Radiation & the Big Bang!

Students may indicate learning when they:

1. Properties of light
travels in straight lines
travels through a vacuum
can be transmitted, reflected and absorbed
2. Relate frequency, wavelength and speed using v=f.
3. Recall the reflection of light and identify everyday examples of reflection.
4. Recall how light is refracted when it passes from one medium to another and identify
everyday examples
5. Distinguish between the different types of radiation that make up the Electromagnetic
Spectrum.
6. Explain radioactivity in terms of the release of particles & energy from the nuclei of
atoms i.e. alpha & beta particles and gamma radiation
7. Use the Geiger counter to investigate the penetrating power of different types of
radiation.
8. List benefits and problems of nuclear energy in medicine & industry.
9. Give sources & receptors of different electromagnetic radiation types.
10. Identify that some types of electromagnetic radiation are used to provide information
about the universe. e.g. radio, infra-red, light, x-ray & gamma ray.
11. Describe some of the difficulties in obtaining information about the universe.
12. Summarise the big-bang theory about the origin of the universe.
13. Relate some major features of the universe to the Big Bang Theory.
14. Describe some changes that are likely to take place in the life of a star.



REVISION QUESTIONS RADIATION AND THE BIG BANG
1. Why is the fact that light can travel through a vacuum important for astronomers?
As space is a vacuum if the EM spectrum required a medium then there would be no
information coming back to earth.
EM spectrum so it is a wave. Light also has properties of a particle where the
photons can move


3. What does absorption of light mean?
Stopping light is absorption. What you see when you look at an object is the light
that bounces off it.


4. Looking at a green leaf how does absorption explain what you see.
The green of the leaf is not absorbed. All other colours are absorbed but the green is
reflected back.


5. If you were living on a planet 100 light years away from earth and had a very powerful telescope what
would you see when you looked at life on earth? Explain your answer.
Life as it was 100 years ago.






6. What is the relationship between frequency and wavelength on the EM spectrum. What are the
units for frequency and wavelength? What is the relationship between frequency and energy?
As the wavelength is greater (radio waves) the frequency is l
The higher the



7. Calculate the following to fill in the gap use the formula v=f. Include the units.
v f v f
10 100 500 2
10 2000 3000 3
2,000,000 10,000 60000 2000

8. Draw and label a diagram that shows reflection.
Include on the diagram angle of incidence, angle of reflection.









9. Give some everyday examples of reflection
Light reflected from the concave casing of a car light to enhance its beam.



10. What does refraction mean? Draw and label a diagram that explains refraction ensuring that
you label the medium. What happens to the speed of light as it is refracted?
The denser the medium the light bends towards the normal.
Light moving into a denser medium slows down. Diagram to show angle of
refraction, angle of incidence, normal, mediums.



11. What are some everyday examples of refraction?
Concave and convex lenses used in glasses.

in radio telescope parabolic dishes to focus the information onto a receive.



13. What does EM stand for and name at least 4 types of radiation in the spectrum.
Electromagnetic. Radio, microwaves, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, X-rays and
gamma rays.


14. Is the speed of radio waves the same as gamma rays?
Yes it travels at the speed of light 3x10
8



15. What are the three particles released in radioactive material. Fill in the table and provide
descriptive information on the composition of each, their charge, distance travelled in air and how it
can be stopped. Rate its energy output.
Name Composition Charge Penetrating power Energy level





16. What breaks down in radioactive material?
Nucleus



17. What instrument do you use to measure radioactivity?
Geiger Counter detects and measures the intensity of radiation


18. List the benefits and problems of nuclear energy
Benefits radioactive isotopes for medicine, power stations
Problems disposal of waste, use as bombs


19. How would you receive information from different EM radiation types
AM, FM radio, TV, telescope,



20. How would generate different EM radiation types
Radio station, nuclear power plant, light sources



21. What are some of the difficulties an astronomer faces in obtaining information about the
universe.
The Earth's atmosphere acts as a filter to remove radiation such as cosmic rays,
gamma rays, x-rays, UV rays, and large portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
The gases, water vapour, and dust matter absorb and scatter the EM radiation.
Diffracts light.



22. Name a type of EM radiation and the information that it can provide about the universe.
Radio Telescope
Infrared Telescope - Sees heat of objects too cold to glow in visible spectrum
Telescope visible light - Hubble Space telescope avoids the the blurring of starlight
by our atmosphere
Ultra violet - Study young stars through the study of the lightest elements (hydrogen
and deuterium) created shortly after the Big Bang.
X-Ray - Decode molecular structure of substances, what planets are made of, heat
(temp) of stars, black holes.
Gamma - Integral catches a new erupting black hole through a rare kind of gamma-
ray outburst


23. Explain what you understand of the Big Bang in relation to the origin of the universe
The big bang was not an explosion but refers to the expansion of space itself.
As space expands then everything contained within space is spreading apart from
everything else.
At the earliest moments of the big bang, all of the matter, energy and space was
compressed to an area of zero volume and infinite dens ity.
Cosmologists call this a singularity.
Initially it was so hot matter could not form.






24. What are two points of evidence used to support the Big Bang
Doppler Effect: The red shift from longer wavelenghts indicates that the object is
moving away from the observer. Edwin Hubble found all objects in deep space had a
doppler shift relative to earth. Hubble studied 46 galaxies and found discovered that
there were far more galaxies in the red than the blue spectrum. Hubble concluded
from this that the universe is constantly expanding outwards and calculated the
rate of this expansion.

Background radiation - Penzias and Wilson, accidently discovered a wierd
microwave signal coming from whatever direction you look in. If the Big Bang
theory was true it must have scattered not only the matter that condensed into
galaxies but also released a tremendous blast of radiation. This Background
Radiation became evidence for the Big Bang.

25. Describe the phases in the life of a star
Stars form in clouds of gas.
Heat from nuclear fusion, and gravity balance.
When the hydrogen fuel runs out, a Red Giant is formed.
For Sun-like stars, a White Dwarf and Planetary Nebula are left.
For massive stars, a Supernova explosion leaves behind a Supernova Remnant and a
Neutron Star or perhaps even a Black Hole.