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Pre-IGCSE Physics Year 9 Course Book - 230306 - 170732
Pre-IGCSE Physics Year 9 Course Book - 230306 - 170732
1
INDEX
1 MEASUREMENTS 3
1.1 Introduction to measurements 4-6
1.2 Number and units 7-9
1.3 System of units 10-15
1.4 Measuring length 16-19
1.5 Measuring time 20-22
1.6 Measuring mass 23-25
1.7 Measuring volume 26-30
1.8 Measuring density 31-36
1.9 Scalars and vectors 37-43
2 ELECTRICITY 44
2.1 Electric charge 45-47
2.2 Charging 48-50
2.3 Earthing and induced charges 51-54
2.4 Electric field 55-58
2.5 Conductors and insulators 59-61
3 EARTH AND SPACE 62
3.1 Structure of the Earth 63-66
3.2 Tectonic plates 67-71
3.3 Earthquakes 72-78
3.4 The solar system 79-88
3.5 Living in space 89-98
3.6 The life cycle of a star 99-105
2
UNIT 1
MEASUREMENTS
3
1.1 Introduction to Measurements
Figure 1.1 Size of the sub nuclear particles Figure 1.2 The distance from Earth to the Moon
may seem immense, but it is just a tiny fraction
of the distances from Earth to other celestial
bodies. (credit: NASA)
There are a large number of physical quantities to measure and they are classified
basically into two categories: Fundamental and Derived Quantities.
4
Fundamental Quantities:
Mass Kilogram kg
Time Second s
Temperature Kelvin K
Length Meter m
Derived Quantities:
There are only 7 fundamental quantities, rest physical quantities are known
as Derived Quantities. The physical quantities that depend on other quantities
for their measurements are called Derived Quantities. They are many in number
and are obtained by mathematical calculations of fundamental quantities. The
units that determine derived quantities are called Derived Units.
Few examples:
Quantity Unit Symbol
Area Meter2 m2
Volume Meter3 m3
Force Kilogram-meter N
second2 (newton)
Density Kilogram/meter3 Kg/m3
5
Exercise:
Use your ruler to measure the length and breadth of the rectangle.
Record your reading in centimetres (cm) below.
Length = _______________ Breadth = _______________
6
1.2 Numbers and units
When you make a measurement, you might get a result like the one above: a
distance of 12 m. The complete measurement is called a physical quantity. It is
made up of two parts: a number and a unit.
12 m really means 12 x m (twelve times metre), just as in algebra, 12x means 12
X x (twelve times x). You can treat the m just like a symbol in an algebraic
equation. This is important when combining units.
Combining units
In the diagram above, the girl cycles 10 metres in 2 s. So she travels 5 metres
every second. Her speed is 5 metres per second. To work out the speed, you
divide the distance travelled by the time taken, like this:
10 𝑚
speed= (s is the symbol for second)
2𝑠
Advanced units
As m and s can be treated as algebraic symbols: 1/s can also be written
as s-1. So the speed can
be written as 4 m s-1.
10 𝑚 𝑚 This method of
speed = . =5
2 𝑠 𝑠 showing units is more
𝑚 common in advanced
To save space, 5 is usually written as 5m/s.
𝑠 work.
So m/s is the unit of speed.
7
10
This equation is incorrect: speed= = 5 m/s
2
It is incorrect because the m and s have been left out. 10 divided by 2 equals 5
and not 5 m/s.
Strictly speaking, units should be included at all stages of a calculation, not just at
the end. However, in this book, the 'incorrect' type of equation will sometimes be
used so that you can follow the arithmetic without units which make the
calculation look more complicated.
You can make a unit bigger or smaller by putting an extra symbol. called a prefix,
in front. (Below, W stands for watt, a unit of power.)
Scientific notation
3.20 x 105
Exercise:
4. This equation is used to work out the area of a rectangle: area= length X width.
If a rectangle measures 3 m by 2 m, calculate its area, and include the units in
your calculation.
7. Using scientific notation, write down the following to two significant figures:
1500 m 1500 000 m 0.15 m 0.015m
9
1.3 System of units
Unit
Example:
John studies for 3 hours, then “3” is the number or quantity and “hour” is the
unit of time.
Sam weighs 81 kilograms or kg then “81” is the number or quantity and “kg” is
the unit of weight.
Steve is 20 cm taller than Jane, here “20” presents number or quantity and
“cm” represents unit of length.
Every quantity in physical world requires a unit to explain or define it. It is because
of units only; the physical world is classified so well. Imagine what the condition
of Earth would be if there is no unit. To be precise, we won’t be able to calculate
things which will deteriorate the business markets. Adding further we won’t be
able to define quantities, which would end up creating a lot of daily problems to
all of us. To avoid so many confusions and problems physicist defined unit.
10
The System of Unit is defined as a set of units involved in arithmetic operations
of various physical quantities with the help of conversion factors. It further helps
in conveying information from one region to another in terms of units which
makes business and relations much easier.
How do we choose a standard unit for a physical quantity? There are two points
to consider while choosing a unit.
The unit should be internationally accepted; otherwise, everyone will come
with their own unit and create a hoax. This would abrupt communication
between two countries and end up degrading their economy. The right to
decide and mention unit is authorized by a body known as “General
Conference on Weight and Measures”. The organization held meetings and
addresses the changes in measurement through its publications.
The unit should hold good with other international units.
Most scientists use SI units (full name: Le Systeme International d'Unités). The
basic SI units for measuring mass, time, and length are the kilogram, the second,
and the metre. From these base units come a whole range of units for measuring
volume, speed, force, energy, and other quantities.
Other SI base units include the ampere (for measuring electric current) and the
kelvin (for measuring temperature).
Quantity SI Unit Symbol
Mass kilogram kg
Time second s
Temperature Kelvin K
Length metre m
Units of Time, Length, and Mass: The Second, Meter, and Kilogram:
The SI unit for length is the metre (abbreviated m); its definition has also changed
over time to become more accurate and precise. The metre was first defined in
1791 as 1/10,000,000 of the distance from the equator to the North Pole. This
measurement was improved in 1889 by redefining the metre to be the distance
between two engraved lines on a platinum-iridium bar now kept near Paris.
In 1983, the metre was given its present definition as the distance light travels in
a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second. This change defines the speed of light to
be exactly 299,792,458 metres per second. The length of the metre will change if
the speed of light is someday measured with greater accuracy.
12
Length Comparison with base unit Scientific notation
1 kilometre (km) 1000 m 103 m
1 metre (m) 1m -
1 centimeter (cm) _1_ m 10-2 m
100
1 millimetre (mm) _1_ m 10-3 m
1000
1 micrometre (µm) ___1____ m 10-6 m
1 000 000
1 nanometre (nm) _____1_____ m 10-9 m
1 000 000 000
The SI unit for time, the second (abbreviated s), has a long history. For many years
it was defined as 1/86,400 of a mean solar day. More recently, a new standard
was adopted to gain greater accuracy and to define the second in terms of a non-
varying, or constant, physical phenomenon (because the solar day is getting
longer due to very gradual slowing of the Earth’s rotation). Cesium atoms can be
made to vibrate in a very steady way, and these vibrations can be readily observed
and counted. In 1967 the second was redefined as the time required for
9,192,631,770 of these vibrations.
The SI unit for mass is the kilogram (abbreviated kg); it is defined to be the mass
of a platinum-iridium cylinder kept with the old meter standard at the
International Bureau of Weights and Measures near Paris. Exact replicas of the
standard kilogram are also kept at other locations around the world.
13
Mass Comparison with base unit Scientific notation
1 tonne (t) 1000 kg 103 kg
1 kilogram (kg) 1 kg -
1 gram (g) __1_ kg 10-3 kg
1000
1 milligram (mg) _1_ g & ___1____ kg 10-6 kg
1000 1 000 000
Exercise:
4. The 500 pages of a book have a mass of 2.70 kg. What is the mass of each
page a) in kg b) in mg?
5.
km µg µm t nm kg m
s mg ns g mm µs ms
Arrange the units from the box in the columns as below. The units in each
column should be in order, with the largest at the top.
14
mass length time
15
1.4 Measuring length
Length
The standard unit of Length is a metre, but being a small unit we refer to big units
to make measurements simple. Some examples of the unit are:
Height is measured in “foot” and “inches”, 1 feet contains 12 inches, and 1
inch means 0.0254 metres
Distance is measured in kilometres, 1 kilometre or km equals to 1000 metre.
While performing experiments in Physics lab we prefer small units like
millimetre and centimetre, 1 metre = 100 centimetres, and 1 centimetre = 10
millimetres.
Measurement of Length
We know some direct methods of measuring length using different kinds of
instruments. For example, we use centimeter scale to draw lines and measure the
length of small objects. When the nature of measuring objects change, we switch
to new instruments.
Some examples include:
Lengths of several metres can be measured using a tape with a scale on it.
With small objects, more accurate length measurements can be made using
the methods shown below.
16
1. Micrometer (below left): This has a revolving barrel with an extra scale on
it. The barrel is connected to a screw thread and, in the example shown,
each turn of the barrel closes (or opens) the gap by half a millimetre. First,
the gap is opened wide. Then it is closed up until the object being measured
just fits in it (a 'clicking' sound is heard). The diagram shows you how to take
the reading.
2. Vernier calipers (below right): This is an extra sliding scale fitted to some
length-measuring instruments. Its divisions are set slightly closer together
than normal so that one of them coincides with a division on the fixed scale.
The diagram shows you how to take the reading. (The vernier shown is part
of a set of calipers used for making external measurements. A second type
of caliper has jaws for making internal measurements.)
Zero error
17
Exercise:
1. A student wants to find the thickness of one page of this book. Explain how
she might do this accurately.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________
3. Name two units of length which are bigger than a metre. How are they
related to the metre?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
4. Five ball bearings are arranged by the side of the ruler, with two set squares
at either ends of the ball bearings.
18
5. Rules that are 30 cm long are often made of wood or plastic that is thicker in
the middle, and thinner along the edges where the scale is printed. Explain why
the user is less likely to make an error if the rule is thinner at the edge, and
suggest reasons why the rule is thicker in the middle.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
6. Joko uses a plastic ruler to measure the length of the pencil, as shown in the
diagram below.
19
1.5 Measuring time
Time
Measurement of Time
To measure a time interval we need a clock. Modern clocks work on the atomic
standard of time, which is based on the periodic vibrations produced in a Cesium
atom. That’s why atomic clocks are also called Cesium Clock. The standard unit of
time is second.
Second is the universally accepted unit of time. 1 second is defined as the time
taken for 9,192,631,770 vibrations of the radiation relative to the transition
between two levels of ground state of Cesium-133 atom. The vibrations in atomic
or cesium clock are same as those in quartz clock which is mostly used in wrist
watches. The Cesium atomic clocks are very accurate and long lasting.
20
number. There are buttons for starting the timing, stopping it, and resetting the
instrument to zero.
Simple Pendulum
A simple pendulum consists of a small mass like a metal bob suspended by a string
of negligible mass from a fixed support. A pendulum can be set up to investigate
the time taken for a single swing.
The pendulum above takes about two seconds to make one complete swing
Provided the swings are small, every swing takes the same time. This time is called
its period. You can find it accurately by measuring the time for 25 swings, and
then dividing the result by 25.
For example:
21
Exercise:
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________
22
1.6 Measuring mass
Mass
In physics, we define mass as a physical property of a body. Mass is a measure
which helps in analyzing how strong is a mutual attraction between two bodies
(Gravitation Concept). It is generally a wrong belief that mass is same as weight,
as mass is a constant quantity, whereas weight is a variable quantity.
Suppose you go to the moon and weigh yourself you will find your weight
measure to be different from that of earth, and as usual, your mass on both
planets will be same. The reason behind difference of weight between earth and
the moon is the gravitational acceleration.
Measuring Mass
We measure mass in different forms and with different methods. Consider the
following example:
23
Common objects, humans or other products can be weighed using weighing
machine and common balance, as used in grocery shops
We use gravitational formula, to determine masses of large celestial bodies like
earth, stars, sun and the moon
For measuring sub-atomic and atomic elements, we use mass spectrograph, in
which radius of path of atomic particle is directly proportional to mass of
charged particle moving under the influence of strong electric and magnetic
field.
The device on the right is called a beam balance. It is the simplest and probably
the oldest, way of finding the mass of something. You put the object in one pan,
then add standard masses to the other pan until the beam balances in a level
position.
A more modern type of balance is shown on the left. It detects the gravitational
pull on the object on the pan, but gives its reading in units of mass.
The beam balance is really comparing weights rather than masses. Weight is the
downward pull of gravity. The beam balances when the downward pull on one
pan.is equal to the downward pull on the other. However, masses can be
compared because of the way gravity acts on them. If the objects in the two pans
have the same weight, they must also have the same mass.
When using a balance like the one above, you might say that you were 'weighing'
something. However, what you measure in kg is the mass of the object, not its
weight. Weight is a force, measured in force units called newtons.
24
Exercise:
3. The Body Mass Index (BMI) of a person is measured by taking the mass of
the person divided by the square of his/her height. Use the information
provided to work out the derived SI unit for BMI.
____________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________
25
1.7 Measuring volume
Volume
26
However, not all of the things for which we want to find a volume are regular
three-dimensional shapes, and not all of them are solids. We might want to find
the volume of a gas or a liquid.
In such a case, it is usually not possible to attempt to find the volume of such an
object by taking its measurements. Fortunately, there are a number of techniques
that can be used to find the volume of things that are not regularly shaped solids.
Measuring volume
Liquid The liquid can be poured into a graduated measuring cylinder (as shown
below to the left), and its volume can then be seen by looking at the graduations
on the side of the measuring cylinder. Although the SI unit of volume is the cubic
metre (m3), the volume of a liquid is usually expressed in terms of litres. A litre
has the same volume as a cubic decimeter (a decimeter is one tenth of a metre).
A cubic metre of a liquid is thus equivalent to one thousand litres (1000 L).
How to read the measuring cylinder? When poured into the cylinder, the liquid
forms a meniscus at the top. The meniscus is the curve seen at the top of a liquid
in response to its container. It can be either concave or convex, depending on
the surface tension of the liquid and its adhesion to the wall of the cylinder (as
shown in the picture on the right).
A concave meniscus (or lower meniscus) occurs when the molecules of the liquid
are more strongly attracted to the cylinder than to each other. The liquid appears
27
to "stick" to the edge of the cylinder. Most liquids, including water, present a
concave meniscus.
A convex meniscus (or upper meniscus) is produced when the molecules of the
liquid are more strongly attracted to each other than to the cylinder. A good
example of this shape of meniscus can be seen with mercury in a glass cylinder.
When you read a scale on the side of a graduated cylinder with a meniscus, it's
important that you measure such that the line you are reading is even with the
center of the meniscus. The eye or your line of sight should be in level with the
surface of the liquid.
Regular solid If an object has a simple 3D shape, its volume can be calculated
using the formulae as mentioned in the table before.
For example,
Suppose a cereal box is 10 centimeters long, 4 centimeters wide, and 20
centimeters high. What would be the volume of the box?
Solution:
Volume = Length x Width x Height
Volume = 10 cm x 4 cm x 20 cm
Volume = 800 cm3
28
There are several possible ways to use displacement to find the volume of an
irregularly shaped solid, providing the object is small enough to fit into a
graduated cylinder.
In the first method, we will fill the cylinder about two-thirds full with water. We
will lower the irregularly shaped solid whose volume is to be found, into the
cylinder until it sinks (as shown below left). The first thing to do is to read the
volume of the water in the measuring cylinder and record the value, before and
after immersing the solid into the cylinder. Subtracting the first reading from the
second will give you the volume of the irregularly shaped solid.
In the second method, If the solid is too big for a measuring cylinder, its volume
can be found using a displacement can shown below right. First, the can is filled
up to the level of the spout (this is done by overfilling it and then waiting for the
surplus water to run out). Then the solid is slowly lowered into the water. The
solid is now taking up space once occupied by the water - in other words, it has
displaced its own volume of water. The displaced water is collected in a beaker
and emptied into a measuring cylinder. The volume of the irregular solid is then
recorded.
29
Exercise:
2 3 4 ?
5 5 ? 100
6 7 5 300
? 10 10 50
6. A plastic measuring cylinder is filled with water to the 100 cm3 mark, and a
student measures the column of water in the cylinder and finds that it is 20
cm high.
a. The student pours 10 cm3 of the water out of the cylinder. How high
will the column of water be now?
b. The student then refills the cylinder back to the 100 cm3 mark by
holding it under a dripping tap. She finds that it takes 180 drops of water.
What is the volume of one of these drops?
c. What is the cross-sectional area of the cylinder? Hint: The volume of a
cylinder is given by the equation: volume = cross-sectional area x length.
d. So from answer (c) what is the internal diameter of the tube used to
make the measuring cylinder?
30
1.8 Measuring density
Density
All matter has mass and volume. Mass is a measure of the amount of matter an
object has. Its measure is usually given in grams (g) or kilograms (kg). Volume is
the amount of space an object occupies. There are numerous units for volume
including liters (l), cubic metres (m3).
Mass and volume are physical properties of matter and may vary with different
objects. For example, it is possible for two pieces of metal to be made out of the
same material yet for one piece to be bigger than the other. If the first piece of
metal is twice as large as the second, then you would expect that this piece is also
twice as heavy (or have twice the mass) as the first. If both pieces of metal are
made of the same material the ratio of the mass and volume will be the same.
We define density (ρ) as the ratio of the mass of an object to the volume it
occupies. Density is a measure of how compact a material is - it indicates how
much space or volume a given mass occupies.
Density has the units of mass divided by volume such as grams per cubic
centimetre (g/cm3) or kilograms per cubic metre (kg/ m3).
The greater the mass of material in a given volume, the greater the density of the
material. The density of a material depends on what it is made up of (atoms and
31
their arrangement) and its physical state. The more spread out the particles, the
lower the material's density - which is why gases have a very low density. The
more closely the particles are packed together, the greater the density - which is
why solids have the highest density.
Example: Using density data from the table above, calculate the mass of steel
having the same volume as 5400 kg of aluminium.
This is also the volume of the steel. Therefore, for the steel, ρ is 7800 kg / m3, V is
2 m3, and m is to be found. So:
Density of a liquid To calculate density, we need to know the mass and volume
of the liquid.
Step 1: First, measure mass of the measuring cylinder that is going to hold the
liquid on an electric balance.
Step 2: Then add the liquid to the cylinder and measure and record the mass of
the cylinder + liquid using an electronic balance.
Step 3: To find the mass ‘m’ of the liquid, we subtract the mass of the empty
measuring cylinder from the mass of the liquid and the measuring cylinder.
Step 4: The volume V can be read directly from the measuring cylinder.
Step 5: Then use the equation to calculate density, ρ = m / V.
Step 1: First we calculate the volume ‘V’ of the regularly shaped solid using the
formulae.
Step 2: Then find and record its mass ‘m’ by weighing it on an electric balance.
Step 3: Calculate its density using the formula ρ = m / V.
33
Step 1: Measure the mass ‘m’ of the irregularly shaped object, like a stone, using
an electronic balance.
Step 2: Partially fill a measuring cylinder with a known volume X of water.
Step 3: Lower the stone gently into the water until its completely immersed,
taking care not to lose water due to splashing. Measure the new volume Y.
Step 4: The volume of the stone is ‘V’ = Y − X.
Step 5: Use the equation to calculate the density ρ = m / V.
Exercise:
A 480 5 4 4
B 360 10 4 3
C 800 10 5 2
D 600 5 4 3
34
3. Use the information in the table of densities at the top of the page to answer
the following:
a. What material, of mass 39 g, has a volume of 5 cm3?
b. What is the mass of air in a room measuring 5m x 2m x 3m?
c. What is the volume of a storage tank which will hold 3200 kg of petrol?
d. What mass of lead has the same volume as 1600 kg of petrol?
6. A golden-colored cube is handed to you. The person wants you to buy it for
400 dirhams, saying that is a gold nugget. You pull out your Physics text and
look up gold in the density table, and read that its density is 19.3 g/cm3. You
measure the cube and find that it is 2 cm on each side, and weighs 40 g. What
is its density? Is it gold? Should you buy it?
7. Activity (To determine the density of a gas): A gas can be compressed so the
density of a gas can change
35
1. Place a beaker inside a bath filled with water so that the beaker is about ½
filled with water and the other ½ air. (you might have to let some air out by
tilting the beaker.)
2. Add water to the bath.
a. What happens to the water level inside the beaker?
___________________
b. Has any air escaped the beaker? Has the amount of air inside the beaker
changed? __________________________________________________
c. What happens to the density of the air inside the beaker when you add
water? ____________________________________________________
36
1.9 Scalars and Vectors
Introduction
Consider a car that is travelling from city A to city B. The distance travelled by the
car can be calculated by multiplying the average speed of the car and the time
taken. However, we cannot find out how far the car is from its starting point
unless we are told the direction of travel. Therefore, direction must be specified
for some quantity.
37
Examples of Scalar quantity:
There are plenty of scalar quantity examples, some of the common examples
are:
Mass
Speed
Distance
Time
Area
Volume
Density
Temperature
For example,
38
Examples of vector quantities:
Vector quantity examples are many, some of them are given below:
Force
Acceleration
Displacement
Momentum
Velocity
Weight
Electric field
Magnetic field
A room is heated from 12°C to 21°C using a radiator. Calculate the increase in
temperature.
Point to remember: You must make sure that the scalar quantities are all
in the same units before adding or subtracting. It may involve converting
quantities into SI units before completing the calculation.
39
Adding Vectors:
Vectors can be added together to produce a resultant vector. The rules for doing
this, however, are slightly different to scalars:
If two vectors point in the same direction, the resultant vector will also have
the same directions and its value will be the result of adding the magnitudes
of the two original vectors together.
If two vectors point in opposite directions then subtract the magnitude of one
of the vectors from the other one. The direction of the resultant will be the
same as the larger of the two original vectors.
Diagram showing the result of adding two aligned vectors (forces) together
If the two vectors point in completely different directions, then the value of the
resultant vector can be found graphically using two methods:
40
2. Parallelogram rule of vector addition
If two vectors act at an angle to one another and act from a common point,
parallelogram method is used to find the resultant of the two vectors. In a
parallelogram method, the two vectors are represented by the adjacent sides
of the parallelogram while the diagonal represent the resultant vector.
A ship being pulled forward by the resultant force from the tugs
The parallelogram rule is a method of finding the resultant in situations like the
one above, where the vectors are not in line. It works like this:
To find the resultant of two vectors (for example, forces of 30 N and 40 N acting
at a point O, as in the diagram below):
i. On paper, draw two lines from O to represent the vectors. The directions must
be accurate, and the length of each line must be in proportion to the magnitude
of each vector.
ii. Draw in two more lines to complete a parallelogram.
iii. Draw in the diagonal from O and measure its length. The diagonal represents
the resultant in both magnitude and direction. (Below, for example, the resultant
is a force of 60 N at 26° to the horizontal.)
41
Exercise:
20 degrees Celsius
5 mi., North
256 bytes
5m
30 m/sec, East
4000 Calories
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
3. Forces of 12 N and 5 N both act at the same point, but their directions can be
varied.
c) If the two forces are at right angles, find by scale drawing or otherwise the size
and direction of their resultant.
42
4. At lift-off, a space rocket has an engine force of 45000N. The weight of the
rocket is 38 000 N. The resultant force on the rocket is ________
A. 83,000 N upwards
B. 7,000 N upwards
C. 7,000 N downwards
D. 83,000 N downwards
5. Two tugboats are towing a cargo ship as shown below. Tugboat A exerts a force
of 15,000 N at a 30° angle while tugboat B exerts a force of 20,000 N at a 50°
angle. Determine the magnitude and direction of the resultant force acting on the
cargo ship.
43
UNIT 2
ELECTRICITY
44
2.1 Electric Charge
Structure of atom
What is electricity?
Electricity is a form of energy. Electricity is the flow of electrons. Electric charge,
or electricity', can come from batteries and generators. But some materials
become charged when they are rubbed. Their charge is sometimes called
electrostatic charge or 'static electricity. It causes sparks and crackles when you
take off a pullover, and if you slide out of a car seat and touch the door, it may
even give you a shock.
Unit of Charge
The S.I or Standard unit of electric charge is Coulomb. Its symbol is C and 1 C is
defined as the charge flowing through a wire in 1 sec if the current flowing in the
wire is 1 A.
45
Types of electric charges
There are two types of electric charge: Positive charge & Negative charge
Since all materials on earth are made up of atoms, which contain the positively
charged protons and negatively charged electrons, any imbalance in the number
of protons and electrons, will cause the material to be charged or ionised. A loss
of electrons will make it positively charged and a gain of electrons will make
it negatively charged.
For example, Polythene and Perspex can be charged by rubbing them with a dry,
woolen cloth. When two charged polythene rods are brought close together, they
repel (try to push each other apart). The same thing happens with two charged
Perspex rods. However, a charged polythene rod and a charged Perspex rod
attract each other.
When you rub the balloon, for example on the carpet, electrons (with a negative
charge) build up on the surface of the balloon (they are transferred from the
carpet to the balloon).
When two charged objects are brought close together, there will be a force
between those objects.
Normally, atoms have equal numbers of electrons and protons, so the net
(overall) charge on a material is zero. However, when two materials are rubbed
together, electrons may be transferred from one to the other. One material ends
up with more electrons than normal and the other with less. So one has a net
negative charge, while the other is left with a net positive charge. Rubbing
materials together does not make electric charge. It just separates charges that
are already there.
46
Exercise:
1. Time for fun activity
STEP Observation
47
2.2 Charging
Charging by friction
Objects can be given a charge by rubbing them with another object. This is
called charging by friction.
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Thinking time
Exercise:
Let us check what we have learnt:
a) what can you say about the charge gained by the cloth?
b) Will the rod and the cloth attract or repel each other?
6) Draw appropriate charges on each material and show the transfer of charges
after rubbing.
Balloon and cloth before rubbing Balloon and cloth after rubbing
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7) What happens if the balloon in stage 2 of Question 6 is in contact with a
metal strip? Explain.
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2.3 Earthing and Induced charges
Charging by induction
In the induction process, a charged object is brought near but not touched to a
neutral conducting object.
A sphere is mounted on an insulating material. The sphere has both positive and
negative charge and as the negatively charged rod is brought near to the sphere,
the negative charge in sphere are repelled by the rod (due to same charge) and
move to the other side of sphere. The overall object is neutral (i.e., has the same
number of electrons as protons), there is an excess of positive charge on one side
of the object and an excess of negative charge on the opposite side of the object.
Earthing
The negative charge flows into the ground when we connect the metal sphere
to the ground by a conducting wire.
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The sphere acquires a positive charge as we disconnect the ground. The positive
charge is uniformly distributed in sphere as the negatively charge rod is removed.
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Exercise:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(ii) On Fig add + sign and - sign to suggest the result of this movement.
(iii) Describe the actions which now need to take place so that S become
positively charged with the charge distributed evenly over its surface. A
positively charged object is not available.
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+
1 2 3 4
What type of charge is on sphere 2 and on sphere 3?
A The charge on sphere 2 is positive and the charge on sphere 3 is positive.
B The charge on sphere 2 is negative and the charge on sphere 3 is negative.
C The charge on sphere 2 is positive and the charge on sphere 3 is negative.
D The charge on sphere 2 is negative and the charge on sphere 3 is positive.
A B B C C D
Given the diagram above, what are the charges on spheres C and D?
4) When an oil tanker car has arrived at its destination, it prepares to empty its
fuel into a reservoir or tank. Part of the preparation involves connecting the
body of the tanker car with a metal wire to the ground. Suggest a reason for
why is this done.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
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2.4 Electric Field
Electric Field
An electric field is a region where charges experience a force. Electric field around
a charged body exists if electric forces are exerted by it on another charged body
in that region. The direction of electric field at a point is the direction in which a
point charge would experience or move (under the influence of the field) if placed
at that point.
Electric field line around positive charge and negative charge is shown in below
figure.
The electric field lines should be drawn perpendicular to the surface of the
charged object. The field lines never intersect.
Electric field strength is greatest at locations closest to the surface of the charge
and least at locations further from the surface of the charge.
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Electric field lines point away from positive charges and towards negative
charges.
The field lines around a charged conducting sphere are as if the charge was
concentrated at the centre of the sphere.
The field lines between two charged plates go in straight lines from the
positive plate to the negative plate and are equally spaced apart.
The below figure shows that the magnitude of charge on C is greater than B
which is greater than A
The electric field lines radiating from an isolated positively charged conducting
sphere are the field lines emerging at right angles to its surface as shown in the
figure.
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ii) Electric field line patterns for objects with equal amount of charge:
iii) Electric field line pattern between two oppositely charged parallel plates:
iv) Electric field line patterns for objects with unequal amount of charge:
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Exercise:
1) Observe the electric field lines below for various configurations. Rank the
objects according to which have the greatest magnitude of electric charge,
beginning with the smallest charge.
2) Several electric field line patterns are shown in the diagrams below.
a) Which of these patterns are incorrect? _________
b) Explain what is wrong with all incorrect diagrams.
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2.5 Conductors and Insulators
When some materials gain charge, they lose it almost immediately. This is
because electrons flow through them or the surrounding material until the
balance of negative and positive charge is restored. Based on the behavior of the
materials they are classified as conductors and insulators.
Conductors
The materials which allows the electric current or heat to pass through it. The
electrons in a conductor can freely move. Copper, Aluminium, silver, mercury, etc.
are some of the examples of the conductor. Silver is the best conductor of
electricity.
Insulators
The materials which do not allow the electric current, or heat to pass through it
such type of material is called an insulator. The covalent bond between the atoms
of an insulator are very strong. Thus, the electrons or charges do not move
freely. The insulator is mainly used for separating the conductor and for
supporting the electrical equipment. It is also used in an electrical cable. Paper,
wood, porcelain, etc., are some of the examples of an insulator. Graphite is the
only non-metal that can conduct electricity.
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Semiconductors
Exercise:
60
6) Complete the word search by finding the words given below.
61
UNIT 3
EARTH & SPACE
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3.1 Structure of the Earth
Our planet the Earth is the third planet from the sun. The shape of the Earth
although considered to be spherical, is actually oblate spheroid (squashed at the
North and South poles).
Formed billions of years ago, the earth comprises of several layers. A layer is
defined as the thickness of a material that is laid out. In the case of the earth,
these layers are composed of mostly rock and iron. Each layer has its own
characteristics and purpose.
The structure of the earth is divided into four major components: the crust,
the mantle, the outer core, and the inner core. Each layer has a unique chemical
composition, physical state, and can impact life on Earth's surface.
Crust
The crust is the outermost layer of the planet. It is cool, thin and brittle shell made
of rock. This layer makes up only 1% of the entire volume of the Earth. The crust
is very thin, relative to the radius of the planet. There are two very different types
of crust, each with its own distinctive physical and chemical properties.
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a) Oceanic crust the oceanic crust is composed of dense material such as iron
magnesium silicate igneous rocks (like basalt). Oceanic crust is about 6 km
(4 miles) thick. Sima is a term used to describe oceanic crust rock, which is
short for magnesium silicate.
Mantle
The mantle is the mostly-solid bulk of Earth's interior. The mantle lies between
Earth's dense, super-heated core and its thin outer layer, the crust. The mantle is
about 2,900 kilometers (1,802 miles) thick, and makes up a whopping 84% of
Earth’s total volume.
The rocks that make up Earth’s mantle are mostly silicates—a wide variety
of compounds that share a silicon and oxygen structure. Common silicates found
in the mantle include olivine, garnet, and pyroxene. The other major type of rock
found in the mantle is magnesium oxide. Other mantle elements include iron,
aluminum, calcium, sodium, and potassium.
Core
Beneath the mantle you'll find the core. Earth's core is the deepest, hottest layer,
and it's made up of two layers itself: the outer core and inner core.
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Earth’s outer core is fluid layer about 2400km thick and composed of mostly Iron
and Nickel.
The inner core is solid and is 90% iron. The inner core of the Earth has
temperatures and pressures so great that the metals are squeezed together and
are not able to move about like a liquid, but are forced to vibrate in place as a
solid.
Exercise:
Name the part of the Earth that is like the yolk of an egg.
_______________________________________________________________
2) The Earth is more like a soft-boiled egg. Explain why the Earth is more like a
soft-boiled egg.
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
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4) Label the four layers of the Earth.
6) Why is the outer core liquid while the inner core is solid?
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________
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3.2 Tectonic plates
Tectonic plates
The theory of plate tectonics was put forward in the 1960’s. It coincided with a
time when a large amount of research was being conducted about the ocean
floors. Since then better understanding and technology have refined the theory
to explain how the Earth has been shaped.
The theory states that the Earth’s crust is broken into large and smaller pieces
called plates that glide over the mantle, the rocky inner layer above the core. The
plates act like a hard and rigid shell compared to Earth’s mantle. These massive
slabs of solid rock are made up of both continental and oceanic lithosphere (the
crust and uppermost mantle).
Moving plates
The earth’s lithosphere is composed of seven or eight major plates and many
minor plates. The lithosphere is a rigid outermost shell of earth and is broken up
into tectonic plates. When these plates meet, there is relative motion between
them.
Volcanic activity, earthquakes, mountain-building and oceanic trench formation
occur along these plate boundaries. The sizes of these plates vary greatly from a
few hundred to thousands of kilometres across. The relative movement of the
plates typically ranges from zero to 100 mm annually.
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Causes of moving plates
It affects humans in several important ways.
It causes earthquakes
It causes volcanism
It induces recycling of elements within the biosphere and between the
geosphere and biosphere
It causes mountain-building
The main impetus behind plate tectonics is convection in the mantle. Convection
currents are movements of heat within the mantle. Material in the mantle is
heated by the decay of radioactive isotopes in the core. This causes convection
currents in the molten mantle material. Mantle expands, rises and spreads out
beneath the plates. Plates are dragged along and move away from each other.
Subsequently, the hot molten mantle cools slightly and sinks, pulling the plates
along. Hence plates move towards each other. The sinking mantle material heats
up again as it nears the core and the whole process repeats.
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How many plates are there?
There are nine significant plates, as indicated by World Atlas. These plates are
named according to the landforms found on them. The nine significant plates are
North American, Pacific, Eurasian, African, Indo-Australian, Australian, Indian,
South American and Antarctic.
The biggest plate is the Pacific Plate at 39,768,522 square miles (103,000,000
square kilometers). Its vast majority is situated under the sea. The plate is moving
northwest at a speed of around 2.75 inches (7 cm) every year.
There are likewise numerous smaller plates all through the world.
Exercise:
1. The crust of the Earth is made up of plates. They move and rub against each
other. This can cause earthquakes.
2. Uneven heating inside the Earth makes the currents. This can be shown by
heating some water in a beaker.
The water is heated and the polystyrene starts to move. Draw an arrow (→)
on the diagram to show in which direction the polystyrene starts to move.
3. Sections of the Earth’s surface rub against each other. This can cause an
earthquake if the sections suddenly slide past each other. Irfan set up the
apparatus as shown. The block slides over the table when enough weights are
put in the pan.
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Irfan carefully added weights to the pan.
.................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
1...............................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
2...............................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
Each time he repeated the experiment he had to make sure that he placed the
block
.................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
d. Give two reasons why it is important to use the same block for each
experiment.
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1...............................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
2...............................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
Next, he placed a piece of cloth on the table. He placed the block on the cloth.
He did the experiment again with the block on the cloth. Then he repeated the
experiment by replacing the cloth with different materials. The table shows his
results.
e. Work out the average value for plastic and complete the table.
f. Irfan wants to find the average value for cardboard. Write down the number he
should not use when he works out the average. ............................... g
g. Name the material that needs the smallest weight to make the block slide
over it.
.................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
h. Earthquakes cause more damage if the sections of the Earth’s surface do not
slide easily. Name the material used in the experiment over which the block did
not slide easily.
.................................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................................
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3.3 Earthquakes
Plate boundaries
The plates float on top of the asthenosphere. Convection currents rise in the
asthenosphere and spread out beneath the lithosphere, causing the movement
of Earth’s plates. As the plates move, they produce changes in Earth’s surface,
including volcanoes, mountain ranges, and deep-ocean trenches. The edges of
different pieces of the lithosphere meet at lines called plate boundaries. Faults—
breaks in Earth’s crust where rocks have slipped past each other—form along
these boundaries.
Plate tectonics cause earthquakes and volcanoes. The point where two plates
meet is called a plate boundary. Earthquakes and volcanoes are most likely to
occur either on or near plate boundaries.
Earthquakes
Most of the world’s earthquakes (90% of them and 81% of the largest) take place
along the Pacific Ring of Fire – a 40 000 km long, horseshoe-shaped zone found
along the edge of the Pacific Ocean. As plates move, the rocks on their edges may
become locked together until, at the weakest point along a plate boundary – a
fault line – they tear apart, or rupture, and this releases the strain.
An earthquake is the shaking and vibration of the Earth's crust due to movement
of the Earth's plates (plate tectonics). Earthquakes can happen along any type of
plate boundary.
Earthquakes occur when tension is released from inside the crust. Plates do not
always move smoothly alongside each other and sometimes get stuck. When this
happens pressure builds up. When this pressure is eventually released, an
earthquake tends to occur.
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The point inside the crust where the pressure is released is called the focus. The
point on the Earth's surface above the focus is called the epicentre. Earthquake
energy is released in seismic waves. These waves spread out from the focus. The
waves are felt most strongly at the epicentre, becoming less strong as they travel
further away. The most severe damage caused by an earthquake will happen
close to the epicentre.
Predicting earthquakes
Earthquakes are not as easy to predict as volcanic eruptions. However, there are
still some ways of monitoring the chances of an earthquake:
Many of the prediction techniques used to monitor earthquakes are not 100 per
cent reliable. Planning and preparing for an earthquake is therefore very
important.
Exercise:
Divergent boundary a.
Convergent boundary b.
Transform boundary c.
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2. Fill in the blank to complete each statement.
i. _______________ is the scale traditionally used to record the magnitude
of an earthquake.
ii. Breaks in Earth’s crust where rocks have slipped past each other are called
.
iii.The lithosphere is broken into separate sections called ________________.
iv. A(n) is a deep valley on land that forms along a
divergent boundary.
v. The most severe damage caused by an earthquake will happen close to
the _______________________.
3. Irfan drew this graph. It shows the number of earthquakes for each year.
.................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
4. Irfan draws a pie chart to show the number of earthquakes in spring, summer
autumn and winter in one year.
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Name the season that has the largest number of earthquakes.
.................................................................................................................................
6. Waves spread out from the place where an earthquake starts. A scientist at A
can say how far away the earthquake happened. But he cannot tell the direction.
He draws a circle on a map. A scientist at B also draws a circle for the distance
from him.
a. Draw an arrow (→) pointing to where the earthquake could or has happened.
.................................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................................
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8. Answer the following questions in your notebook.
i. Describe what happens when a) two plates carrying oceanic crust collide, b)
two plates carrying continental crust collide, and c) a plate carrying oceanic
crust collides with a plate carrying continental crust.
ii. Explain what force caused the movement of the continents from one
supercontinent to their present positions.
Materials
■ large plastic bottle
■ food coloring
■ small glass jar
■ aluminum foil
■ rubber band
■ several pieces of paper about 0.5 cm square
■ tap water
Procedure
1. Fill the large bottle about half full with cold tap water.
2. Partly fill the small jar with hot tap water and stir in 6 drops of food coloring.
Carefully add enough hot water to fill the jar to the brim.
3. Cover the top of the jar with aluminum foil and secure with a rubber band.
4. Carefully lower the jar into the bottle of ice water.
5. Place the pieces of paper on the surface of the water.
6. Without disturbing the water, use the tip of the pencil to make two small holes
about 2 mm in diameter in the aluminum foil covering the jar.
7. Predict what will happen to the colored water and to the pieces of paper
floating on the surface.
8. Observe the contents of the jar as well as the paper pieces on the surface of the
water.
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Analyze and Conclude
Write your answers in the spaces provided.
1. Describe what happened to the colored water and to the pieces of paper
after the holes were punched in the material covering the jar.
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
2. How did your prediction compare with what actually happened to the
colored water and pieces of paper?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
3. What type of heat transfer took place in the bottle? Describe how the
transfer occurred.
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
4. Which part of your model represents a tectonic plate? Which part represents
Earth’s mantle?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
5. How well do you think this lab modeled the movement of Earth’s plates?
What similarities exist between this model and actual plate movement?
What factors weren’t you able to model in this lab?
_____________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________
Repeat this activity, but develop a plan to measure the temperature of the water
inside the large bottle. Is there a difference in temperature between the water’s
surface and the water near the top of the small jar? Do you observe any change
in the convection currents as the water temperature changes?
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3.4 The Solar System
Solar System
Solar system is the collection of eight planets and their moons in orbit round the
sun, together with smaller bodies in the form of asteroids, meteoroids, and
comets.
The Sun, Moon, and brightest planets were visible to the naked eyes of ancient
astronomers, and their observations and calculations of the movements of these
bodies gave rise to the science of astronomy. Today the amount of information
on the motions, properties, and compositions of the planets and smaller bodies
has grown to immense proportions, and the range of observational instruments
has extended far beyond the solar system to other galaxies and the edge of the
known universe.
Earth-launched space probes and landers have gathered data on planets, moons,
asteroids, and other bodies, and this data has been added to the measurements
collected with telescopes and other instruments. All this information is
scrutinized in attempts to understand in detail the origin and evolution of the
solar system—a goal toward which astronomers continue to make great strides.
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The Sun
The Sun is by far the largest object in our solar system, containing 99.8 percent of
the solar system's mass. It sheds most of the heat and light that makes life
possible on Earth and possibly elsewhere. Its gravity holds the solar system
together, keeping everything from the biggest planets to the smallest particles of
debris in its orbit. There are billions of stars like our Sun scattered across the Milky
Way galaxy. The Sun does not have any rings. Its core is about 27 million degrees
Fahrenheit (15 million degrees Celsius).
Planets orbit the sun in oval-shaped paths. The planets are - Mercury, Venus,
Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune.
Inner planets
There are four inner planets — Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. They are made
up mostly of iron and rock. They are known as terrestrial or earthlike planets
because of their similar size and composition.
Outer Planets
The gas giants of our solar system are Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune. These
four large planets, also called Jovian planets. Jupiter and Saturn are substantially
larger than Uranus and Neptune, and each pair of planets has a somewhat
different composition.
Mercury
Venus
Earth
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Mars
Jupiter
Jupiter's Great Red Spot is a gigantic storm that is about twice as wide as Earth. It
is generally reddish in colour and slightly oval.
Saturn
Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the
second-largest in the Solar System, after
Jupiter. Saturn's atmosphere is made up mostly
of hydrogen (H2) and helium (He). Saturn has
the most spectacular ring system, with seven
rings and several gaps and divisions between
them.
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Saturn is the only planet in our solar system whose average density is less than
water.
Uranus
Neptune
Dwarf Planets
Dwarf planets are small planetary-mass object that does not dominate its region
of space and is not a satellite. Dwarf planets don’t have a fixed orbit. So far,
there are 5 reported dwarf planets that exist in our solar system.
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Asteroid and Asteroid Belts
Asteroids are small, rocky objects that orbit the Sun. Although asteroids orbit the
Sun like planets, they are much smaller than planets. There are lots of asteroids
in our solar system. Most of them are found in the main asteroid belt—a region
between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.
Asteroids can measure anywhere between a few feet to several hundred miles in
diameter.
Comet
Comets are dirty space snowballs of mostly ice and dust that formed during the
birth of the solar system 4.6 billion years ago. Most comets have stable orbits in
the outer reaches of the solar system past the planet Neptune.
Meteoroids are tiny asteroids or the broken-off crumbs of comets. They range in
size from a grain of sand to 1 meter wide. When meteoroids collide with a planet's
atmosphere, they become meteors. If those meteors survive the atmosphere and
hit the planet's surface, their remains are called meteorites.
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Exercise:
1) The diagram shows a sun, with a planet and a moon in their orbits.
Letter Object
A sun
B planet
C moon
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3) The table shows information about four planets
The diagram below shows the orbits of the Earth, mercury, Venus and Mars and
their position at one particular time. The arrows show the direction in which the
planets moves.
In the diagram above, show the position of each planet after 6months by
drawing letter X on orbit of each planet
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5) The table below gives the distance from the Sun of seven planets. The surface
temperature of each planet is also given in Kelvin (K).
g) One of the bars in his graph is the wrong height. Draw a circle around the bar
that is the wrong height.
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3.5 Living in space
Space exploration
Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer
space. While the exploration of space is carried out mainly
by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration though is conducted
both by unmanned robotic space probes and human spaceflight. Space
exploration, like its classical form astronomy, is one of the main sources for space
science.
Space exploration has benefited many areas of science and technology including
satellites and GPS. It carries significant risks including radiation, extreme
temperatures and high-speed impacts.
Many areas of science and technology have made advances due to technological
breakthroughs resulting from the manned exploration of space.
To get into orbit, powerful engines are required to provide thrust and
hence velocity. Survival in space requires excellent environment control systems.
NASA has had to patent many applications to accomplish their tasks. Some
examples include: water filters, ear thermometers, scratch resistant lenses,
memory foam, shoe insoles, long distance communication, smoke detectors,
enriched baby food and cordless tools.
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Other benefits have included the development of satellites and associated
technologies. With satellites we can communicate with anyone at almost any
point on Earth. We can monitor weather systems to help predict the weather and
we can monitor environmental conditions such as temperature and water
content as well as gravitational field strength and the Earth's magnetic field.
We can also navigate ourselves with GPS (global positioning system). This system
uses 3 satellites at any single time to pinpoint your location but there is a system
of about 35 satellites that help us do this.
Satellites
One of the most common types of satellite is one that travels around the Earth at
the same rate as the Earth rotates on its axis.
This means that the satellite appears to “hover” above the same point (on the
equator) on the Earth’s surface. A receiver can be pointed at this satellite,
allowing for a link for information to pass to be established. These satellites are
known as “geostationary” and have to be placed at a height of 36,000 km and at
a velocity that means the satellite takes 24 hours to complete one revolution of
the Earth.
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When a satellite is in a lower orbit, such as a weather satellite, it has to travel at
a greater velocity in order to remain in orbit. On a clear night you can see these
satellite pass by with the naked eye.
Global Positioning Systems (GPS) allow us to use a phone or other device, such
as a sat nav, to determine our location to within a few metres.
Television networks rely heavily on satellites to transfer signals from one area
to another eg live reporting from major events.
Our weather forecasts are based upon data taken from satellite systems which
have monitored the area around where we live. We can receive very up-to-date
images of clouds and such which are then shown on our forecasts.
Satellites with various detectors and telescopes can observe distant objects and
allow us to analyse them in order to increase our knowledge of the Universe in
which we live. The Hubble space telescope has increased our knowledge of
space a great amount.
Other benefits
Space exploration stimulates the creation of both tangible and intangible benefits
for humanity. Tangible impacts include all the innovation‐related applications and
benefits resulting from investments in these programmes, such as new devices
and services that spin off into the marketplace. In addition, space exploration
leads to advances in science and technology, and furthers workforce
development and industrial capabilities, thus leading to an overall stimulation of
private companies and industries, all of which contributes significantly to the
economic progress of space‐faring nations. Space exploration is also known to
attract young people into careers in science and technology to the general benefit
of society and the economy.
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the world when they convened in Lucca, Italy, in November 2011. They concluded
that space exploration provides:
The benefits of space can be categorized as either direct or indirect. The direct
benefits of exploration include the generation of scientific knowledge, the
diffusion of innovation and creation of markets, the inspiration of people around
the world, and agreements forged between the countries engaged in
exploration.
Indirect benefits that result over time include tangible enhancements to the
quality of life such as improved economic prosperity, health, environmental
quality, safety, and security. They also include intangible philosophical benefits
such as a deepened understanding and new perspectives on humankind’s
individual and collective place in the Universe.
Possibilities for benefit creation multiply rapidly when the products of space
exploration interact with the imagination and creativity present in other fields of
endeavour. Cultural benefits may depend on exploration mission stories and
images spreading broadly across society. Educational organisations, the media
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and communications industries play a role in interpreting and amplifying
exploration data, so that citizens may understand and appreciate their
significance. To maximize societal impact, space agencies share space exploration
results and collaborate with research institutions, businesses, universities,
schools, museums, and other organizations.
The figure above represents a model of the links between space activities and
ultimate societal benefits, and it helps space agencies explain and assess the
unique contribution that space exploration makes to producing benefits for
humanity.
Exercise:
Q.1. Research and find out the answers for the following questions:
i. What are the 5 main stages of a space missions in regard to visiting planets:
a) _______________________________________________________________
b) _______________________________________________________________
c) _______________________________________________________________
d) _______________________________________________________________
e) _______________________________________________________________
ii. When humans are in space, there tends to be adverse health effects the longer
you are in that environment. What is the main cause of the deterioration
(specifically bone loss) of the body?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
iii. The _______________ are organisms that are able to survive in space due to
their amazing ability to survive in harsh environments.
iv. Name at least two reasons as to why being a human on the surface of Mars
would be difficult:
a) _______________________________________________________________
b) _______________________________________________________________
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v. What privatized company created the reusable rocket that would allow for
cheaper missions and a reduction on materials for space missions?
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
vi. List 3 benefits that space exploration and space research and development
has given to us in modern society:
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Q.2. Read this article about NASA’s latest high-tech space telescope. Then, have
fun doing one or both of the word puzzles that use the important words in the
article.
If all goes as planned, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has just
launched a new space telescope that will see back in time 80% of the way to the Big Bang. The
Big Bang is the colossal explosion that gave the universe its start around 12 billion years ago
(give or take a few billion years). The Galaxy Evolution Explorer, or GALEX for short, is an Earth-
orbiting telescope that is looking back 10 billion years to help scientists understand how
galaxies like our Milky Way came to be and how they have changed over cosmic time. During
its 29-month mission, GALEX will survey nearly the entire sky and gather galactic light that has
been journeying toward us for nearly the entire history of the universe.
GALAXIES 101
Galaxies are clusters of gas, dust, many different types of stars in all different phases of their
life cycles, and various strange objects such as black holes. Our own Milky Way galaxy contains
over 200 billion stars, and the entire universe probably contains over 100 billion galaxies.
Galaxies come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes. Dwarf galaxies may contain as few as 10
million stars, while massive galaxies may have a trillion (that’s a thousand billion) stars. Shapes
of galaxies may be spiral, elliptical, or irregular.
Spiral galaxies have a large concentration of stars at the center, called the “bulge,” and “arms”
that extend outward. Viewed face on, they often look like giant pinwheels. The spiral arms are
rich in gas and dust needed to form new stars. Spiral galaxies that are sending out large
amounts of blue and ultraviolet light (more about this kind of light later) tell scientists that
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many new stars are forming. Our galaxy, the Milky Way, is an average-sized, spiral-shaped
galaxy and is forming new stars at a rate of one star like our Sun every year.
Elliptical galaxies range from spherical to cigar shaped. These galaxies do not contain much gas,
so are rarely seen to be forming new stars. Their red color tells scientists that they contain
mostly old stars. Irregular galaxies don’t have much structure and are generally smaller than
spiral or elliptical galaxies.
So how is looking at far away galaxies like looking back in time? At 300,000 kilometers per
second (186,000 miles per second), nothing travels faster than light. Even at this speed, though,
it still takes time for light to get from one place to another. If you are looking at your girlfriend
just across the classroom, you are seeing her as she was a tiny fraction of a second ago, rather
than as she looks right now. It takes about 8 minutes for light from the Sun to reach Earth. The
Voyager 1 spacecraft, which NASA launched back in 1977, is now the farthest human-made
object from Earth. Even though this spacecraft is still inside our solar system, its signal, traveling
at light speed, takes 12 hours to reach Earth!
So, if Voyager’s signal takes that long to reach us, you can begin to imagine how long it takes
light to reach us from far distant galaxies. What we are seeing of those galaxies is not how they
look today, but how they looked when that now-very-old light left them, thousands or millions
or billions of years ago.
How will scientists know how old the light is that GALEX is receiving?
Scientists know that the universe is expanding. Like a chocolate chip cake in the oven, space is
the “cake batter” that keeps getting bigger and bigger, while the stars and galaxies are the
“chocolate chips” that keep getting farther and farther apart. Like energy pulsing through the
ocean, light energy travels in waves. As light waves travel through this expanding space, they
get stretched out. The longer they spend traveling through space, the more stretched out they
get. Because red light waves are longer than the light waves of other visible colors, scientists
say that light coming from distant stars and galaxies is “red-shifted.” The more red-shifted the
light waves, the farther (and longer) they have traveled. GALEX is able to detect light that is
extremely old, extremely red-shifted.
Like the Hubble Space Telescope that has given us so many awesome pictures of the universe,
GALEX operates above Earth’s atmosphere, so gathers light that cannot penetrate to telescopes
on Earth’s surface. While the Hubble is used by many astronomers around the world to study
very particular, tiny regions of the sky, GALEX has its very specific mission to look at nearly the
whole sky, a goodly piece at a time.
With the “all-sky survey” GALEX is making, scientists will be able to see how galaxies in the early
universe (far, far away) are different from galaxies of more recent times (relatively nearby).
Because distant galaxies appear to us as they were millions or even billions of years ago, we
can study how they evolve. We see what they looked like when the universe was much younger,
as galaxies were first forming. As we look at closer and closer galaxies we see how they change
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as they age, just as looking at babies, children, teenagers, and then adults can show how we
humans change as we age.
GALEX is paying particular attention to how the universe looks in ultraviolet (UV) light. UV light
waves are not visible to humans. The shortest light waves that humans can see are blue or
violet. Ultraviolet waves, as their names implies, are shorter than violet waves. These shorter
waves carry more energy than do visible light waves (or the light waves that are longer than
those we can see, like infrared and radio waves). Most of the UV light from the Sun is absorbed
or scattered by Earth’s atmosphere, but what does get through to Earth’s surface is what causes
fair-skinned people to get sunburned. GALEX detects ultraviolet objects in the sky that are more
than a million times fainter than objects we can see in visible light from even the darkest
locations on the ground.
What is so special about UV in studying stars and galaxies? The youngest stars are the brightest
and hottest stars, and they produce a lot of UV light. By precisely measuring the brightness of
the UV light coming from a galaxy, scientists can tell how fast that galaxy is churning out new
stars. GALEX’s UV surveys will help scientists measure not only star formation rates, but many
other characteristics of galaxies, such as luminosity (brightness), shape, gas content, how
galaxies cluster together, and how such properties change over cosmic time. We may not be
able to actually place ourselves into the past, but remember: Space is time and time is space.
So to look far back in time, all you need is a good telescope!
GALACTIC PUZZLES
Across Down
1 All there is 2 True nothingness
3 Nearby star 4 Space agency of the U.S
6 Common to human, octopus, & some galaxies 5 Make longer
7 Viewer into the past 8 What started the whole thing
9 The blanket above us 10 Opposite of contracting
12 Our galactic home 11 A red star is this
16 Another eye in the sky 13 A blue star is this
17 Light gets under your skin 14 Raw material for new stars
19 The youngest and the _____ 15 Light made longer
21 Like air out in space 18 Change over time
24 Amoeba-like galaxy 20 Age of the universe, times about 12 yrs
26 Pinwheel galaxy 22 Great balls of fire
29 From where we stand 23 Star student
30 Our closest celestial family 25 Egg-shaped galaxy
33 How much it shines 27 The farthest artifact
35 Much stranger than that of Alice’s rabbit 28 Surveying the galaxies
36 More than blue 31 Speediest traveler
32 Pulse of energy
34 Lots made where stars are born,
abbreviation
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2. WORD SEARCH
The words in the list on the left are hidden in the jumble of letters. Words may
be frontwards, backwards, upside-down, or diagonal. When you find a word,
draw a box around it and cross it off the list.
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3.6 The life cycle of a star
Introduction - Life cycle of a star
Most scientist believe universe was created by big bang 13 billion years ago.
Universe was a hot glowing ball of radiation in first minutes the nuclei of the
lightest elements formed, as universe expanded over millions of years its
temperature fell, uncharred atoms were formed.
Gravity and nuclear fusion reactions drive the formation and development of
stars. Stars with different masses grow and change throughout the different
stages of their lives. The life cycle for a particular star depends on its size.
Formation of a star
Stars are formed from massive clouds of dust and gas in space. The time they burn
for and their life cycle depend upon their size. Stars are grouped in galaxies. Many
galaxies make up the Universe. Stars are formed from massive clouds of dust and
gas in space.
Gravity pulls the dust and gas together to form a protostar. As the gases come
together, they get hot. A star forms when it is hot enough for nuclear reactions
to start. This releases energy, and keeps the star hot.
During the main sequence period of its life cycle, a star is stable because
the forces in it are balanced. The force of the star’s gravity balances the outward
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pressure from the expanding hot gases. Our Sun is halfway through its 10 billion
year stable phase.
Gravity pulls smaller amounts of dust and gas together, which form planets in
orbit around the star.
The Solar System was formed around 4.6 billion years ago from a large cloud of
dust and gas, called a nebula. This collapsed under its own gravity,
transferring gravitational potential energy to kinetic energy in its particles. As the
nebula collapsed it became denser, and rotated more rapidly. Collisions between
particles caused kinetic energy to be transferred as internal energy and thermal
energy. The core of the nebula began to form a hot, dense protostar.
When the Sun’s core became hot enough and dense enough, nuclear
fusion reactions began, giving out energy and radiation. A star like the Sun is at
equilibrium - gravity tends to pull it inwards, and radiation pressure from the
nuclear reactions tends to expand it outwards. In other words, the gravitational
collapse is balanced by the expansion due to fusion energy.
The Sun is currently a main sequence star and will remain so for another 4-5
billion years. It will then expand and cool to become a red giant, after which it will
shrink and heat up again to become a white dwarf. The white dwarf star will run
out of nuclear fuel and slowly cool down over many billions of years.
All stars begin life in the same way. A cloud of dust and gas, also known as
a nebula, becomes a protostar, which goes on to become a main sequence star.
Following this, stars develop in different ways depending on their size.
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Once the protostar gets hot enough, nuclear reactions start within its core
and it becomes a main sequence star.
Solar mass stars have life spans of the order of billions of years.
(The Sun’s lifespan is anticipated to be around 10 billion years – we’re about
half way through it).
Eventually the Sun will reach a stage when it starts to run out of hydrogen gas
in its core. Once this happens, the nuclear reactions in the core will start to
die down.
When this happens the core will start to shrink and heat up, starting a new
series of reactions around the core. These will cause the outer part of the Sun
to swell up and it will become a red giant.
Once this second stage of reactions have finished, the core will collapse
completely, becoming a white dwarf (the hot remnants of a star) whilst the
outer parts will be ejected, forming a spherical cloud of gas around the white
dwarf – a planetary nebula.
Stars that are larger than the Sun have much shorter lifespans – perhaps in
the region of hundreds of millions of years (instead of billions).
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When the nuclear fuel in the core of a large star starts to run out, the star will
swell up once again, but this time it will form a much larger star – a red
supergiant.
Once the reactions inside the red supergiant finally finish, the core of the star
will collapse suddenly causing a gigantic explosion – a supernova.
At the centre of this explosion a dense body, called a neutron star will form.
The outer remnants of the star will be cast off into space, forming a nebula.
In the case of the biggest stars, the neutron star that forms at the centre will
continue to collapse under the force of gravity until it forms a black hole.
The term nebula in astronomy refers to any cloud of gas or dust. The nebula
that form stars are made from hydrogen, whilst the ones that are formed
when stars die are made from much heavier elements, such as helium.
Exercise:
1. Draw and describe the different stages of the life cycle of a star about the same
size of Sun.
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2. Label the diagram with all the words given as well as write down the Letter
that matches each object.
3. Words from the text have been scrambled in the circles below. Your job is to
unscramble the letters and write the correct word on the line under each circle.
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4. In the list below you will find the steps in the life cycle of a massive star. The
steps are not in order. Using the information, you have learned about massive
stars, place the steps in the order in which they occur in a star’s life cycle.
i. A supernova occurs.
ii. Nuclear fusion occurs which causes the star to glow.
iii. If it is a massive star, a neutron star forms. If it is a super massive star, a
black hole forms.
iv. Gravity pulls hydrogen gas together to form a cloud.
v. Iron, which acts as an energy sponge, forms within the star.
vi. A red giant forms when the star’s hydrogen level drops.
vii. A main sequence star, which can live for millions or even billions of years,
forms.
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5. Draw a line to connect each word to the group of words that best describes it.
a. Star The medium size star in our solar system
b. Sun To shine brightly
c. Core A star that does not give off light
d. Glow A glowing ball of gas
e. Red Giant A giant explosion that took place in
space a very long time ago
f. Expand The middle
g. Black Dwarf A large star that glows red
h. Big Bang To grow larger
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