Adolfo Levano PHYS 1010

E-Portfolio Assignment
The Signature Assignment Parts
1. Name: Vega.
2. Distance from Earth in light years: 25 light-years from the earth.
3. When the light from the star now visible in the skies of Earth
actually left the star: The light visible from the star actually left the star 25
years ago in 1990.
4. Its size compared to the Sun: The radius of the sun is 695,800 KM and the
radius of Vega is 1,960,000 KM. This means that, Vega is 2.82 times the size
of the sun.
5. The stars luminosity compared to the Sun: The luminosity of Vega is 50
L so its 50 times the brightness of the sun.
1. Name: Gamma Lyrae.
2. Distance from Earth in light years: 620 light-years from the earth.
3. When the light from the star now visible in the skies of Earth
actually left the star: The light is visible from the star actually left the star
620 years ago in 1395.
4. Its size compared to the Sun: The radius of the sun is 695,800 KM and the
radius of Gamma Lyrae is 15 Solar Radius. This means that, Gamma Lyrae is
fifteen times the radius of the sun.
5. The stars luminosity compared to the Sun: The luminosity of Gamma
Lyrae is 2100 times the luminosity of the sun.
1. Name: Beta Lyrae.
2. Distance from Earth in light years: 960 light-years from the earth.
3. When the light from the star now visible in the skies of Earth
actually left the star: The light is visible from the star actually left the star
960 years ago in 1055.
4. Its size compared to the Sun: The radius of the sun is 695,800 KM and
there are two radiuses of Beta Lyrae 6.0+-0.2 solar radiuses and 15.2 +-0.2
solar radiuses.
5. The stars luminosity compared to the Sun: The luminosity of Beta Lyrae
is about 80 times as luminous compared to the sun.
1. Name: Theta Lyrae
2. Distance from Earth in light years: 770 light-years from the earth
3. When the light from the star now visible in the skies of Earth
actually left the star: The light is visible from the star actually left the star
770 years ago in 1245.
4. Its size compared to the Sun: The radius of the sun is 695,800 KM and the
radius of Thera Lyrae is 57 +-7 radiuses solar.
5. The stars luminosity compared to the Sun: The luminosity of Theta
Lyrae is about 913 times more luminous than the sun.

Adolfo Levano PHYS 1010

Thetra
Lyrae

Vega

Gamma Lyrae

Beta Lyrae

Adolfo Levano PHYS 1010

Equation Analysis
Equation 1: E = mc2
Question 1: Find out what the things in this equation (using your book or a
net search will do it) are and identify them as either variables or
constants.
Term
E
M
C

Meaning
Energy
Mass
Speed of
light

Variable/Cons
tant
Variable
Variable
Constant

Question 2: What is the size of c2?

The speed of light, which is 186,282 miles per second.
Question 3: Are mass and energy related? Answer yes or no and then
provide a brief explanation of your answer based on the analysis of the
equation.
Yes, they are related because energy equals mass times the speed of light.
Question 4: Analyze the statement: if it is possible to change mass into
energy a little bit of mass could produce a lot of energy. Is it true or not?
Yes, this statement is true. You can see in the equation E=mc2 that small amounts
of mass times the speed of light square, which is a really big number, small
amounts of mass can generate a big amout of energy. However, a big amount of
energy could have a small mass.
Question 5: Is the mass m ever negative?
No, it cant ever be negative because a person cannot have negative mass.
Question 6: Is c ever negative?
Yes, c can be negative because the way to represent the direction of c can be
negative or positive depending in which direction is going.
Question 7: Can c2 ever be negative?

Adolfo Levano PHYS 1010

Mathematically speaking, if we square any number it will be positive. The answer is
no.

Question 8: Given your previous answers, can mc2 ever be negative?

Since m is positive and c^2 is always positive then they can never be a negative.
Question 9: Is energy ever actually negative (can something have a
negative energy of existence)?
Since m is positive and c^2 is always positive and E=mc^2 then E can never be
negative.
Question 10: Does energy ever have a direction (is it scalar or vector)?
Energy does not have direction because it is scalar.
Question 11: Can the negative on the left hand side of the equation ever
mean a direction for energy?
No, because energy is scalar.
Question 12: Some scientists thought that this negative sign was just a
mathematical oddity or scrap that had no physical meaning. Why might
they think that?
Because energy is scalar and because mc^2 cant be negative.
Question 13: Is the negative sign actually meaningless or does this
mathematical peculiarity actually mean something? If so, what?
It could mean something. Negative energy has never been observed. But, it could
exist theoretically somewhere in the universe as a wormhole or something like that.

Learning about a Law of Physics

Newtons First Law of Motion:
Every object continues in a state of rest or uniform speed in a straight line unless
acted upon by a non-zero net force.
Objects or things do not spontaneously start moving or stop moving or even change
direction. Something has to push or pull on them to cause them to move, stop, or
change direction and speed.

Adolfo Levano PHYS 1010

The most obvious example is a physics book sitting on a table not moving, then I
kick it (just for the experiment) and it moves.
Another example is a sled sliding across ice. It will travel for a long time before
slowing to a stop because of friction.
Lastly, think of some dishes on the table, if you rip the table cloth right from
underneath them, they do not move because there is no net force exerted on them.

The Rare Earth Hypothesis and its Features

The rare earth hypothesis states that the conditions that have made life on
earth possible are extremely rare. It is improvable that all of those conditions
just happen to exist on another planet.
According to the rare earth hypothesis some of the features that a habitable planet
must have are:

Planet has to be a terrestrial planet, meaning that there has to be a surface

and it has to be the right size, large enough to hold it atmosphere through it
gravitational pull.
It also has to stay on its orbit all the time.
It also has to orbit around a star like the sun but not to be too close or too far.

We have now discovered many exoplanets, planets that are similar to earth because
they orbit around a star like the sun. However, after thousands of them being
discovered and still no sign of life have been seen; this just supports the rare earth
hypothesis and shows how rare the conditions of life really are in the universe.

Adolfo Levano PHYS 1010