Notes for New 0625-Physics Syllabus

Electromagnetic spectrum (Addition of learning objectives

concerning communications)
1. Describe the roles of Microwaves and radio waves in terms of data transmission and
their properties which allow them to be used in such ways.

Microwaves only need short aerials for transmission and reception of signals, and
can penetrate the walls of most buildings, so are used for mobile phones and
wireless internet. Radio waves are weakened when passing through walls, but are
suitable for shortrange applications such as Bluetooth.

2. How are signals carried in internet and television cables?

High-speed broadband internet and cable television signals are carried by optical
fibres because glass is transparent to visible light and some infrared.

3. State what allows visible light and infrared to transmit data at a higher rate
than a radio wave.

They both have higher frequencies than a radio wave.

4. State and explain the two types of signals.

Analogue signals have voltages and currents which can have any value within a
certain range. The signals can be varied smoothly and continuously.
Digital signals have voltages and currents of only two values which are either high or
low.

5. State and explain the advantages of using digital signals over analogue signals.

Digital signals can be transmitted at a faster rate, can be sent over longer distances
since they can be regenerated more accurately, and are less affected by noise.
Analogue signals, such as sound waves, can be converted to digital signals
electronically before transmission.

Use of the kilowatt-hour

1. Define Kilowatt-hour (kWh).

Kilowatt-hour is the electrical energy used by a 1kW appliance in 1hour.

2. Calculate the cost of heating a tank of water with a 3000W immersion heater for
80minutes if electricity costs 10 cents per kWh.

4
Power = 3000 W = 3kW Time = 80 minutes = 80 ÷ 60 = hours
3

Electrical energy = Power x Time

4
=3x
3
= 4 kWh
1 kWh = 10 cents
4 kWh = 10 x 9
= 90 cents

Space physics
1. Describe the motion of Earth on its own orbital path and how it causes periodic
cycle of day and night.

Day and nights are caused by the Earth spinning on its axis. and making one
complete rotation every 24 hours. This creates day for the half of the Earth’s surface
facing the Sun and night for the other half, facing away from the Sun.

2. Describe the motion of Earth around the Sun and use it to explain the periodic nature
of the seasons.

The Earth revolves around the Sun in a nearly circular orbit once in 365 days. The
tilt of the Earth’s axis to the plane of its orbital path by 23.5˚ causes different
seasons in different regions. If one of the two hemispheres of the Earth tilts
towards the Sun, the other tilts away from it. That of which tilts towards the
Sun receives more solar radiation, causing spring and summer in regions
there. Regions in which the hemisphere tilts away from the Sun goes through
autumn and winter.

3. Describe the motion of the Moon around Earth and use it to explain the periodic
nature of Moon’s cycle of phases.

The moon is a natural satellite of the Earth and travels round it in a nearly circular
orbit approximately once a month at an average distance away of 400 000 km. It
also rotates on its own axis in a month and always has the same side facing the
Earth. In the new Moon phase, the Moon is between the Sun and the Earth and the
side facing the Earth, being unlit, is not visible from the Earth. A thin new crescent
appears along one edge as it travels in its orbit, gradually increasing in size until at
the first quarter phase, when half of the Moon’s surface can be seen. At full Moon,
the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun and appears as a
 complete circle. After that it goes through the last quarter phase until only the old
crescent can be seen.
4. (a).Write down the equation for circular orbital speed of an astronomical object in
space.

Circumference of the circular orbit 2 πr

Orbital Speed= v=
Time period T

(b).Taking the average distance of the Moon from the Earth to be 380000km and the
orbital period of the Moon to be 27 days, calculate its average orbital speed in
km/s.

Radius = 380000 km Time period = 27 days

= 27 x 24 x 60 x 60
= 2332800 seconds

Circumference of the circular orbit

Orbital Speed=
Time period
2 πr
¿
T

2 π (380000)
¿
2332800 = 1.02 km/s

5. What does our Solar System consist of?

The Solar System consists of the Sun and eight planets moving around it in elliptical
orbits. It also includes dwarf planets, asteroids which orbit the Sun, moons that orbit
many of the planets and smaller astronomical bodies such as comets and natural
satellites.

6. (a). Explain the orbital paths of revolving objects around the Sun.

The planets, dwarf planets and comets orbit the Sun in an ellipse. The Sun is at one
focus of the ellipse, not the centre.

(b). State the difference between the orbital paths of a comet and a planet.

For a comet with a highly elliptical path, the focus is not close to the centre of the
ellipse. For the approximately circular paths of planets, the focus can be taken as
the centre.

7. (a). How is the Sun thought to have formed?

Sun is thought to have formed when gravitational attraction pulled together swirling
clouds of hydrogen gas and dust called nebulae.
 (b). Explain the formation of planets around the Sun in terms of accretion process.

The disc of matter, left over from the nebula that formed the Sun, rotated around the
Sun. Gravitational attraction between small particles caused them to join together
and grow in size in an accretion process. A rotating accretion disc is thought to have
formed from which the planets are created.

(c). How are different elements in the periodic table created?

During the lifetime of a star, atoms of hydrogen, helium and other light elements are
fused into atoms of heavier elements. Much more heavier elements which cannot be
formed by the fusion process are created during a supernova, an explosion of a star.

(d)i. State the properties of the planets in the Solar System.

The four inner planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars

: are all small and similar in size
: are solid and rocky with a layered structure
: have a high density.

The four outer planets, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune

: are much larger and colder
: consist mainly of gases
: have low densities.

ii. Explain why half the number of these planets show different properties from the
other half.

In the region of space where the inner planets were forming, the temperature would
have been too high for light molecules to exist in a solid state. As a result, the inner
planets are built from materials with high melting temperatures. Since a very small
percent of a nebula is composed of heavy elements, this means that the four inner
planets only grew to a small size and are solid and rocky. Further away from the Sun,
in the cooler regions of the Solar System, light molecules could exist in a solid icy
form. Being more abundant than the heavy elements, they combine to form the
four large outer planets which are gaseous.

8. (a). What makes up 99% of the mass in the Solar System without the Sun in it?

The four outer planets constitute 99% of the mass orbiting the Sun.

(b). How much of the Sun’s mass makes up the entire Solar System’s?
 More than 99% of the total mass of the Solar System is concentrated in the Sun
itself, exerting a very high gravitational attraction that keeps objects orbiting around
it.
9. (a). Explain how mass and distance affect the gravitational strength of an object?

The strength of the gravitational field decreases as the distance from the planet
increases. The greater the mass of each object and the smaller their distance apart,
the greater is the force.

(b). What provides the centripetal force needed for the planets to orbit in a nearly
circular path around the Sun and state how it varies.

The force of gravity between the Sun and the planet provides the necessary
centripetal force. The further a planet is away from the Sun, the weaker the
centripetal force, the lower the orbital speed and longer orbital period.

(c). Describe the speed and energy changes in a comet during its journey around a
star.

Speed increases as it approaches the Sun and decreases as it moves further away.
Energy is conserved, with some of the kinetic energy it has when close to the Sun
being transferred into gravitational potential energy as it moves away.

10. (a).Describe the composition of the Sun and state the main electromagnetic
waves
it emits out into space.

The Sun is a medium-sized star which consists mainly of hydrogen and helium. The
radiant energy it emits is mostly in the infrared, visible and ultraviolet regions
of the electromagnetic spectrum.

(b). What powers the stars?

Stars are powered by nuclear fusion reactions. Stable stars such as the Sun are hot
and dense enough in their core for nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium
to occur.

11. (a). What is a galaxy and what is the name of the galaxy our Solar System is in?

A galaxy is a large collection of billions of stars and the name of our spiral galaxy is
called the Milky Way.

(b). State the diameter of the Milky Way.

The diameter of the Milky Way galaxy is around 100 000 light-years
 (c). What is meant by a light year? State its numerical value.

A light-year is the distance travelled in space by light in one year.

It is equal to a distance of 9.5 x 10^15 m.
12. (a). Describe the stages of a star from its formation to its main stable period.

When interstellar clouds of dust and gas containing hydrogen collapse under the
force of gravitational attraction and increases in temperature, a protostar is formed.
In a stable star, very strong contractive forces of gravity pulling it inwards are
balanced by the expansive fusion reaction forces due to its extremely high
temperature. When the forces are balanced, the star is in a stable state and most of
the hydrogen in the core is being converted to helium.

(b). Explain what happens to a stable star after its main stable period to the point
w where it grows several times in size.

When the star starts to run out of hydrogen as a fuel for fusion, it becomes unstable.
Fusion of helium causes a huge expansion and subsequent cooling of the surface
gases, turning the star into a red giant if it is a low mass star and into a red
supergiant if it is high mass star.

(c). Describe the stages of a red giant progressing to its final events.

When all helium is used up, red giants form a planetary nebula with a white dwarf
star at its centre which eventually cools into a cold black dwarf star.

(d). Describe the stages of a red supergiant progressing to its final events.

When all helium is used up, nuclear fusion stops and the energy of the star is
released in a supernova explosion. Material, including heaviest elements, is
thrown into space as a nebula, creating a neutron star or a black hole at its centre.
The nebula is also responsible for the formation of new stars and their associated
planetary systems.

13. (a). Explain what it means by a redshift in electromagnet waves.

A redshift is an increase in the observed wavelength of electromagnetic radiation

emitted from receding stars and galaxies.

(b). What does a redshift by a light-emitting object tell us?

The greater the shift in the red spectrum of light, the further away it is from us
and the faster is its speed of recession.

14. (a). What is Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMBR)?

 The Big Bang produced radiation energy, filling the whole Universe with an intensity
that is nearly the same in all directions. Since the Big Bang, the Universe has
continued to expand, resulting in a redshift of the cosmic background radiation into
the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum.
15. State three evidences which support the Big Bang theory.

 Redshifts in the light from distant galaxies

 The existence of the cosmic background radiation
 Hubble’s law.

16. How are speeds and distances of a galaxy relative to us calculated?

Redshifts are used to find the speed of recession of a galaxy and its distance can be
calculated from brightness measurements of a supernova in the same galaxy.

17. (a). Define Hubble constant and state its numerical value.

Hubble constant is the ratio of the speed at which the galaxy is moving away from
v
the Earth to its distance from the Earth, HO = d

Its numerical value is estimated to be 2.2 × 10-18 per second.

(b). State the equation used to find the distance and recessive speed between
galaxies and helps give an estimation on the age of the Universe.
d 1
=
v H o where d = distance between two galaxies and v = recessive speed

(c). Redshift measurements from a distant galaxy show that it is moving away from
t the Earth at a speed of 8500km/s. Assuming Ho = 2.2 × 10-18 per second, how
aff far away is the galaxy from the Earth?
d 1
=
v Ho

8500
d= −18
=3.86 ×1 021 km
2.2 ×1 0

9.5 x 1012 km = 1 light year

1
1 km = 12 light year
9.5 ×1 0

1
3.86 x 1021 km = 12 x 3.86 x 10
21
9.5 ×1 0

= 406.3 million light years