Our solar system

Telescopes are used to observe distant objects.

Complete the sentences.

Choose answers from the box.

What is the name of our galaxy?

Tick (✓) one box.

The Sun is our nearest star.

What will happen to the Sun at the end of its life cycle?

Tick (✓) one box.

The James Webb Space Telescope is the most powerful telescope ever launched into space.

Very distant galaxies can be observed using the James Webb Space Telescope.

How does the speed of a very distant galaxy compare to the speed of a much nearer galaxy?

Tick (✓) one box.

There is an observed increase in the wavelength of light from most distant galaxies.

What name is given to this increase in the wavelength of light?

Tick (✓) one box.

Observations from the James Webb Space Telescope support the Big Bang theory.

Complete the sentence.

Choose the answer from the box.

The Big Bang theory suggests that the universe began from a region that

What does the Big Bang theory suggest is happening to the size of the universe?

Tick (✓) one box.

A group of stars is called a galaxy.

What is the name of our galaxy?

Tick (✓) one box.

The Sun is one of the stars in our galaxy.

What was the Sun originally formed from?

Tick (✓) one box.

Which of the following forces was involved in the formation of the Sun?

Tick (✓) one box.

Stars produce light because they release energy.

Complete the sentence.

Choose the answer from the box.

Visible light and infrared radiation travel from the Sun to the Earth.

Which statement describes the time taken for visible light and infrared radiation to travel from the Sun to the Earth?

Tick (✓) one box.

Infrared radiation has a longer wavelength than visible light.

Complete the sentence.

Choose the answer from the box.

Compared with the frequency of infrared radiation, the frequency of

The Sun and the Earth both emit infrared radiation.

How does the rate of infrared radiation emitted by the Sun compare with the rate of infrared radiation emitted by the Earth?

Give a reason for your answer.

Tick (✓) one box.

The Universe contains many stars.

The Sun is the star at the centre of our solar system.

Give three other types of object that form our solar system.

Some main sequence stars will eventually form black holes.

Table 3 gives the mass of four stars.

Which star in Table 3 is most likely to form a black hole?

The distance from Cygni A to the Earth is 1.1 × 10⁸ gigametres.

Which distance is the same as 1.1 × 10⁸ gigametres?

Tick () one box.

The light spectrum from every galaxy includes dark lines.

The lines have the same pattern.

Figure 7 shows the position of dark lines in the visible spectra of light from the Sun and from two distant galaxies.

Explain what these light spectra tell us about the velocities of galaxy A and galaxy B.

The distance between Arcturus and the Earth is 3.6 × 10¹⁴ km.

Calculate the time taken for light from Arcturus to reach the Earth.

Use the Physics Equations Sheet.

When stars are formed, they contain mostly hydrogen.

Describe how stars produce all other naturally occurring elements.

Figure 10 shows an old scientific model of the solar system that has now been replaced.

Which statement is a reason for replacing an old scientific model with a newer scientific model? Tick (✓) one box.

Compare the model of the solar system used now with the old model of the solar system shown in Figure 10.

Table 1 shows data about four planets.

How does the time taken for one orbit change as the mean distance from the Sun increases?

The bar chart in Figure 11 shows some of the data from Table 1.

Complete the bar chart. Use data from Table 1.

All stars have a life cycle. A, B and C in Figure 12 represent three stages in the life cycle of the Sun. The stages are in the correct order. Draw one line from each stage to the name of the stage.

Stars act like black bodies. Which statement is true for perfect black bodies? Tick (✓) one box.

The Sun is at the centre of our solar system.

What type of object is the Sun?

What is the name of the galaxy our solar system is part of?

Tick (✓) one box.

Table 2 gives information about some of the moons in our solar system.

What is a moon?

A student researched the radius of some planets in the solar system.

radius of largest dwarf planet = 1190 km radius of smallest planet = 2440 km

The student made the following conclusions:

1. dwarf planets are always smaller than moons

2. planets are always bigger than moons.

Give one reason why each of the student’s conclusions is wrong.

Use the data given above and in Table 2.

The Earth’s Moon and the International Space Station both orbit the Earth.

Give one other similarity and one difference between the orbit of the Earth’s Moon and the orbit of the International Space Station.

Very few people have been to the International Space Station.

Suggest one reason why very few people have been to the International Space Station.

Galaxies contain billions of stars.

Compare the formation and life cycles of stars with a similar mass to the Sun to stars with a much greater mass than the Sun.

The points on Figure 11 represent galaxies that are moving away from the Milky Way.

Each arrow represents the velocity of the galaxy relative to the Milky Way.

Light from all galaxies represented in Figure 11 is red-shifted.

Describe what is meant by red-shift.

Explain how Figure 11 provides evidence for the Big Bang theory.

Sometimes scientists have to change theories about the universe.

Give the reason why.

A main sequence star in a distant galaxy is the same size and mass as the Sun.

Explain why the star is stable while it is in the main sequence stage of its life cycle.

Describe what will happen to the star between the main sequence stage and the end of the star’s life cycle. You should include the names of the stages in the life cycle of the star.

Figure 5 shows how the speed of galaxies moving away from Earth varies with the distance of the galaxies from Earth.

Which galaxy would show the smallest observed change in the wavelength of visible light? Give a reason for your answer. Tick (✓) one box.

Our solar system includes the Sun, planets and moons.

Complete the sentence. Choose the answer from the box.

Planets orbit the Sun. What force causes planets to orbit the Sun?

Table 2 shows data about five planets.

How does the mean surface temperature of the planets in Table 2 change as the mean distance from the Sun increases?

Predict the mean surface temperature of Jupiter (X) in Table 2.

Five of the planets in the solar system are given in Table 2. How many other planets are there in the solar system? Tick (✓) one box.

Our Moon is a natural satellite. Why is the Moon classified as a satellite? Tick (✓) one box.

How are planets and moons similar? Tick (✓) two boxes.

The diameter of the Earth is 13 000 km. The diameter of the Sun is 110 times greater than the diameter of the Earth. Calculate the diameter of the Sun.

Complete the sentences. The Sun is a stable star. This is because the forces pulling inwards caused by

Write down the equation that links distance travelled (s), speed (v) and time (t).

The mean distance between the Sun and the Earth is 1.5 10¹¹ m. Light travels at a speed of 3.0 10⁸ m/s. Calculate the time taken for light from the Sun to reach the Earth.

Some stars are much more massive than the Sun. Describe the life cycle of stars much more massive than the Sun, including the formation of new elements.

Stars emit radiation with a range of wavelengths. Which property of a star does the range of wavelengths depend on? Tick (✓) one box.

The Sun is a star. Which galaxy is the Sun in? Tick one box.

Light takes 500 seconds to travel from the Sun to the Earth. Light travels at 300 000 kilometres per second. Calculate the distance between the Sun and the Earth. Use the equation: distance = speed × time

Table 1 gives information about some of the planets in our solar system. The planets are in order of increasing distance from the Sun.

There are some planets in our solar system missing from Table 1. How many planets are missing?

Estimate how many years it takes Mars to orbit the Sun.

Calculate how many times Venus will orbit the Sun in 9 years.