Learning Objectives: * Know hat stars such asthe Sun) ae formed 1. The Life Cycle of Stars ‘shen dst and Stars give out a huge amount of heat and light — tis is felled by nuclear {arcbula) ae pled fasion inside the star. These pages are all about how stars are formed and together y gravity. what happens to stars once al of thee fuel runs out. * Understand how aviation The formation of stars the temperate to Stars intally form from a cloud of dust and gas called a nebula, The force increase enough for cof rviy makes the gas and dust spiral in together to form a protostar — hydrogen fasion. See Figure 3. Gravitational atraction causes the density of the protostar to * Koow thatthe outward increase and particles within the protosar o collide with each other more force offsion force oftnion frequen 50the temperate ss avitatonal tration ff the stay leading © sable period called ‘When the temperature gets high enough, hydrogen nuclei begin to undergo nuclear fusion (soe pages 140-141) to form helium nuclei. This gives out gaat led Nie amu of energy which keeps the cove fhe star haath pol, _Imainseqvnce, ars bor, Smaller masses of gs ad dst around the tat may also Be roan the ee oF pulled together to make planets that orbit the star. item ands mich igen San Main sequence stars i ergata (Once a star has been formed, i immediately enters a long stable period. aoe Thoentry released bythe nicear fasion provides an outward pressre that Taltopeowe fave testo expand the say, which balances the force of gai plllag everything reed al ater inate sin equim, Int stable period it call a mata sequence slant a hat Strand it Iss several ilion yeas. The Suna table ain sequence star in uperoves have the middle of this stable period, ‘ued hem Shoutout he Eventually the hyrogen begins to run ou, Fusion of helium (another elements) occurs and the star ceases tobe a main sequence star. Heavier Specification References elements (yp to iron) are created inthe core of the star, Stas (and their life AB, 48.1.2 ‘yees) produce all naturally occuring elements in the univers. The death of stars Exactly what happens toa sla as it stars to un out of fuel and dies depends ‘on how big the star is Stars about the size of the Sun [Asmall star that is about the size of the Sun will expand into a red giant when it ars to run out of hydrogen. It hecomes red because the surface cools. Ie-will dhen become unstable and eject its outer layer of dust and gas as a planetay nebula. This leaves behind a hot, dense solid core — a white Figure fe Astarchiser~ dwarf. Asa white dwar cools dovin, it emits less and less energy. When it the orange star nthe centre no longer emits a significant amour, its called a black dwarf and eventually ‘Sa red lon disappears from sight (see Figure 3) Topic 8 Space PhysoeStars much larger than the Sun Stars that are larger than the Sun expand into red super giants wien they start to runout of hydrogen. Red super giants expand and contact several times, forming elements as heavy as fon various nuclear reactions. Eventually they run out of elements to fuse and become unstable, They ‘explode in a supernova, forming elements heavier thar iron and ejecting them into the universe to form new planets and stars. ‘The exploding supernova throws the outer layers of dust and gas inta space, leaving a very dense core called a neutron star. Ifthe star big enough it will become a black hole instead —a super dense poiat in space that not Figure 2: The remnants ofa leven light can escape from see Figure 3) supemova, or ott i ‘Tip: Black holes dont ia exit any ight s0 you ine fant actualy se them. . Figure 3: A fw cag o show the le cycles of tars that are about the sme size atthe Sun and stars much bgge than the Sun eee ence QU How are stars and planets formed? Q2_ By what process is energy released instars? Q3_ Explain why main sequence tars ae stable, QA Describe the stages that asta the same size as the Sun will go through ‘when it stops being a main sequence star. (Q5_ Hydrogen was the only element present in the early universe How dd other elements fer and gt spread through the eee seein QI Melnick34 is a star that is much larger than the Sun State whether it will form a white dwarf, ora black hole, Topio 8 Spaoe PhysiesLearning Objeotives: * Know that our soae system contain the Sn, the eh planets and da planes Sahich othe Sun, ‘moons which obit planets and atic Satelite, + Know the similarities and ferences * Koaw that ou solar system located svn the rl Tanger Milky Way slay. * Kr that he force ‘obi Keep object Inthe solar system i crcl bit is provided by wai + Ml Understand that aceeeration towards the cere ofa crcl omit i caused by savy acting in that ‘ection aa this ausea change inthe velocity but ot the speed ofan oiting objet Understand why i the speed of stable xb changes the rads ust change to. ‘Specification References 481, 4.8.1.8 Topic B Space Physics 2. The Solar System and Orbits The solar system is macle up ofthe Sun at the centre, everything that orbits around it — and everything else which orbits around them. These pages are ‘allabout our solr system, and how objects are kept in orbits The solar system (Ou sla sso contains one star — the Sun, The rests made up of Syngas the Son An obits the path on which one eject moves ateund sate The Sun ebted by = Planets — these are large objects which orbit a star. There are eight of them orbiting the sun, They have to be large enough to have “cleared their neighbourhood”, This means that their gravity is strong enough to have pulled in any nearby objects apart from their natural satelites = Dwarf planets — e.g, Pluto. These are planet-ike objects that orbit stars, bat are too sma to meet all ofthe rues for being a planet. + Satellites — these are objects that bit a second more massive object. For example: 1, Moons — these orbit planets. Theyre a type of natural satelite tie. theyre not man-made) 2, Artificial satellites are satelites that humans have built. There are lat orbiting the Earth and some orbiting the Sun and other planets. Der TEST Figure 1: A clgram of our solar system, showing the eight planets in vce and examples ofa dart plane, a moon and an arti satelite (Our solar system satiny par ofthe Milky Way galaxy. This is a massive collection of billions of stars that are all held together by gravity Orbits — the basios ‘The planets move around the Sun in almost circular obits. The same is rue for moons and aificial satellites orbiting planets. Gravity provides the force which keeps an object within this obit,Circular motion in orbits Ivan object is travelling in a circle, itis constantly changing direction, which ‘means itis constantly accelerating (ust like a car going round a roundabout, page 179). This also means that it's constantly changing velocity (but not changing speed. For an object to accelerate, there must be a force acting on it page 194). For Circular motion, this fore is directed towards the centre ofthe circle. Inthe solar system, the force tat is acting towards the centre of the circle i the ‘gravitational force (gravity) between a planet and the Sun (or a planet and its satellites) ‘An otitis a balance between the force providing the acceleration and the forward motion (instantaneous velocity ofthe object. The object keeps accelerating towards what is orbiting, but the instantaneous velocity which is aright angles tothe acceleration and to the force of gravity) keeps it travelling ina crcle — see Figure 2 The planets ‘yng’ to smo inh ection ne {instantaneous voc). One The force avays oo” towards the cente of thee Figure 2: A clagram of planet obting around the Sun, showing its instantaneous velocity (back ares) and the gravtadonal force rive arows) Orbital speed and radius ‘he size of an exit depends onthe object’ speed, The closer you gett a star corplanet, the swonger the gravitational force, The stronger the force, the faster the orbiting object needs to travel t remain in orbit. Foran objec ina stable bit ithe sped ofthe abject changes, the size rau of is obit must do So toa, ifthe object moves fase, te radius of ts orbit must be smaller, Hit moves slower the rads must be lager sce Figure 3 QS whats meaty “natural sate and ge on example 2 Site the force which eepsobjectsn obit rund the Sun [Bi nat direction des the ce that heps the ath tng the Sun ‘acton Earth Pr Oe Ifthe Earth moved towards the Sun, what would happen tothe speed, ofits orbit, provided it were to remain in a stable orbit” Why? Tip: Velocity isa vector quant fsa magnitude and dhretion v= sok Figure 2: A clagram of two ‘ilerent orbits around 3 body showing how distance tadus fects sped. opie 8 Space Physics NETTIELeatning Objectives: = Koow thatthe light, from most stant ‘alias ied the wavelength of the observe ite seater than itshould be Understand that redshift o ight from distant galaxies suggests they are moving away rom ws Know that generally, the fuer aay the flan, the greater the Fedihit an the faster theyre moving aay Know that ed-hit of ight rom galxies Isenidence atthe Lniverse pace sel) 'sexpanding Know the ig Bang theory ofthe hogining ofthe Know how red-shift ppt the Big Bang theory of how the | Universe aga, Understand howe scientists se ‘berations to form theores ike the Big Bang theory. Know that recent ‘observations soggest thatthe expansion ofthe universe tecoeating, Know that there re many features ofthe yetexphin, such as, ‘dark mater andl dark nen ‘Specification Reference 48.2 ETN 0 pa Pace 8. Red-shift and the Big Bang The universe is geting bigger as time goes on — its expanding. Scientists now ‘thik thas been expanding since the day t began as described by the Big, Bang Theory. Red-shift ‘When we look at igh from most distant galaxies we find that is wavelength {page 226) has inceased. The wavelengths areal longer than they should bbe theyre shifted towards the red end ofthe spectrum see page 242 forthe ‘onder ofthe electromagnetic spectrum). Ths effect i called red-shift Red-shit occurs when the source ofthe light fs moving away from the observer. You can think of ita the light wave ‘stretching out as the source moves away. wm KI Figure 1: Diagram showing the efecto eit ‘The observer receives the waveronts iter apart 0 ses 3 rede ight. The expansion of the universe Aste light rom most distant galaxies has been red-shifted, this suggests that the galaxies are moving away from us. Measurements ofthe red-shift indicate that most cant galaxies are moving away from us receding) very quickly — and isthe same result whatever diection you look in. More distant galaxies have a greater red-shift than nearee ones. This means that more distant galaxies are moving away faster than the nearer ones. This suggests that al galaxies ae moving away from each ather. The conclusion ofthese results i that the whole universe (space sel is expanding. att source moving sy tom observe To understand the expansion of the universe, imagine a balloon covered With pompoms. As you blow into the balloon, it stretches. The pompoms ‘move further away ftom each other, but each pompom says the same size, a9—wp ‘The balloon represents the universe, and each pompom i a galaxy. AS time goes on space stretches and expands, moving galaxies away from each other, The galaxies are held together by gravity and so dont stretch themselves, This sa simple model balloons ony strech so far, and there would be galaxies “inside” the balloon too) but it shows how the expansion of space makes it lok like galaxies are moving away from us.The Big Bang theory All galaxies are moving avay from each other at great sped — suggesting Somthing rnust have pol then going. That something was proba big txplosion the Big Bang, The BigBang theory says “italy, all matter in the universe occupied a very small space. This tiny space was very dense (p. 106) and so was very hot + then it exploded’ — space sarted expanding, and the ‘expansion is still going on. ‘Te igang theory is supported reat maureen’, and is he exam Te fener acct theory of how he universe began button theest_ may beso fhe weave so ar Scletite se sero comeup wih hens ike pio pice the Big Bang theory But whenever sciess scover mew eid ets ipa Shenae by thetrthery they Rave eter mae anew thay ow cold theo orchange a crete explain what they hav obser eee Unexplained observations ‘There are a number of observations ofthe universe which science does not yet have an explanation for. Observations of supernovae from 1998 tothe present day appear to show that distant galaxies are moving away from us faster and faster the speed at which theyre receding i increasing). This indicates that the expansion ofthe universes accderating, but we dont yet know how or why. Scientists currently think that the universe is mostly made up of dark matter and dark energy. Dark matter isthe name given 1 an unknown substance ‘which holds galaxies together, but does not emit any electromagnetic radiation, Dark energy i thought tobe responsible for the accelerated ‘expansion ofthe universe, But no one knows what these things are, so there ‘are many diferent theories about them. “Tp: You might hear drm calle dark ‘mass instead, QI a} How isthe light observed fom a distant galaxy fferent from the Tigh thatthe galaxy actually emits? is effect?, by What isthe name given 1 (Q2_a) Whats the Big Bang theory? by Describe an observation that supports the Big Bang theory Explain your answer. QB What have observations of supernovae since 1998 shown scientists bout the expansion ofthe sniverse? ‘Topic 8 Space Physics ZINETopic 8 The Life Cycle of Stars O) Thatal stars, including the Sun, begin asa cloud of dust and gas called a nebula, That nebuiae ar pled together by gravity to form a protosta. “That gravitational atraction causes the density ofa prtostr to increase, causing more collisions p 8 between particles to accu, which causes the temperature to rise enough for nuclear fusion to begin. c That in main sequence stars hydrogen is fusing to form helium. Or That main sequence sas are stable de oa halance between the energy release though nuclear fasion which reso expand the sar and gravitational aaron, which esto compre C) Thatthe Sun isa main sequence stay and soi na stable period. O) that stars begin to fuse heavier elements as they run ou of hydrogen. O) That fusion in tars is espensibe for producing all naturally occurring elements up to iron, That theif cyte of a tarafer the main sequence depends on its mass O That stars about he same size asthe Sun become red pints after the main sequence. That ced giants eventually eject their outer layer and become white dwar, which cool to become black dwarfs. That stars much bigger than the Sun become eed super giants, D2 Tht red super giants explede in supernovae, forming heavier elements than iron and ejecting them into the universe C2 That fasion in stars and supernovae has produced all naturally occuring elements and clstributed them throughout the univese, 2 Mhat supernova explosions leave behind ether a neutron sta o, for stars with a high enough mas, black hole The Solar System and Orbits Cr Fhatour solar stem conn sng sa he Sn, and ean: Mercy, ns Ea, Mas, lupe, Saturn, Uranus and Neptine ‘That the solar system also includes cart planets (e.g, Pluto) and satellites of the planets, both natural 8 Pl satellites (eg, moons) and artificial satelites O Thatan obits the path on which one object moves around another Qt planets and dwarf planets obit stars, and that dwar planets are too smal tobe considered planets That satetites omit another more massive object. That our soar sytem is located inthe Milky Way galaxy and is only a very small pat ot That the orbits of planets around the Sun, and the fbits of moons and artificial satellites around planets, are roughly circular. That objects travel in orbits due tothe force of gravity between the wo objects. Odi that gravity acts towards the centre of the orbit, causing an acceleration which changes the velocity, but not the speed, ofthe oxiting object. 224 Topie 8 Space PhysicsD7 Btthat the gravitational force fs stronger the closer you are to an abject. D anthata faster onital speed must mean a smaller orbital radius fr the object tobe ina stable orbit. Red-shift and the Big Bang That light fram distant glass has longer wavelengths than expected, an eect known as re hi D2 That ced-shit suggests that al galases are moving away from us. O) hat more distant galaxies appear to be moving away faster than nearer alae. Cr Thatthis suggests the univenei expanding — all galaxies are moving away from each other O) That obserations of red-shift support the Big Bang theory. That the Big Hang theory says thatthe universe was once confined to a very small are that was extremely hot and dense, which exploded and has been expanding ever since. (That observations of distant sypernavae since 1998 have shown that the expansion of the universe is accelerating O) That there is a fot about the universe that not understood, eg, dark mater and dark energy. ‘Topic 8 Space PhysiosExam-style Questions 1 ‘The Sun isa main sequence starin the middle of ts stable period. 1.1 State the element which undergoes nuclear fusion in a main sequence star and the ‘element produced in the fusion reaction (2 marks) 1.2 plain why a main sequence star does nt collapse de to gravitational atraction, (zac) 1.3 A main sequence star evolves and eventually becomes a black hole. Describe this {evolution from a main sequence star tothe point of becoming a black hole. (4 marks) 1.4 Willthe Sun ever become a black hole? Explain your answer (1 mark) 1.5 Nuclear fusion in stars can only produce elements which are no heavier than iron. Describe how elements heavier than iron are produced and spread through the univers. (2 marks) BA planets orbiting around a sarin a stable, cela obit Explain wy the plane otis the sarin this way and how he speed ofthe plants crbirelates to eade of ts ob (6 marks) 3 (Our solar system is located within a larger structure of stars called a galaxy. 3.1 State the name ofthe galaxy in which our solar system is located (mark) 3.2 Light from most distant galaxies is observed to have been red-shifted Explain what is meant by the term ree-shif, and sate when it occurs. macs) 3.3 Explain what this observation suggests about our universe, (2 marks) Until 1998, scientists believed thatthe effect described in 3.8 was slowing dawn, 3.4 Describe the observations that caused scientists to change ther minds ater 1998, (2marks) 3.5 Scientist aren’ agroed on what could be causing the observations made since 1998, but tere are several different theories. Suggest why none of the theories have been accepted yet (1 mack) ZEB Topic 8 Space Physio Ems Questions