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American Academy Larnaca

Year 4 Test
Double Science
Physics
Topic P1b.12: Space and its mysteries
Thursday 21 May 2009
Time: 20 minutes

MC PAPER 1 Turn over

Use this information to answer questions 1 and 2.

The chart shows the gravitational field strength of each planet on a scale where the field strength of
the Earth is 1 unit.

2.5

2
Gravitational
field strength 1.5
compared to
1
Earth
0.5

0
Mercury

Venus

Earth

Mars

Jupiter

Saturn

Uranus

Neptune
1. Which of these statements is correct?

A A 1 kg mass would weigh more on Venus than on Neptune

B A 1 kg mass would weigh more on Earth than on Uranus

C A 1 kg mass would weigh more on Mercury than on Saturn

D A 1 kg mass would weigh more on Mars than on Jupiter

2. On Earth, the actual gravitational field strength is 10 N/kg.

The gravitational field strength on Mars is about

A 0.04 N/kg

B 0.4 N/kg

C 4 N/kg

D 40 N/kg

MC PAPER 2 Turn over

Use this information to answer questions 3 to 6.

Planets and stars

The diagram shows four planets orbiting a star.

R S

P not to
scale

3. This combination of planets and star is most like

A A galaxy

B A nebula

C The Solar System

D The Milky Way

4. John knows that planets nearer the star orbit at higher speed.
During the time that it takes planet P to complete one orbit,

A Planet Q will have made more orbits than R

B Planet Q will have made fewer orbits than S

C Planet R will have made more orbits than P

D Planet S will have made fewer orbits than P

MC PAPER 3 Turn over

5. For life to exist on a planet, it must be warm enough.
Which row of the table shows conditions where a planet would be least likely to be warm
enough?

star is planet distance from star is

A brighter than the Sun further than Jupiter is from the Sun

B dimmer than the Sun further than Jupiter is from the Sun

C brighter than the Sun same distance as Jupiter is from the Sun

D dimmer than the Sun closer than Jupiter is to the Sun

6. Planet P is 200 million kilometers from the star and plant R is 50 million kilometers from
the star.
Which row of the table shows the smallest and largest distances between planet P and
planet R?

smallest distance between largest distance between

planets P and R (million km) planets P and R (million km)
A 50 150

B 150 150

C 50 250

D 150 250

MC PAPER 4 Turn over

Use this information to answer questions 7 to 10.

Star gazing

The graph shows the spectrum of light from a star.

Peaks of light are emitted at the wavelengths 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.
The amounts of red shift for these wavelengths are shown by the length of each arrow.

7. The amount of red shift for the highest peak is about

A 100 nm

B 660 nm

C 700 nm

D 760 nm

8. Red shift gives evidence for

A The formation of the Solar System

B A main sequence star turning into a red giant

C Galaxies moving away from each other

D The existence of more than one galaxy

MC PAPER 5 Turn over

9. The graph on the previous page shows that

A Longer wavelengths, in general, have higher brightness

B Longer wavelengths have larger red shift

C The red shift is proportional to the distance to the Earth

D The brightness at the longest wavelength shown is more than the brightness at the shortest
wavelength

10. Which graph best shows the data?

Amount of Amount of
red shift red shift

Wavelength Wavelength

A B

Amount of Amount of
red shift red shift

Wavelength Wavelength

C D

MC PAPER 6 Turn over

 A Weighty Matter

11. Phil and Jane discuss some ideas.

The mass of an The weight of an

object is the same in object is caused
space and on Earth. Phil Jane by air pressure.

Who is correct?

A Phil only

B Jane only

C Both Phil and Jane

D Neither

12. weight = mass × gravitational field strength W=m×g

The gravitational field strength on the Moon is 1.6 N/kg.

A piece of rock has a mass of 8 kg.
The weight of the rock on the Moon is

A zero

B 5N

C 8N

D 12.8 N

MC PAPER 7 Turn over

Use this information to answer questions 13 to 15.

The graph shows the relationship between mass and weight on planets X and Y.

450

X
weight 300
in N
Y
150

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
mass in kg

13. An object has a mass of 15 kg.

Which row of the table shows the correct weights of the object on planets X and Y?

weight on planet X (N) weight on planet Y (N)

A 150 100

B 100 450

C 450 150

D 450 100

14. The gravitational field strength in N/kg on planet X is given by

A 10 + 300

B 10 ÷ 300

C 300 × 10

D 300 ÷ 10

15. An object weighs 300 N on planet X.

Its weight on planet Y is about

A 10 kg

B 45 kg

C 67 N

D 300 N

MC PAPER 8 Turn over

Use this information to answer questions16 to 17.

These stars are called “The Winter Triangle”.

Procyon
11.5 light years from Earth
Not to
scale

Betelgeuse
Sirius 425 light years from Earth
8.6 light years from Earth

Betelgeuse is a red supergiant star.

Sirius is really two stars – Sirius A and Sirius B.
• Sirius is a bright main sequence star
• Sirius B is a white dwarf star
• Sirius A and Sirius B orbit each other closely

16. Scientists want to find out if any planets are in orbit around Procyon.
What is the best way to get this information?

A Look on the Internet

B Use the Hubble space telescope

C Send a space probe to orbit The Winter Triangle

D Send a space probe to land on Procyon

17. Which row of the table is correct?

could form a supernova will not form a supernova

A neutron star Betelgeuse

B Betelgeuse neutron star

C Sirius A Betelgeuse

D Betelgeuse Sirius A

MC PAPER 9 Turn over

18. Imagine Betelgeuse and Sirius A each have a habitable planet similar to Earth.
Which row of the table correctly compares the orbit of each planet to that of the Earth?

orbit of planet around Betelgeuse orbit of planet around Sirius A

A similar to Earth orbit similar to Earth orbit

B larger than Earth’s orbit similar to Earth orbit

C larger than Earth’s orbit larger than Earth’s orbit

D similar to Earth orbit larger than Earth’s orbit

Space Exploration

19. force = mass × acceleration

A rocket has an acceleration of 2 m/s2 at lift off.

The mass of the rocket is 2 000 000 kg.

The resultant force on the rocket at lift off is

A 0.000001 N

B 2 000 000 N

C 2 000 002 N

D 4 000 000 N

20. weight = mass × gravitational field strength W=m×g

On Earth g = 10 N/kg.

The thrust on the rocket is equal to

A 200 000 N

B 2 000 000 N

C 18 000 000 N

D 22 000 000 N

MC PAPER 10 Turn over

21. The thrust on the rocket is produced by gases from the rocket engine.
The gases provide thrust because

A The gases push against the Earth

B The gases push against the atmosphere

C The amount of force pushing the gases out of the rocket equals the amount of force pushing
the rocket

D The amount of force pushing the gases out of the rocket is larger than the amount of force
pushing the rocket

22. The United States is planning to send a manned mission to Mars.

Which row of the table correctly shows a possible medical problem and its solution?

medical problem solution

A deterioration of bones make spacecraft rotate

B deterioration of muscles increase the air pressure

C deterioration of bones shield astronauts from X-rays

D deterioration of muscles astronauts must remain seated

23. Which row of the table best describes conditions in interplanetary space?

gravitational field strength (N/kg) pressure (Pa)

A 10 10 000

B 10 0

C 0 0

D 0 10 000

MC PAPER 11 Turn over

24. A discussion arises about the probability of an asteroid striking the Earth or the spacecraft.

The spacecraft is less likely The spacecraft is more likely

to be hit because to be hit because Bob
Alice it will be further from the it is traveling slower than the
Sun than the Earth. Earth.

The spacecraft is less likely The spacecraft is more

Carol to be hit because likely to be hit because David
it is much smaller than the it is made out of metal.
Earth.

Who is correct?

A Alice

B Bob

C Carol

D David

TOTAL FOR MULTIPLE CHOICE PAPER: 24 MARKS

________________________________________________________________________________

END

MC PAPER 12