Earth and Beyond - Physics

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KS4 Earth and Beyond

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What we once thought……
I don’t think so!!!
Copernicus

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The Solar System
What makes up the Solar System?
1. ___________
2. ___________
3. ___________
4. ___________
5. ___________
The Sun
The planets
Moons
Asteroids
Comets
Which of the above are light sources?

Our Sun is a star

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The Sun
The Sun is the source of energy for life on Earth. Where
does this energy come from?
What would happen on Earth if the Sun suddenly
disappeared?
The Sun is powered by nuclear fusion reactions.
Atomic nuclei are joined together (fused) due to the
high pressures inside the Sun.
All plants would die (no photosynthesis), animals
would die (no food source), temperatures would drop,
there would be no light, it would lead to the end of all
life on Earth.

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The Sun and energy
Scientists were once confused.
If the Sun, they thought, was powered
by chemical reactions how has it
managed to stay ‘burning’ for millions of
years?
There must have been another process
producing the energy from the
Sun…………. Nuclear Fusion.
What two elements constitute most of the Sun?
How old is the Sun?
Hydrogen and helium
Four and a half billion years

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Nuclear fusion
In nuclear fusion
reactions, lighter
nuclei are joined
together
(fused)……
….to form heavier
atomic nuclei.
This releases massive amounts or energy.
In our Sun, a typical
star, hydrogen is
being fused into
helium, this
provides the energy
for life on Earth.
When all the
hydrogen is used
up, other elements
will be fused
together to make
even heavier
elements.
Not all elements are
made in this way,
the heaviest
elements, some of
which are found in
your body can only
be made when stars
explode.

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Stellar Evolution 1
Lighter stars like our Sun…..
Nebula collapses
due to gravity
Forms a
star like our
Sun
Expands to
form a Red
Giant
Outer layers of star drift away to
leave a dense White Dwarf
Very small nebula form failed stars

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Stars a lot heavier than our Sun…..
Larger nebula collapses
due to gravity
Forms a star more
massive than our Sun
Expand to form
Super-massive
Red Giant
Red Giant collapses
violently in supernova
explosion
Super-dense
Neutron Star
formed
Stellar Evolution 2

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If the original nebula was massive enough, then when it goes
supernova it leaves a star so dense that not even light can escape
its gravitational pull.
This is called A Black Hole!
Some scientists believe that
there are Black Holes at the
centre of galaxies.
Homework Task:
If light can escape a Black
Hole, then how do we see it?
Stellar Evolution 3

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The life cycle of a star

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Black Holes
How can you see a Black Hole?
You don’t (AND IT WOULDN’T BE BLACK).
You see the effect it has on nearby matter.
If there is a star nearby, matter from the star will
spiral into the Black Hole and as it does so the
matter emits X ray radiation which we can detect.
X rays

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Put the following in a flow diagram to show the
life cycles of stars.
It has been started for you:
Nebula
White dwarf
Neutron star
The Sun
Red Giant
Supernova
Super-massive
Red Giant
Star larger than
our Sun
smaller
nebula
larger
nebula

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The Lifecycle of a star:
Nebula
smaller
nebula
larger
nebula
White dwarf
The Sun
Red Giant
Neutron star
Super-massive
Red Giant
Star larger than
our Sun
Supernova

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Star questions:
1. What two elements make up most of our Sun?
2. What is a nebula?
3. What process has allowed the Sun to emit light and
heat radiation over billions of years?
4. Which is the most dense, a white dwarf or a neutron
star?
5. Describe the possible fate of a star similar to our Sun.
Hydrogen and helium
Cloud of gas and dust
Nuclear fusion
Neutron star
 Red Giant  White Dwarf

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The Sun’s gravity:
1. What force keeps the planets in orbit around the Sun?
2. Which planet shown will feel this force ………..
a) The strongest? b) The weakest?
Not to scale!
Gravity

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Where did the Sun come from?
This causes the
“nebula” to collapse
Gravity causes a dust and
gas cloud to condense into
a smaller volume
As the nebula collapses,
temperatures and pressures
inside the nebula increase.
When the temperature and
pressure are great enough
nuclear fusion starts.
Eventually gravity and the
outward pressure of
escaping energy is
balanced, and at this stage
it is called a star.
Put the sentences in the correct order.

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Satellites
1. What are the two types of satellite?
2. Give an example of each type?
3. Why are some satellites, like the
Hubble Space Telescope shown, put
into space?
Natural and artificial
Natural – The Moon
Artificial – Navigation, spy, military,
weather, communications
So the Earth’s atmosphere does not get in the way.

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Polar and Geo stationery
Geo stationery
Satellites spin around at the
same speed as the Earth, stay
above the same location on
the Earth’s surface.
Polar
Satellites orbit around the
poles, whilst the Earth spins
underneath, allowing large
areas of Earth to be seen.

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Say if the satellites below have a polar orbit
or a geo-stationery orbit:
Polar Geo stationery
Communications
Communications
Spy
Spy
Weather
Weather
Navigation
Navigation

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Comparing orbits
Polar Geo stationery
Height of orbit
Orbital speed
Orbits per day
Orbit position
Example
Use a textbook or other resource to fill in the table below:
lower higher
faster slower
3-4 1
around poles above equator
weather communications

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Can you put these in the correct size order,
smallest first?
1. __________
2. __________
3. __________
4. __________
5. __________
Earth
The Sun
The Solar System
The Milky Way
The Universe
Earth
The Sun
The Solar System
The Milky Way
The Universe

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Match the words and definitions:
A star
A planet
A galaxy
The Universe
The Solar
System
There are nine of these in our
Solar System. The Earth is one.
Our Sun is one.
Billions of stars together - ours
is called the Milky Way.
The Sun, planets, moons,
asteroids and comets make up
this.
All the galaxies and everything
else.

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Identify the different bodies:
A galaxy A star The Universe

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Red shifts

Listen to the noise a plane makes as it passes you……
As the plane
approaches it sounds
higher pitched……….
…then when it is moving
away from you, it sounds
lower pitched.
This is due to the Doppler effect, the same thing happens with
light. Approaching objects have the wavelength of the light
they emit shortened (red-shifted), receding objects have the
wavelength of light they emit increased (blue-shifted).
 


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Hubble
Hubble was a famous scientist who examined the light
from nearby galaxies. He noticed two things:
1. That most of the galaxies’ light was shifted towards the
red end of the spectrum;
2. The further away a galaxy was, the more its light was
red-shifted.
From these observations he concluded:
1. That most galaxies were moving away from our own;
2. The further away a galaxy was, the faster it was moving
away from us;
3. And therefore he concluded that the universe is
expanding.

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Fate of the Universe Research
What is the possible origin and fate of the Universe?
Using a textbook, CD-Rom or the internet try to find two
different theories about the origins and fate of the
Universe.
Hints:
Cosmic microwave
background radiation
The Big Bang
The Big Crunch
Hubble
Expanding Universe
Red-shifts
Open Universe
Closed Universe
Steady State Theory
Density

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The Big Bang Theory
This theory states that the Universe is expanding due to
a large ‘explosion’ (big bang) billions of years ago.
Evidence?
1. The Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB), which is
thought to be an ‘echo’ of the initial explosion.
2. Hubble’s observations about red-shifted light.
There are different fates for the Universe with this theory:
1. The Universe expands for ever if there is not enough gravity to halt
its expansion – OPEN UNIVERSE.
2. The Universe will eventually start to contract due to gravity –
CLOSED UNIVERSE.

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Steady State Theory
This theory states that the Universe is expanding and
as it expands matter is created to maintain a uniform
universal density of matter.
Evidence?
Hubble’s observations about red-shifted light.
However:
This theory has become less popular since the discovery of
Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation (CMB).

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Are we alone?
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If there are aliens
they would have
contacted us by now.
The Universe is so big,
even if there are aliens,
they are too far away for us
to ever meet them.
Life exists on Earth
and only on Earth.
If there are aliens they
will probably not look
like you or me.
For life to exist there
must be liquid water,
on a planet or moon
and oxygen.
You have 10 minutes!!!
We are all aliens, life began
on comets and asteroids
and transferred to the Earth
when they collided with it.
In pairs discuss the points below and then share you ideas
with the rest of the group.

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What is the name of the furthest planet
from the Sun?
A. Earth
B. Jupiter
C. Pluto
D. Venus


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Why is Venus hotter than Mercury?
A. It is closer to the Sun
B. It is further away from the Sun
C. Acid Rain
D. The Greenhouse Effect 

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What object from the Solar System is shown?
A. Comet
B. Planet
C. Asteroid
D. Moon


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What elements is the Sun mostly made from?
A. Iron and nickel
B. Strontium
C. Hydrogen and helium
D. Helium and neon


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Which of these planets has two moons
called ‘Fear’ and ‘Dread’?
A. Earth
B. Venus
C. Saturn
D. Mars
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