Year 10 Science: Cosmology 2013 (40 marks)

Multiple Choice Questions (Circle the correct option)

1 When you are looking at a clear sky at night you are observing mostly:
A planets
B stars
C satellites
D galaxies

2 The light year is a unit of:

A brightness
B distance
C speed
D time.

3 A nebula is:
A a cloud of dust and gas
B a group of stars
C an exploding star
D a fixed pattern of stars.

4 The Big Bang is considered to have happened about:

A 13 thousand years ago
B 13 million years ago
C 13 billion years ago
D 5 billion years ago

5 Stars X and Y have the same luminosity (Actual brightness).

When viewed from Earth star X appears 9 times brighter than Y. Which statement is true:
(So Y is 9 times dimmer than X, so Y is three times further from Earth than X or X is 1/3rd the distance from Earth than Y)
A X is 1/3 times the distance to the Earth compared with Y
B X is 1/9 times the distance to the Earth compared with Y
C X is 1/81 times the distance to the Earth compared with Y
D X is the same distance away from earth
6 Which of the following elements is most common in the universe:
A hydrogen
B oxygen
C carbon
D water

7 Which of the following shows the objects in order from largest to smallest?
A universe, star cluster, galaxy, star, planet
B universe, galaxy, star cluster, star, planet
C universe, galaxy, sun, solar system, planet
D star cluster, galaxy, universe, solar system, planet,

8 Hubble’s law states that:

A the majority of galaxies are moving away from the Earth
B the majority of galaxies are moving towards the Earth
C more distant galaxies move away from the Earth faster
D the universe is expanding at an increasing rate

9 How long does it take light to travel to Earth from Proxima Centauri, our nearest star,
which is 4.2 light years away? (The speed of light is 300,000 km per second)
A 4.2 years
B 4.2 X 300,000 seconds
C 4.2 ÷ 300,000 seconds
D billions of years
10 Astronomers can use the parallax method to measure distances to far away objects. They improve the accuracy of their measurements by
A Choosing a very large baseline
B Use more powerful telescopes
C Use extremely distant stars as a reference point
D All of the above

11 When measuring the distance to a tree, the parallax shift on a 50 cm long Parallax viewer was found to be 2 cm. The baseline was 2 m. The
distance to the tree would be about:
A 200 m C 50 m
B 100 m D 25 m
 1 Astronomers used a spectroscope to study the light of a star and the following data was observed. Use the key
below to name the elements in the star.

The star:

Carbon:

Oxygen:

Helium:

Hydrogen:

a) Which elements are present in the star that was observed by the astronomer? (3)

Hydrogen;
Helium;
Carbon;

b) Explain how you got your answer. (2)

Matched the (spectral) lines from the (emission) spectrum from the star;
With the (spectral) lines from the (emission) spectrum of the elements;

c) What other two properties of the star can be determined by carefully examining the spectrum. (2)

Any two of the following:

(Star) Colour gives the temperature of the star;
(Star) Colour is also related to the absolute magnitude/brightness of a main sequence star;
(Star) Colour is also related to the size of a main sequence star;
If the (spectral) lines from the (emission) spectrum are shifted towards the red, the star belongs to a galaxy moving
away from us;
Also accept answers relating to blue shift

2 Consider three galaxies A,B and C that are of equal size and equal brightness.

Galaxy A is 10 million light years away from Earth. Galaxy B, as seen from earth appears 16 times less bright
than Galaxy A.
a How far away is galaxy B from Earth? (Show any working) (2)

( brightness ∝
1
( multiple of distance )2 )
1 1
∝ ;
16 42
(Galaxy B is four times as far away)
Galaxy B is 40 million light years away;

b How much brighter would Galaxy C appear to be from earth if it is only 5 million light years from earth? (Show
working) (2)
(Galaxy C is twice/two times closer to Earth / half the distance from Earth than Galaxy A)
 ( brightness ∝
1
( multiple of distance )2 )
1
4∝ ;
( 0.5 )2
Galaxy C is four times as bright;

3 The following picture shows the spectrum of sodium as seen on earth, then the sodium spectrum as seen from light
coming from another galaxy and also from a distant galaxy.

a) Explain why the spectra look different. (2)

Galaxies are moving away from us/Earth/Milky Way so (spectral) lines are shifted towards red/increased wavelength
(due to Doppler shift/effect);
Galaxies that are further from us/Earth/Milky Way are moving away faster so (spectral) lines show increased red shift;

b) What is the name for the change in position of the spectra? (1)

Red shift

c) Based on similar results for many galaxies what did Hubble conclude? (1)

Galaxies further away (from us/Earth/Milky Way) are moving away faster

d) What did this data suggest about the Universe and its origin? (2)

The Universe is expanding;

The Universe began at a single point / began in the Big Bang;

e) Explain how the data from your “Rubber Band Experiment” support your answer to question 3d. (2)

Stretching of rubber band simulates expansion of space/the Universe;

Releasing the rubber band simulates turning back time, showing that stellar objects were once closer together. Could in
theory turn back time to everything coming from a single point;
4 Don Quixote and his faithful sidekick Sancho were approaching a windmill.
Rather than going much closer, Don ordered his servant to find out how far away the windmill was. Sancho is
clever and decides to use his wooden sword for this purpose (see diagram below).
Explain how Sancho could use his sword to determine the distance between him and the windmill without going
any closer. Write down clearly which three measurements he must make. Use a diagram to support your answer.
Write your answer on the reverse of this page.(5)

 Base length;
 Length of parallax viewer;
 Parallax shift (on scale of viewer);
M4 for correctly drawn diagram
M5 for labelling of diagram

Distance to windmill
Siniti W Far distant object
al
Base length

Parallax shift (extremely

exaggerated in this diagram)

Sfinal

Length of parallax viewer