diana Desuyo

Editors/Reviewers: Jocelyn Navera

Brenly Mendoza
Kristina Nieves
Aster Malto
Jeanine Cristobal
Kenneth De la Fuente

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 Self-Learning Module for Senior High School Learners

LESSON
THE PHYSICS IN COSMOS

The Earth is just a tiny dot in comparison to the vast universe where it belongs. It is
surrounded by billions of heavenly bodies whose light needs to travel billions of light years to
reach the Earth.
Recall that a light year is a unit used to express the length traveled by light in a year
and is approximately 9.5 x 1015 m. If the light coming from heavenly bodies needs to travel
billions of light years, then that means these bodies are very far from the Earth.
How do astronomers measure the distance of heavenly bodies from the Earth? Also,
how are their speeds measured?

Having these questions in your mind, do you want

to explore more? Read on and perform the activities
prepared for you in this module.
At the end of the module, you should be able to:

• Explain how speeds and distances

of far off objects are estimated (e.g. doppler
effect and cosmic distance ladder) (S11/12PS-
IVj-72)

• Explain how we know that we live in an expanding universe, which is

used to be hot and is approximately 14 billion years old
(S11/12PS-IVj-73)

• explain how astronomers measure the distance and speed of

heavenly bodies; and
• explain the evidence for the expanding universe.
• solve problems about the distance and speed of heavenly
bodies.

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 Directions: Identify what is asked or described in each item then
encircle the letter of the correct answer.

1. It is the shift in the wavelength of the emitted light which occurs when the source of
light is moving relative to an observer.
a. Astronomical Unit
b. Doppler Effect
c. Parallax
d. Light years
2. What method can be used to determine the distance of stars that are less than 300
light years away?
a. Parallax
b. Photometry
c. Spectroscopy
d. standard candles
3. What is cosmic distance ladder?
a. method used in determining the distance of far-off objects which involves
several processes that are not related to one another.
b. method used in determining the distance of far-off objects which involves
several processes that builds on one another.
c. method used in determining the distance of far-off objects which involves one
process only.
d. method used in determining the distance of far-off objects which involves
several processes that can only measure limited distances.
4. Which of the following correctly defines one astronomical unit?
a. the distance of the Earth from the Sun
b. the distance of the earth to the nearest planet in the solar system
c. the distance of the earth from the nearest galaxy
d. the distance that the earth travels in a year
5. If the distance of the star is increased three times what will happen to its brightness
according to the inverse square law?
a. The brightness of the star will decrease 9 times.
b. The brightness of the star will increase 8 times.
c. The brightness of the star will decrease 3 times.
d. The brightness of the star will increase 9 times.

Hi! How did you find the test?

Please check your answers at the answer key section and
see how you did. Do not worry if you got a low score, this
just means that there are more things that you can learn from
this module. So, hop on!

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 SPACE WORD CHOP

Directions: The table below contains words that have been chopped in half. Find the pieces
that fit together and write them in the answer area below.

Answers:
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________
________________________

Question:
Among the given words above, which are the objects that we can see in the space?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

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 Good job in finishing the activity! Now, take time to process the
information you acquired by accomplishing the next task.

I- Directions: Match the vocabulary words on the left with the definitions on the right.
1. Parallax a. used by astronomers to estimate the speeds of far-off
objects.
2. Cosmic Distance Ladder b. the apparent change in the position of an object due to
change in the way it is perceived.
3. Spectroscopic Method c. a graph that shows star’s luminosity versus its
temperature.
4. Hertzsprung-Russel Diagram d. composed of several methods that measure the
distances of all heavenly bodies that can be seen from
Earth.
5. Doppler Effect e. a method used in stars whose parallax cannot be
measured using the ladder that requires the star’s
apparent brightness and spectrum.
II- Directions: Follow the procedures below and answer the given question.

1. Hold out your thumb at arm’s length, close one of your eyes and examine the relative
position of your thumb against other distant (background) objects, such as a window, wall, or
tree. Now look at your thumb with your other eye. What do you notice?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

2. Move your thumb closer to your face and repeat the experiment. What was different this
time?
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________

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 THE PHYSICS IN COSMOS

There are several ways to determine the distance of far-off objects. The most common
among them are the cosmic distance ladder and spectroscopic method. No single method
can be used to measure the distances of all heavenly bodies that can be seen from earth.
Cosmic Distance Ladder
The cosmic distance ladder (or cosmological distance ladder, or extragalactic distance
scale) is a sequence of methods culminating in those used for measuring distance to distant
objects such as the oldest galaxies. The more accurate methods, typically workable only for
relatively short distances, are used to calibrate additional methods which handle longer
distances, step-by-step, like climbing a ladder. The precision and accuracy of the methods
generally decline with increasing distance, some methods being presumed no more accurate
than 50%. The shortest of the following methods are limited to the Milky Way but are key
"lower" steps in the ladder. To gain as much accuracy as possible, efforts are made to confirm
distances and calibrations using multiple methods.
Methods:
1. Parallax
- Used for nearby stars, and with interferometers, through much of the observable
Milky Way.
2. Standard candles
- items whose absolute brightness can be determined by observable characteristics
so distance can be inferred from brightness.
3. Redshift
- throughout the observable universe.
A ladder of three steps is commonly used: parallax for nearer distances within the Milky
Way, Cepheids, to relate those nearer distances to longer Milky Way distances and nearby
galaxies, and either redshift or Type Ia supernovae to relate those distances to those of further
galaxies. Other methods address circumstances and provide means to confirm the commonly
used methods.

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 Since redshift-derived distance depends
upon the Hubble constant, which is subject to
improvement, cosmological distances are often
cited divided by the Hubble parameter, assisting
future readers in accounting for future improved
Hubble constant determinations.
The base of the ladder is a distance
measurement done directly without any
assumptions about the stars’ characteristics. For
example, the measurement of one astronomical
unit (AU), which is the measure of the distance of
Earth from the Sun, is considered the base. One
AU is approximately 1.50x 1011m. This value is
used in measuring the parallax of a star.
Parallax is the angle between the
apparent location of an object as seen from two
different places. It is used to measure the
distance of stars that are 300 lightyears away.
The distance to a nearby star is determined by
accurately measuring the parallax angle.
For measuring distances to a star, the
parallax used is the angle between viewing the
star from Earth at two times, half a year apart,
when the positions of the Earth differ by 2 AU (the
baseline). The angle cited as parallax (parallax
angle) is typically half this, the angle from two
positions 1 AU apart, e.g., from the Sun and the
Image credit: n.d. Cosmic Distance Earth. A parsec is the distance of a star with this
Ladder. Accessed October 21, (1 AU) parallax angle of 1 arcsecond.
2020.
https://astro.unl.edu/naap/distan In measuring parallax, astronomers take
ce/distance.html. a picture of a specific star, wait for six months to
pass so that the Earth has moved two AU, and
then take a photo of the same star to compare the change in its position.
The image of the star in the two photos will appear to shift slightly due to the change
in the position of how the star was seen. These shifts serve as the angles of an isosceles
triangle. The base of the triangle is two AU, and the length of the sides is equal to the distance
of the Earth to the star.

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Image credit: Lucas, Jim. 2018. What Is Parallax? December 12. Accessed October 21,
2020. https://www.space.com/30417-parallax.html.

One parsec is approximately 3.26 light years or 3.09x 10 13km. a and b are angles
whose difference divided by two will give the parallax angle of the star expressed in arcsecond.
1 parsec=3x1013 m
A standard candle is any type of astronomical object whose brightness is known or
can be determined irrespective of distance. When an instance is discovered, its distance can
be determined by its brightness, as well as the distance to objects determined to be near it.
For example, a galaxy's distance can be determined if a Type Ia supernova is observed in it
because the supernova's brightness relates to how long it lasts, so by timing it, its brightness
can be determined, and by how bright it is seen from Earth, its distance from Earth. Standard
candles are keys to the cosmic distance ladder.
Spectroscopic Method
For stars whose parallax cannot be measured using the ladder, the spectroscopic
method is used. Spectroscopic method requires that the star’s apparent brightness and
spectrum be first observed.
Astronomers measure the brightness of the stars thru the process known as
photometry. Based on Physics concepts, the brightness and distance have an inverse-square
relationship. Mathematically it can be expressed as

In the equation, brightness decreases proportionally to the square of the distance

or when distance is doubled, the brightness of the star will be quartered of its original.

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 The standard measure of the brightness of a star in astronomy is the brightness of
a star that is 10 parsecs away from earth. This brightness is called absolute brightness while
the actual brightness of the star that we see here on earth is known as its apparent brightness.

How do we measure the distance of the star from us using the measurement of their
brightness?

Image credit: S., Catherine. n.d. Relationship Between a Star's Mass, Luminosity, & Density.
Accessed October 21, 2020. https://study.com/academy/lesson/relationship-between-
a-stars-mass-luminosity-density.html.

By looking at their spectral lines under the process known as spectroscopy,

astronomers analyze the spectra of nearby stars whose parallax are known to those which
are not. Astronomers can determine the spectral type of a star’s spectrum by analyzing its
spectral lines and plotting the observations in the Hertzsprung - Russell diagram. Hertzsprung-
Russell (HR) Diagram is a graph that shows star’s luminosity versus its temperature. It is an
important tool in determining the distance of far-off objects because astronomers believe that
the stars near Earth are like the stars far from earth.
If the star’s location can be plotted on HR Diagram, its absolute brightness can be
read off. Knowing the absolute brightness of a cluster of stars and comparing this to the
absolute brightness of the stars with known distance enables astronomers to roughly estimate

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the distance of the cluster form Earth. The observed cluster is shifted vertically in the HR
diagram until it overlaps with the model stars (stars with known distance). The difference in
the magnitude that was used to join the two groups is called distance modulus which is the
difference between apparent and absolute magnitude (m – M) and is the direct measure of
the distance in the formula:

where:
m is the apparent magnitude
M is the absolute magnitude
d is the distance to the object in parsec.
Manipulating this will give the formula for distance:

Example:
A star in a certain constellation was found to have an apparent magnitude of 3.5 with a spectral
class of G8. According to HR Diagram, the star shows an absolute magnitude of 5.7.
Substituting this in the formula:

Doppler Effect
Doppler Effect is used by astronomers to estimate the speeds of far-off objects. It
is the shift in the wavelength of the emitted light of an object which is proportional to the speed
with which the object moves. Doppler Effect occurs when the star emitting light is moving with
respect to an observer. The Doppler formula used for speeds relatively smaller than the speed
of light is:

where:
λ is the measured wavelength
λo is the original or rest wavelength
v is the speed of the object
c is the speed of light

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Example:
A certain absorption line found in the lab have a rest wavelength of 5x10 10km and
is found to have a measured wavelength of 5.05x 1010km in analyzing a galaxy. What is the
velocity of the galaxy?
Since speed (v)is being asked, the formula will be:

In 1929, Edwin Hubble announced that almost all galaxies appeared to be moving
away from us. In fact, he found that the universe was expanding - with all of the galaxies
moving away from each other. This phenomenon was observed as a redshift of a galaxy's
spectrum. This redshift appeared to be larger for faint, presumably further, galaxies. Hence,
the farther a galaxy, the faster it is receding from Earth. You can see this trend in Hubble's
data shown in the images above. The velocity of a galaxy could be expressed mathematically
as
v=Hxd
where v is the galaxy's radial outward velocity, d is the galaxy's distance from Earth, and H is
the constant of proportionality called the Hubble constant.
The exact value of the Hubble constant is still somewhat uncertain but is generally
believed to be around 65 kilometers per second for every megaparsec in distance. (A
megaparsec is given by 1 Mpc = 3 x 106 light-years). This means that a galaxy 1 megaparsec
away will be moving away from us at a speed of 65 km/sec, while another galaxy 100
megaparsecs away will be receding at 100 times this speed. So essentially, the Hubble
constant reflects the rate at which the universe is expanding.
So, to determine an object's distance, we only need to know its velocity. Velocity is
measurable thanks to the Doppler shift. By taking the spectrum of a distant object, such as a
galaxy, astronomers can see a shift in the lines of its spectrum and from this shift determine
its velocity. Putting this velocity into the Hubble equation, they determine the distance. Note
that this method of determining distances is based on observation (the shift in the spectrum)
and on a theory (Hubble's Law). If the theory is not correct, the distances determined in this
way are all nonsense. Most astronomers believe that Hubble's Law does, however, hold true
for a large range of distances in the universe.
It should be noted that, on very large scales, Einstein's theory predicts departures
from a strictly linear Hubble law. The amount of departure, and the type, depends on the value
of the total mass of the universe. In this way a plot of recession velocity (or redshift) vs.

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distance, which is a straight line at small distances, can tell us about the total amount of matter
in the universe and may provide crucial information about the mysterious dark matter.
Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB) is the “after glow” or “leftovers”
from the big bang that permeates (spreads) in all directions of the universe. Physicists agreed
that CMB was leftover ‘heat’ in the form of microwave radiation, which was still cooling from
the Big Bang.
It is also said that the original temperature of the universe reached 3000 Kelvin or
2726.85°C. Today, the universe is approximately 3 Kelvin or -270.15°C. The amount of cooling
says how far the light has travelled, which determined the age of the universe that is13.82
billion years.

Image credit: NASA,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WMAP_image_of_the_CMB_anisotropy.jpg

I- Direction: Solve the following problems.

1. A star has a parallax angle p of 0.723 arcseconds. What is the distance to the star?

2. Sirius, a binary star in our galaxy, is 2.64 parsecs away from us. What would the
parallax angle in arcseconds be for this binary star?

3. Star A has a parallax angle of 0.82 arcseconds, and Star B has a parallax angle of
0.45 arcseconds. Which star is closer to Earth, and by how much?

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II- Direction: Answer the following questions.
1. What is an AU? Why do astronomers have to use AU’s to measure distances in
space?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

2. How did astronomers estimate the distance and speed of far-off objects?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

3. How did we know that our universe is continuously expanding?

___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________

Congratulations on finishing the supplementary

learning module! You have just had an amazing learning
journey and for sure, you will have the same in the
succeeding modules.
This time share to the class your final insights
by completing the following sentence prompts.
,

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 Key points:

• Cosmic distance ladder is a succession of methods used by astronomers to estimate

the distance of far-off objects. The ladder evolved from the fact that there is no single
method that can measure all the distance of star or galaxy that can be seen from earth.
• The measure of the distance from Earth to Sun is called astronomical unit (AU) and is
approximately 1.50 x 1011 m. This value is used in measuring the parallax of a star that
is at least 300 lightyears away
• Parallax is the apparent change in the position of an object due to change in the way
it is perceived. It is used to measure distance of stars that are approximately 300
lightyears away.
• Standard candles are those objects with known luminosity.
• Luminosity of a star is the measure of the total energy it emits per unit of time. It
depends on both radius and temperature of the star and is also the measure of the
star’s absolute brightness. Doppler Effect is the shift in the wavelength of the light
emitted by a star and is used to measure the star’s speed.
Do the Research!
Directions: Research the topic indicated to the right and answer the questions below based
on that topic.
1. Traveling at the speed of light, how long would it take you to get to Pluto?
(To help you in answering this question, you can visit
https://www.universetoday.com/119264/how-long-does-it-take-to-get-to-pluto/
Or watch this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lmVNIXz4wps
2. Which galaxy is closest to us? How far is it away?
(To help you in answerin this question, you can visit
https://www.universetoday.com/21914/the-closest-galaxy-to-the-milky-way/)

The following terms used in this module are defined as

follows:

a. Arcsecond - the 60th part of one arcminute and one arcminute is the 60th part of one
degree.
b. Base of the Ladder - a distance measurement done directly without any assumptions
about the stars’ characteristics.
c. Cosmic Distance Ladder - composed of several methods that measure the distances
of all heavenly bodies that can be seen from Earth.
d. Distance Modulus - the difference in the magnitude that was used to join the two
groups.
e. Doppler Effect - used by astronomers to estimate the speeds of far-off objects.
f. Hertzsprung-Russell (HR) Diagram - a graph that shows star’s luminosity versus its
temperature.
g. Light Year - a unit used to express the length traveled by light in a year and is
approximately 9.5 x 1015 m.

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h. Parallax - the apparent change in the position of an object due to change in the way it
is perceived.
i. Parsec - is the distance of a star that has a parallax of two arcsecond.
j. Photometry – process by which astronomers measure the brightness of the stars.
k. Spectroscopic Method - a method used in stars whose parallax cannot be measured
using the ladder that requires the star’s apparent brightness and spectrum.

Directions: Identify what is asked or described in each item

then write the letter of the correct answer.

1. Which of the following correctly describes the luminosity of a star?

I. Measure of the apparent brightness of a star.
II. Total amount of energy emitted by a star per unit time.
III. Measure of the absolute brightness of a star.
IV. Depends on both radius and temperature of the star.
A. I and II
B. II, III and IV
C. III and IV
D. All of the above

2. What does the inverse – square relationship between star’s brightness and distance
mean?
A. the star’s brightness decreases proportionally to the square of the distance.
B. the star’s brightness increases proportionally to the square of the distance.
C. the star’s brightness decreases proportionally when distance is doubled.
D. the star’s brightness increases proportionally when distance is doubled.

3. Given that the parallax angle of a star is 0.2 arc second. What is its distance from
earth in parsec?
A. 5 parsec
B. 4 parsec
C. 6 parsec
D. 3 parsec

4. If a star’s radius is 3 solar (3 times that of the sun) and its temperature is 2 solar,
what is its luminosity relative to that of the sun?
A. 100 times that of the luminosity of the sun
B. 36 times that of the luminosity of the sun
C. 144 times that of the luminosity of the sun
D. 108 times that of the luminosity of the sun

5. If a certain photon emitted by an object has a rest wavelength of 2x1010 km and a

measured wavelength of 3x1010 km. What is the speed of the object relative to the
speed of light?
A. 0.5 times the speed of light
B. 5 times the speed of light
C. 2 times the speed of light
D. 0.2 times the speed of light

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TRY THIS
1. B
2. A/B
3. D
4. A
5. A
DO THIS
Constellation Satellite
Orbit Eclipse
Meteorite Zenith
Meteor Black hole
Gravity Planet
Galaxy Moon
Asteroid Comet
The objects that we can see space are meteor, galaxy, asteroid, satellite, planet, moon,
black hole, and comet.
EXPLORE
I- 1. B
2. D
3. E
4. C
5. A
II- 1. My thumb seems to change its position relative to the object background or it seems
that the object has moved sideways.
2. The same observation wherein there is a change in the position of the thumb with
respect to the eyes used.
APPLY WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED
I- 1. 1/0.723 = 1.38 parsecs
2. 1/2.64 = 0.34 arcseconds
3. Star A is closer to Earth. It is 1 parsec closer than Star B.
a. 1/0.82=1.22 parsec
b. 1/0.45=2.22 parsec

II- 1. An AU is an astronomical unit; the distance between the Earth and the Sun.
Because Distances between objects in space are so large that using units such as
kilometers or meters is not very convenient for the calculations needed in
astronomy.

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 2. By using different methods like cosmic distance ladder and spectroscopic
method.
3. This is because of what we called as the red shift that explains why galaxies are
moving away from us and explains the universe to continuously expanding.

ASSESS WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED

1. D
2. A
3. A
4. C
5. A

Canoy, Warlito Zamora. 2020. April 10. Accessed 10 21, 2020.

https://www.facebook.com/notes/physical-science/92-how-the-speeds-and-distances-
of-far-off-objects-are-estimated/3390992144250320/.
n.d. Cosmic Distance Ladder. Accessed October 21, 2020.
https://astro.unl.edu/naap/distance/distance.html.
Las Cumbres Observatory. n.d. "Parallax and Distance Measurement." Las Cumbres
Observatory. https://lco.global/spacebook/distance/parallax-and-distance-
measurement/.
Lucas, Jim. 2018. What Is Parallax? December 12. Accessed October 21, 2020.
https://www.space.com/30417-parallax.html.
n.d. "Physics." Stack Exchange. https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/33511/how-
will-you-measure-speed-in-km-hr-in-space.
S., Catherine. n.d. Relationship Between a Star's Mass, Luminosity, & Density. Accessed
October 21, 2020. https://study.com/academy/lesson/relationship-between-a-stars-
mass-luminosity-density.html.
Science Learning Hub. 2009. "Distances in space." Science Learning Hub. April 1.
https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1624-distances-in-space.
StarChild. n.d. "Parallax." StarChild.
https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/parallax.html.
—. n.d. "Redshift and Hubble's Law." StarChild.
https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/redshift.html.

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