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CAIE IGCSE
PHYSICS (0625)
THEORY
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CAIE IGCSE PHYSICS
Orbital speed
Average orbital speed: u = 2πr
1. Space Physics T
r is the average radius of the orbit.
1.1. The Earth and the solar system T is the orbital period (time for one orbit)
The Moon travels in a circular path around the Earth
Motion of the Earth
Distance traveled in one orbit is the circumference of
The Earth spins on its axis, causing day and night. the circle, 2πr
One complete rotation takes 24 hours. Time taken for one orbit is T
Day is for the half of the Earth facing the Sun and night for Speed is distance divided by time, so orbital speed is 2πr
T
the half facing away.
The Solar System
Rising and setting of the Sun
It contains:
Earth's rotation causes the Sun to appear to move east to
The sun as a star
west daily.
Eight planets in elliptical orbits (slightly oval orbits)
Rises exactly in the east and sets exactly in the west at
equinoxes. Dwarf planets and asteroids orbiting the Sun
In northern hemisphere summer, the Sun rises north of Moons orbiting many planets
east and sets north of west. Smaller bodies like comets and natural satellites
In winter, rises and sets south of these points. Inner Planets
The seasons Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars
Caused by Earth's motion around the Sun (365 days) and Small, similar size
tilt of its axis. Solid and rocky with layered structures
Motion of the Moon High density
Moon is a satellite of Earth, orbiting approximately every Formed close to the Sun where it was too hot for gases to
month condense, allowing only metals and silicates to form solid
bodies
Average distance from Earth is about 400,000 km .
In the early Solar System, the Sun's heat caused lighter
Revolves on its axis, always showing the same side to Earth
gases to evaporate, leaving only heavy elements like iron
Reflects sunlight, has no atmosphere, weaker gravitational
and silicon to form solid planets.
field (one-sixth of Earth)
Outer Planets
Phases of the Moon
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
Moon's appearance changes during its monthly orbit
Much larger and colder
New Moon: Moon between Sun and Earth, unlit side faces
Mainly consist of gases, low density
Earth
Many moons and rings of icy materials
Crescent appears and increases until the first quarter (half
of the Moon visible) Formed in cooler regions where gases could condense,
capturing even the lightest elements
Full Moon: Moon opposite Earth from the Sun, fully visible
In the outer regions of the Solar System, lower
Waning (where the moon's illumination decreases) phases temperatures allowed gases like hydrogen and helium to
follow, leading to the last quarter and old crescent
remain in solid or liquid forms, leading to the formation of
gas giants with thick atmospheres.
Asteroids
Pieces of rock of various sizes, mostly between Mars and
Jupiter
Orbit around the Sun
Similar density to inner planets
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CAIE IGCSE PHYSICS
Burn up in Earth's atmosphere as meteors Time ≈ 1.5×108
300,000 seconds ≈ 500 seconds
Comets Convert the time from seconds to minutes:
Dust embedded in ice made from water and methane Time ≈ 500
60
≈ 8.33 minutes
Orbits the Sun in highly elliptical paths It takes light from the sun around 8 minutes to reach the
Develop a bright long tail when approaching the Sun due to Earth.
radiation pressure
1.2. The sun
Medium-sized star composed mainly of hydrogen and
helium.
Emits energy in the infrared, visible, and ultraviolet regions
of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Source of Energy
Energy from nuclear reactions in the core.
Hydrogen undergoes nuclear fusion to form helium,
releasing energy.
Energy from the core heats outer layers, causing them to
glow and emit radiation.
Elliptical Orbits
Planets, dwarf planets, and comets orbit the Sun in an
ellipse
Sun is at one focus of the ellipse, not the center
Comets have highly elliptical orbits, while planets' orbits are
more circular
Origin of the Solar System
Formed from gravitational attraction pulling together
clouds of hydrogen gas and dust (nebulae)
Solar System formed about 4500 million years ago
Planets formed from the disc of matter left over from the
nebula that formed the Sun
Inner planets formed from materials with high melting
temperatures like metals and silicates
Outer planets formed from light molecules that existed in
solid icy forms, growing large enough to capture hydrogen
Nuclear Reactions in Stars
Stars like the Sun are powered by nuclear fusion.
Core conditions
Hot and dense enough for hydrogen to fuse into helium.
Fusion process releases energy, maintaining high core
Travel Times
temperatures.
Distance from the Sun to Earth: approximately 150 million
Some core energy moves to outer layers, which emit
km (1.5 × 108 km )
electromagnetic radiation.
Speed of light: 300,000 kilometers per second (km/s )
Light-years
Using the formula for time:
Distance
Distance light travels in a vacuum in one year.
Time = Speed
1 light-year = 9.5 × 10¹² km = 9.5 × 10¹⁵ m
Substitute the values:
Galaxies
1.5×108
Time = 300,000
Large collections of stars, gas, and dust.
Calculate the time:
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CAIE IGCSE PHYSICS
1.3. Origin and life cycle of stars End Stage
Formation Use hydrogen rapidly, with a shorter stable phase
(about 100 million years).
Interstellar clouds of dust and gas collapse under
After helium fusion, core collapses into a red
gravitational attraction.
supergiant.
A protostar forms as mass increases and core temperature
Fusion of carbon into heavier elements occurs until iron
rises.
forms.
Hydrogen fuses into helium when the core is hot enough,
Supernova explosion releases energy and heavy
resulting in a star.
elements into space.
Star Types Neutron Star: Dense core, may act as a pulsar.
Large mass: Blue or white stars. Black Hole: Extremely dense core with gravitational field
Smaller mass: Yellow or red dwarfs (e.g., the Sun). so strong that even light cannot escape; identified by X-
Life Cycle of Stars ray radiation from nearby material.
Stable Phase
Forces of gravity inward balance with thermal pressure
outward.
Stable phase lasts up to 10 billion years.
Hydrogen converts to helium in the core.
Red Giant/Red Supergiant
As hydrogen depletes, the star becomes unstable.
Core collapses; outer layers expand and cool.
Star turns into a red giant (or red supergiant if massive).
Helium fuses into carbon in the core.
Low Mass Stars
End Stage
Core collapses into a white dwarf after all helium is
used.
Outer layers expelled, forming a planetary nebula.
White dwarf cools into a black dwarf over about a billion 1.4. The universe
years. Milky Way
High Mass Stars (more than 8 times the Sun’s mass) Approximately 100,000 light-years in diameter.
Contains around 800 billion or more stars.
A spiral galaxy with a central bulge and spiral arms.
Redshift
The phenomenon where light from distant galaxies shifts
towards the red end of the spectrum (longer wavelength).
Light emitted from stars in distant galaxies appears redder
compared to light from closer galaxies.
Doppler Effect
Occurs when a source of waves (e.g., sound or light) moves
relative to an observer.
Approaching Source: Waves are compressed, resulting in a
higher frequency and pitch (blue shift for light).
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CAIE IGCSE PHYSICS
Receding Source: Waves are stretched, resulting in a lower
frequency and pitch (red shift for light).
Speed of Recession
The speed at which distant galaxies are moving away can
be calculated from the amount of redshift observed.
Some of the most distant galaxies are receding at speeds
up to one-third the speed of light.
The observed redshift supports the idea that the Universe
is expanding, which is consistent with the Big Bang theory.
Big Bang Theory
Initial State: Proposes that the Universe began from an
extremely hot and dense state around 14 billion years ago.
Expansion: The Universe has been expanding ever since
the Big Bang.
Microwave Background Radiation
This radiation is a remnant from the Big Bang and fills the
entire Universe.
The radiation has been redshifted into the microwave
region due to the expansion of the Universe.
Provides strong evidence for the Big Bang theory and
insights into the early Universe.
Age of the Universe
Hubble’s Law: The relationship between the speed of
recession (v ) and the distance (d ) of galaxies is given by:
v = H0 × d
Hubble Constant (H0 ): H0 = vd
H0 measures the rate of the Universe's expansion. A higher
value indicates a faster rate of expansion.
H0 is estimated to be approximately 2.2 × 10−18 s−1
Age Estimation: The age of the Universe is approximately:
1
Age of the Universe ≈ H0
Detailed Calculation
1
Age of the Universe ≈ 2.2×10−18 s−1
≈ 4.5 × 1017 s
17
4.5×10 s
Age of the Universe ≈ 3.2×107 s/year
≈ 1.4 × 1010 years ≈
14 billion years
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CAIE IGCSE
PHYSICS (0625)
THEORY
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