Edexcel International A Level Physics

Topic Questions

Astronomy

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Which of the following describes a standard candle?

  • a star of known distance

  • a star of known intensity

  • a star of known luminosity

  • a star of known mass

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Sirius and α-Centauri are two of our closest stars. Sirius has a luminosity about 16 times greater than the luminosity of α-Centauri. Sirius is twice as far away from the Earth as α-Centauri.

The intensity of light from Sirius is Is and the intensity of light from α-Centauri is Iα .

Which of the following is the value of I subscript s over I subscript alpha?

  • 1 fourth

  • 4

  • 8

  • 16

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2
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The letters W, X, Y and Z represent stars at these positions on the diagram.

q7-1-wph15-05-oct-2021-edexcel-int-as-and-a-level-phy

Which of the following is part of a possible evolutionary path of a star?

  • W → Y

  • X → Y

  • Y → W

  • Y → Z

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3
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Which of the following statements about stars in positions W, X, Y and Z is correct?

q7-1-wph15-05-oct-2021-edexcel-int-as-and-a-level-phy

  • W and Y have the same mass.

  • W has a lower surface temperature than Z.

  • Y is more massive than W.

  • Y has a lower surface temperature than X.

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4
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Tau Ceti is one of the closest stars to the Sun. Tau Ceti has a surface temperature of 5300 K and a luminosity of 0.55 LSun, where LSun is the luminosity of the Sun.

Which of the following is the correct description of Tau Ceti?

  • main sequence star

  • red dwarf star

  • red giant star

  • white dwarf star

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5
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Two stars, P and Q, have approximately the same radius. The surface temperature of star P is twice the surface temperature of star Q.

Star P has a luminosity L subscript straight P and star Q has a luminosity L subscript straight Q.

The ratio L subscript straight p over L subscript straight Q is approximately

  • 2

  • 4

  • 8

  • 16

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