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American Academy Larnaca

Year 4 Test
Double Science
Physics
Topic P1b.12: Space and its mysteries
Thursday 21 May 2009
Time: 20 minutes

Formulae:

Weight = mass × gravitational field strength W=m×g

Force = mass × acceleration F=m×a

SQ PAPER 1 Turn over

1. The table below provides information about some planets.

Saturn

Mars
Earth Sun
Jupiter

Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn

Distance from
150 × 106 228 × 106 778 × 106 1420 × 106
the Sun (km)
Time to rotate
23 hours 55 min 24 hours 40min 9 hours 50 min 10 hours 30 min
around its axis
Time to orbit the
365 days 687 days 12 years 30 years
Sun

(a) Explain why the day on Earth is similar to the day on Mars.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[1 mark]

(b) State the relationship between Distance of planet from the Sun and Time to orbit the Sun.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[1 mark]

Meteorites have since been found on Earth. Scientists think that some of these came from Mars.
There is some fossil evidence of life forms in these meteorites.
(c) This is still not enough to prove there is life on Mars. Why?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[1 mark]
(d) Consider the distances from Earth to the following objects.

1 2 3 4
Star in Milky Way Moon Another galaxy Sun

Write the numbers 1 – 4 in the correct order starting from the smallest distance from Earth.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[1 mark]

SQ PAPER 2 Turn over

(e) Explain the following observations.
(i) Some stars are more easily seen in the night sky than planets.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
(ii) Most stars appear brighter than galaxies.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[2 marks]

(f) The picture below shows the highly elliptical orbit of an object around the Sun.

Object

A E

D
Sun
C
B

(i) Tick the correct box.

The object is most likely a

Star

Comet

Planet

Moon
[1 mark]
(ii) At which point, A to E, is the force on the comet greatest? …………………
[1 mark]
(iii) Draw an arrow at point D to show the direction of the force acting on the object.
[1 mark]
(iv) Choose between points A and C to name

A point at which the object speeds up: …………

A point at which the object slows down: …………

[1 mark]

[Total for Q1: 10 marks]

________________________________________________________________________________

SQ PAPER 3 Turn over

2. The diagram shows the line spectra from a nearby galaxy and a distant galaxy.

nearby galaxy

distant galaxy

400 500 600 700

Wavelength in nm

(a) Indicate on the diagram which end of the spectrum is red.

[1 mark]
(b) What does the shift of the line spectra for the distant galaxy suggest about
its motion relative to the nearby galaxy?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[1 mark]

(c) Explain how this shift supports the “Big Bang” theory of the Universe.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[1 mark]

(d) Name one more evidence for the “Big Bang” theory.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[1 mark]

(e) The “Steady State” theory also attempts to explain our observations of the Universe.
Describe one difference between the two theories.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[1 marks]

[Total for Q2: 5 marks]

________________________________________________________________________________

SQ PAPER 4 Turn over

3. Below we see the main stages in the life of our Sun.

1 White dwarf

2 Red giant

3 Main sequence star

4 Nebula

5 Protostar

(a) Place the five stages in the correct order in time.

……… ……… ……… ……… ………

[2 marks]

(b) At which stage is our Sun found now?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[1 mark]

(c) Why is a protostar not considered to be a star yet?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[1 mark]

(d) Another star may become a black hole.

How does this star differ from our Sun?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[1 mark]

[Total for Q3: 5 marks]

________________________________________________________________________________

TOTAL FOR STRUCTURED QUESTIONS PAPER: 20 MARKS

=======================================================================

SQ PAPER 5 Turn over

Bonus Question

The graph shows one way in which the size of the Universe might change over time.
It is represented by curve A.

Size of the
Universe

X
B
A
0
Big
Bang 0 Today Time

(a) Under what conditions will the Universe follow curve A? Explain why.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[2 marks]

(b) (i) Underline the correct part in italics.

As time passes the Universe expands at a lower / the same / a higher rate.
[1 mark]
(ii) Explain your choice.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[1 mark]

Curve A is not the only possible future of the Universe.

(b) Continue line B to show another possible evolution of the Universe.
[1 mark]

Scientists suggest that dark matter is present in the Universe.

(c) Which of the two possibilities, A or B, is more likely if dark matter is present? …………………
[1 mark]

SQ PAPER 6 Turn over

The light from galaxies shows a red-shift compared to the light we get from the Sun.
(d) If the universe is evolving according to curve A:

(i) Why will the red shift become zero when the universe is at point X?
(Refer to graph on previous page)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[1 mark]

(ii) After point X, how will the light we get from galaxies compare to the one we get
from the Sun? Explain this considering the motion of galaxies according to curve A.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
[2 marks]

(iii) What force causes the galaxies to move this way?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………

[Total for Bonus Question: 10 marks]

________________________________________________________________________________

END

SQ PAPER 7