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SME_6_Physics
SME_6_Physics
YOUR NOTES
IGCSE Physics CIE
CONTENTS
6.1.1 The Earth, Moon & Sun
6.1.2 Calculating Orbital Speeds
6.1.3 The Solar System
6.1.4 Orbiting Bodies
6.1.5 Gravitational Effects on Orbits
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This rotation creates the apparent daily motion of the Sun rising and setting
Rotation of the Earth on its axis is therefore responsible for the periodic cycle of day
and night
Day and Night
The Earth's rotation around its axis creates day and night
Day is experienced by the half of the Earth's surface that is facing the Sun
Night is the other half of the Earth's surface, facing away from the Sun
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However, the exact locations of where the Sun rises and sets changes throughout the YOUR NOTES
seasons
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This means the Moon is fully lit as seen from Earth YOUR NOTES
In between, a crescent can be seen where the Moon is partially illuminated from sunlight
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YOUR NOTES
Worked Example
The Hubble Space Telescope moves in a circular orbit. Its distance above the
Earth’s surface is 560 km and the radius of the Earth is 6400 km. It completes one
orbit in 96 minutes.
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YOUR NOTES
Exam Tip
Remember to check that the orbital radius r given is the distance from the centre of
the Sun (if a planet is orbiting a Sun) or the planet (if a moon is orbiting a planet) and
not just from the surface. If the distance is a height above the surface you must add
the radius of the body, to get the height above the centre of mass of the body.
This is because orbits are caused by the mass, which can be assumed to act at the
centre, rather than the surface.
Don't forget to check your units and convert any if required!
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YOUR NOTES
Exam Tip
You need to know the order of the 8 planets in the solar system. The following
mnemonic gives the first letter of each of the planets to help you recall them:
My Very Excellent Mother Just Served Us Noodles
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
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YOUR NOTES
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Exam Tip
When referring to the accretion model for the formation of the Solar System, make
sure your answer has the following:
(a) the model’s dependence on gravity
(b) the presence of many elements in interstellar clouds of gas and dust
(c) the rotation of material in the cloud and the formation of an accretion disc
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Worked Example
The radius of Mercury's orbit around the Sun is 5.8 × 109 m.
Calculate the time taken for light from the Sun to reach Mercury.
Step 1: State the equation for the time taken for light to travel a certain distance
distance
time =
speed
Step 2: Substitute in the values
The distance travelled is the radius of the orbit
Distance, d = 5.8 × 109 m.
Speed = the speed of light, v = 3.0 × 108 m/s
5 . 8 × 109
time = = 1 . 933333
3 . 0 × 108
Step 3: Round up the answer and include units
time = 19. 3 s
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Elliptical Orbits
EXTENDED
Orbits of planets, minor planets and comets are elliptical
An ellipse is just a 'squashed' circle
Planets, minor planets and comets have elliptical orbits
However, the Sun is not at the centre of an elliptical orbit
This is only the case when the orbit is approximately circular
Planets and comets travel in elliptical orbits, but the Sun is not at the centre of these orbits
Exam Tip
You will not be asked to do any calculations with elliptical orbits. If you are asked to
calculate the time period, orbital speed or radius of an orbit, it can be assumed that it
is circular.
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Exam Tip
Although you don't need to memorise any of this data, you must be able to
confidently analyse and interpret it. Look out for trends such as one variable
increasing whilst the the other decreases (or also increases). This carefully about
why that may be with what you have already learnt about the planets from this topic.
For example, what is the planet made of? What is its distance from the Sun and how
does this affect it?
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Objects are attracted towards the centre of the Earth due to its gravitational field strength
Both the weight of any body and the value of the gravitational field strength g differs
between the surface of the Earth and the surface of other bodies in space, including the
Moon because of the planet or moon's mass
The greater the mass of the planet then the greater its gravitational field strength
A higher gravitational field strength means a larger attractive force towards the centre
of that planet or moon
g varies with the distance from a planet, but on the surface of the planet, it is roughly
the same
The strength of the field around the planet decreases as the distance from the planet
increases
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However, the value of g on the surface varies dramatically for different planets and moons YOUR NOTES
The gravitational field strength (g) on the Earth is approximately 10 N/kg
The gravitational field strength on the surface of the Moon is less than on the Earth
This means it would be easier to lift a mass on the surface of the Moon than on the
Earth
The gravitational field strength on the surface of the gas giants (eg. Jupiter and Saturn) is
more than on the Earth
This means it would be harder to lift a mass on the gas giants than on the Earth
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A person’s weight on Jupiter would be so large a human would be unable to fully stand up YOUR NOTES
Exam Tip
You do not need to remember the value of g on different planets for your exam, the
value of g for Earth will be given in the exam question.
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YOUR NOTES
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How the speed of a planet is affected by its distance from the Sun
This can be seen from data collected for a planet's orbital distance against their orbital
speed
E.g. Neptune travels much slower than Mercury
Table of Orbital Distance, Speed and Duration
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Exam Tip
Be careful with your wording in this topic when talking about gravity. It is important to
refer to the force of gravity as 'gravitational attraction', ' strength of the Sun's
gravitational field' or 'the force due to gravity'. Avoid terms such as 'the Sun's
gravity' or even more vague, 'the force from the Sun'.
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Comets travel in highly elliptical orbits, speeding up as they approach the Sun
Conservation of Energy
Although an object in an elliptical orbit, such as a comet, continually changes its speed its
energy must still be conserved
Throughout the orbit, the gravitational potential energy and kinetic energy of the
comet changes
As the comet approaches the Sun:
It loses gravitational potential energy and gains kinetic energy
This causes the comet to speed up
This increase in speed causes a slingshot effect, and the body will be flung back out
into space again, having passed around the Sun
As the comet moves away from the Sun:
It gains gravitational potential energy and loses kinetic energy
This causes it to slow down
Eventually, it falls back towards the Sun once more
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