PHYSICAL SCIENCE 3RD QUARTER REVIEWER

By Amber Myles Cruz

LESSON 1: IN THE BEGINNING

• Chemistry – “the study of stuff”, is a simplification of chemistry to mean the study of

matter, its make-up, its properties, and the changes it undergoes.
• Big Bang theory or model – says that the universe once began to expand and
continues to expand until today with some of the proponents being Astronomers
George Lemaitre and Edwin Hubble.
• Gravity caused the atoms to collapse onto one another to form stars and galaxies and
eventually, other matters.
• Nucleosynthesis – the process that creates new atomic nuclei from pre-existing
nucleons and nuclei. Protons and neutrons would routinely combine and separate from
each other due to the high energies at the time.
• Nucleosynthesis – as the Universe cools, protons and neutrons can fuse to form
heavier atomic nuclei.

• Relative Abundance – the relative abundance of light elements in the universe is the
second piece of evidence to prove that the Big Bang occurred. The figure “24% of the
universe’s ordinary matter are currently composed of helium, about 74% hydrogen,
and 2% of other elements,” only makes sense if nucleosynthesis in the Big Bang
model actually occurred since no chemical process significantly changes these
percentages.
• Cosmic Microwave Background – the third part of evidence for the Big Bang model.
The energy (thermal radiation) that was left as a result of recombination. Atoms
became neutral due to the binding of nuclei and electrons. The remaining radiation
then began to scatter.

LESSON 2: LIFE CYCLE OF A STAR

• Star – a luminous spheroid of plasma held together by gravity.

• Gravity – interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things that have
mass.
• Nebula – an enormous cloud of dust and gas occupying the space between stars and
acting as a nursery for new stars.
• Nuclear Fusion – the process by which two light atomic nuclei combine to form a
single heavier one while releasing massive amounts of energy.
• Hydrogen Fusion – Helium. Therefore, Hydrogen is the sun’s fuel.
• The bigger the object = the heavier it is = the stronger the pull of gravity
• Stellar Nebula – what every star starts as. A big cloud of dust and gas.
• Protostar – the attractive force of gravity pulls the dust and gas together, forming a
Protostar. As more dust and gas gets attracted to this, the bigger it gets, and then
gravity squeezes these dust and gas together. Therefore, the protostar gets denser,
allowing particles to collide, which raises the temperature.
• Nuclear Fusion – a process that once the protostar gets hot enough, Hydrogen Nuclei
fuses, forming Helium Nuclei.
• Main Sequence Star – the star that is born the moment a protostar begins the process
called nuclear fusion

The size of a main sequence star dictates the life cycle the star will have to go
through…

1. AVERAGE STAR
a. Stable Period. The outward pressure caused by nuclear fusion balances with
the inward pressure caused by gravity.
b. Red Giant Phase. When the Hydrogen fuel in the core is exhausted, the core
contracts while the outer layers expand, causing the star to swell into a red
giant. The star fuses helium into heavier elements in its shell in this phase.
 c. The End – Planetary Nebula. Once the medium-sized star starts to run out of
fuel, it will start to shred out its outer layers.
d. The End – White Dwarf. Revealing a very dense and glowing sphere. After
many years, the white dwarf will eventually run out of its residual thermal
energy that makes it glow, making it colder and colder.
e. The End – Black Dwarf. When the star finally runs out of thermal energy,
Black Dwarf is formed.
2. MASSIVE STAR
a. The Stable Period. The outward pressure caused by nuclear fusion balances
with the inward pressure caused by gravity.
b. Red Supergiant Phase. When the Hydrogen fuel in the core is exhausted, the
core contracts while the outer layers expand, causing the star to swell into a
red super giant. The star fuses helium into heavier elements in its shell in this
phase
c. The End – Supernova. Once the fuel runs out on a massive star the pressure
drops low enough, and gravity suddenly takes over and the star collapses in
just seconds and explodes.
d. The End – Neutron Star. This explosion gives birth to two different celestial
bodies depending on the star’s size. A very big star condenses into a very
dense core called a Neutron Star.
e. The End – Black Hole. An absolutely massive star will collapse on itself
forming a black hole. It has an insane amount of gravitational pull that even
light cannot escape.

LESSON 3: THE LIFE SPAN OF STARS

Classification Of Stars

• Small – can merely transform hydrogen into helium.

• Medium-sized - Stars, such as the sun, are medium-sized whose hydrogen
atoms are eventually depleted. their helium atoms are further converted
into carbon and oxygen
• Massive - Stars whose mass is five times greater than that of the sun are
considered massive stars

Nuclear Fusion Reactions

• Nuclear Fission – refers to the splitting of a heavy nucleus into lighter

nuclei. This reaction sustains nuclear power plants as well as some nuclear
weapon
• Nuclear Fusion - a reaction through which light nuclei combine to form a
heavier nucleus. These reactions fuel the stars as well as hydrogen or
thermonuclear bombs. It produce less radioactive products, and are thus
safer than those of nuclear fission. Fusion reactions generate less amounts
 of nuclear waste that must be disposed properly. The nuclear fusion
reactions in stars may be classified into two phases, which form different
sets of elements
o Exothermic Reaction – form helium
o Burning Phases – form heavier nuclei

EXOTHERMIC REACTIONS

- Hydrogen to Helium

- reactions release energy in the form of heat and light.

- These reactions include the proton-proton chain reaction (p-p chain) or hydrogen burning,
and the carbon-nitrogen-oxygen cycle (CNO cycle).

BURNING PHASES INVOLVING HEAVIER NUCLEI

1. Helium Burning - Once a star has used up the hydrogen in its core, the p-p chain and
the CNO cycle stop, and the helium previously produced starts to be expended and
burned. Helium burning occurs in the core of stars once the temperature reaches about
108 Kelvin. The nuclear reactions in this process produce carbon – 12 via a triple
Alpha process.

2. Carbon and Oxygen Burning - At approximately 5x10 Kelvin, carbon burning is

likely to start with typical reactions such as the ones given below. Carbon burning is
therefore always a source of oxygen in stars. Oxygen burning can start once the
temperature has reached 10 Kelvin. It produces silicon and an alpha particle.
 3. Silicon Burning - The formation of silicon establishes the following reactions(through
alpha process) that lead to an inner core of a star that is iron – and nickel-rich.

NEUTRON CAPTURE

Elements heavier than iron-56 are not produced through nuclear fusion; instead they
are assembled through the capture of neutrons, thus creating a heavier isotope of a particular
element. The nucleus that is heavier than iron can either be stable or radioactive (i.e., decay
or transform into another element after a certain amount of time).

There are two types of neutron capture processes: the s-process and the r-process. The
S-process refers to the slow addition of neutrons in which hundreds or thousands of years
might pass in between neutron additions. In this case, beta decay has occurred before another
neutron is added. This process may produce stable isotopes up to lead (Pb) and occurs inside
a star before it explodes.
The r-process refers to the rapid addition of neutrons; in fact, this happens only during
stellar explosions, which quickly yield neutron-rich isotopes that will decay later to yield
heavy nuclides; that is, elements beyond lead.

LESSON 4: (incomplete)

JOHN DALTON JOSEPH JOHN ERNEST NIELS BOHR

THOMSON RUTHERFORD
- 1897 1902 1913
Came up with the Came up with the Came up with the
Billiard Ball Model Plum-Pudding Planetary Model
Model
Said that “all The atom is divisible Distinguished 2 Said that Electrons
elements are into charged kinds of radiation existed only at fixed
composed of atoms” particles based on their distance
The atom is made of penetrating power.
a massive mass with The atom is mostly
a positive charge. empty space.
Electrons are The nucleus is a
negatively charged small, dense core
particles that are with a positive
embedded in the charge.
body of the atom. He discovered the
nucleus in an atom