DOPPLER EFFECT
Q: An ambulance approaches (moves towards) a man with its siren beeping. Explain how the sound heard by the man changes.
A: The frequency increases, the wavelength decreases because the speed of the wave is constant
Q: An ambulance moves away from a man with its siren beeping. Explain how the sound heard by the man changes.
A: The frequency decreases, the wavelength increases because the speed of the wave is constant
NUCLEAR FUSION
Q: How does fusion differ from fission?
A: Fusion is the joining of smaller nuclei to form a large nucleus. Fission is the splitting of a large nucleus into smaller nuclei
Q: What is the similarity between fission and fusion?
A: They both release energy.
Q: State and explain the requirements for fusion?
A: Very high temperature for nuclei to come close together and overcome electrostatic force of repulsion.
Very high density to maintain a sustainable collision rate
Q: What advantages does fusion have over fission as a viable source of energy?
A: Fission products are radioactive and expensive to dispose of; whereas fusion does not produce any radioactive elements.
The most common fissile material such as uranium or plutonium is scarce in supply whereas hydrogen for fusion is available
in abundance.
For the same mass of fuel, fusion produces more energy.
ASTROPHYSICS
Q: What is a nebula?
A: It is a cloud of gas and dust
Q: What is a main sequence star?
A: A star that is burning hydrogen into helium in its core.
Gravitational pressure and radiation pressure are balanced.
The star maintains its fixed size
Q: What is a red giant?
A: A low mass star evolves into a red giant from the main sequence.
A red giant has a relatively low temperature but a high luminosity because of their large surface area
Q: What is a white dwarf?
A: A white dwarf star is the core remnant of a red giant star.
There is no fusion occurring in the white dwarf.
They have a (relatively) small surface area so they are not very luminous
Q: What is a supergiant?
A massive star evolves into a red supergiant from the main sequence.
It can cause fusion of heavier elements
Q: What is a supernova?
A: A supernova forms from a supergiant.
It can cause fusion of elements heavier than iron
Supernova explosions are most luminous phenomena in the universe
Q: What is a neutron star?
A: A neutron star forms from the core remnant of a supernova
It is very dense as protons and electrons are combined together to form neutrons
Q: What is a black hole?
A: A black hole forms from the core remnant of a supernova if the mass of the core is too large
The gravitational field of black holes is so strong that even light cannot escape it.
Q: Explain why massive stars stay on the main sequence for a shorter time than low mass stars?
A: : Large mass stars have much higher gravitational forces acting on them.
Hence there is a much greater density/pressure in the core
Therefore large mass stars have a much greater rate of fusion than low mass stars
Or large mass stars use up their available hydrogen much more quickly
So high mass stars have a shorter main sequence lifetime
Q: Which star is the hottest and which one is the coolest?
A: Blue stars are the hottest and red stars are the coolest
Q: What evidence is there for an expanding universe?
A: Light from all distant galaxies are red shifted meaning all distant galaxies are moving away from each other
Q: What evidence is there for BIG BANG?
A: The discovery of CMB (Cosmic Microwave Background) which is faint microwave ‘noise’ coming from all parts of the universe
indicates towards this initial explosion – the BIG BANG
Q: Explain what is meant by dark matter.
A: Dark matter does not emit any detectable electromagnetic radiation but it has mass.
Q: What evidence is there for the existence of dark matter?
A: Some stars in a galaxy orbit with higher speeds than calculated. This would require the galaxy to have a greater mass
than the calculated value. The extra mass comes from dark matter.
Q: What is meant by dark energy?
A: Dark energy is a mysterious entity that is thought to be causing the universe to expand at an accelerating rate.
Q: What is the difference between absolute magnitude and apparent magnitude?
A: Apparent magnitude is how bright the star appears from Earth and absolute magnitude is how bright the star
appears at a standard distance