Cosmology | Edexcel GCSE Physics Paper 1 2018

1a

1 mark

The Big Bang theory is a theory about the origin of the Universe.

Evidence for the Big Bang theory is provided by red-shift and CMB radiation.

State what the abbreviation CMB is short for.

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1b

3 marks

Which of the following statements about the Big Bang theory are correct?

Tick (✓) three boxes.

The Universe began 14 million years ago	$□$
There was a giant explosion known as the Big Bang	$□$
The Universe expanded from a single point	$□$
It heated as it expanded to form the Universe today	$□$
Each point in the Universe expands away from the others	$□$
So, the further away galaxies are the slower they are moving	$□$

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1c

5 marks

The table below shows statements of evidence for the theory.

Place a tick (✔) in each row to indicate whether the statement is evidence from galactic redshift or CMB radiation.

Statement	Evidence from Galactic Redshift	Evidence from CMB Radiation
Astronomers discovered radiation in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum coming from all directions
Radiation is in the microwave region because the radiation initially from the big bang has redshifted as the Universe has expanded
Observations of light spectrums from supernovae indicate that distant galaxies are receding
Galaxies that are further away are moving faster, as their distance is proportional to their speed
Light spectrums from distant galaxies show that light is redshifted which is evidence of the universe expanding

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1d

2 marks

The Steady State theory is also a theory about the origin of the Universe.

State one similarity and one difference between the Big Bang theory with the Steady State theory.

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3a

2 marks

State the meaning of the term redshift.

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3b

1 mark

Light from distant galaxies appears red-shifted to observers on Earth.

Which of the following ideas does this provide evidence for?

1. The Big Bang Theory

2. The Universe is expanding

3. Distant galaxies are moving both towards us and away from us

$□$ A 1 only

$□$ B 1 and 2

$□$ C 2 only

$□$ D 1, 2 and 3

Choose your answer

3c4 marks

This passage is about redshift.

Complete the following sentences by filling in the correct words in the gaps. Use words or phrases from the box below.

stretch out	slower	expanding	moving towards
moving away	faster	blue	red

The phenomenon of redshift led to the discovery that almost all the galaxies in the Universe are ........................ from Earth.

This led to the idea that the Universe must be ........................

Light waves detected on Earth appear to ........................ as they travel through space, shifting them towards the ........................ end of the spectrum.

The more shifted the light from a galaxy is, the ........................ the galaxy is ........................ from Earth.

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3d

6 marks

The following passage is about the beginning of the Universe.

Complete the sentences.

Choose answers from the box.

Each answer can be used once, more than once or not at all.

faster	slower	hot	cold
heat up	cool down	expand	shrink
explosion	Steady State	Big Bang	Big Crunch

Around 14 billion years ago, the Universe was extremely ............... and dense initially.

Then there was a giant ..............., which is known as the ...............................

This caused the Universe to ............... from a single point to form the Universe today.

Over time, each point moves away from the others which causes the Universe to ...............

This is seen as galaxies move away from each other, and the further away they are the ............... they move.

As a result of the initial ..............., the Universe continues to ................

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1a5 marks

Stars may originate as a nebula.

i)

Describe the process that then occurs to produce the conditions necessary for nuclear fusion in a new star.

[3]

ii)

The energy, E, released in nuclear fusion is equivalent to loss in mass, m, according to the equation.

E = mc²

where c is the velocity of light.

c = 3.00×10⁸ m/s

In 1 second, the energy radiated by the Sun is 3.86 × 10²⁶ J.

Calculate the loss in mass of the Sun in 1 second.

[2]

loss in mass = .............................................................. kg

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1b6 marks

The Big Bang theory gives an explanation for the origin of the Universe.

Explain how evidence supports the ideas that

the Universe is expanding
the Universe began at a single point.

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1c2 marks

A star has evolved to become a neutron star.

The mass, M, of the neutron star, of radius R, is given by

M = \frac{4 \times π \times D \times R^{3}}{3}

where D is a constant

M = 4×10³⁰ kg

D = 6×10¹⁷ kg/m³

Use the equation to calculate the value for R.

R = .............................................................. m

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1a1 mark

The Big Bang theory is one theory for the origin of the Universe.

The Big Bang theory suggests:

the Universe had a beginning
the Universe is still expanding

Which of these provides evidence that the Universe had a beginning?

☐	A	the discovery of other galaxies
☐	B	the discovery of the moons of Jupiter
☐	C	the discovery of planets orbiting distant stars
☐	D	the discovery of cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation

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1b2 marks

Evidence that the Universe is still expanding comes from observations of light from distant galaxies.

Describe how light from distant galaxies shows that the Universe is still expanding.

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1c2 marks

The Steady State theory is also a theory about the origin of the Universe.

Give one similarity and one difference when comparing the Big Bang theory with the Steady State theory.

similarity.................................................................................

difference...............................................................................

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1d6 marks

Observations of the expanding Universe have shown that the further away a galaxy is from the Earth, the faster the galaxy is moving away from the Earth.

Figure 4 shows how the velocity of galaxies is related to their distance from the Earth.

fig-4-paper1h-oct2021-edexcel-gcse-physics

Figure 4

Mpc is a unit of distance used for large distances in space.

i)

Use Figure 4 to estimate the velocity of a galaxy that is 15 Mpc away from the Earth.

[1]
velocity = ............................. km/s

ii)

Calculate the gradient of the line shown in Figure 4.

State the unit.

[3]

gradient = ........................... unit ..........................

iii)

The gradient of the line in Figure 4 can be used to estimate the age of the Universe.

Explain why the gradient of the line in Figure 4 can only provide an estimate of the age of the Universe.

[2]

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	Download	View
Easy
Medium
Hard

	frequency	wavelength
$□$ A	decreases	decreases
$□$ B	increases	decreases
$□$ C	decreases	increases
$□$ D	increases	increases

higher frequency	lower frequency	phase difference	wavelength
relative motion	redshift	blueshift	star

		force	velocity
☐	A	scalar	scalar
☐	B	scalar	vector
☐	C	vector	scalar
☐	D	vector	vector

Edexcel GCSE Physics

Topic Questions

7.2 Cosmology