2023

Practice Questions
Block 6 (Physics 0625)
These are some sample questions for the newly added Space Physics block
to help prepare for the upcoming exams for physics 0620!

This study pack includes the following:

1. 20 Questions of various sizes and various points of focus.
2. IGCSE-like marking schemes for the questions.
3. Model answers to each question to use as reference.

Note…
Please know that these questions are mainly ones that I came up with
myself and answered, some of these questions are also picked out from
the Feb/March 2023 exams or ma be rephrased.

The answers were all checked using the book and some AI.

MST_Creator
Website
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Questions

Question 1:
The asteroid belt is what splits the gas giants from the rocky planets; write down the
planet which comes after and before the asteroid belt.

[2 marks]

Question 2:
The solar system is made up of 8 planets:

Planet Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune

Density
5.4 5.2 5.5 3.9 1.3 0.7 1.3 1.6
(gm/cm3)

Explain why the first four planets are denser than the last four planets

[4 marks]

Question 3:
The distance between galaxies is measured using a unit called “light year”.

State what is meant by the term light year.

[1 mark]

Question 4:
All the planets in the solar system orbit around the sun.

State which stage of a star’s lifestyle our sun is at.

[1 mark]

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Question 5:
A star was found recently by scientists, they found out that it is a black dwarf.

List the stages this star went through.

•
•
•
•
•
•

[3 marks]

Question 6:
Express the size of one lightyear in meters.

[1 mark]

Question 7:
Show that the size of one light year is 9.5 × 1012 km

[3 marks]

Question 8:
State the difference between redshift and blueshift.

[2 marks]

Question 9:
Name the galaxy the Solar System is located in.

[1 mark]

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Question 10:
Our sun is a main sequence star.

Suggest its later stages in its life cycle.

[3 marks]

Question 11:
Betelgeuse is a red supergiant located in the Orion constellation.
Suggest what will happen to the supergiant in the later stages of its life cycle.

[2 marks]

Question 12:
Show that the universe is 14 billion years old using Hubble’s constant.

[4 marks]

Question 13:
Explain what is meant by CMBR.

[3 marks]

Question 14:
Jupiter has an average orbital distance of 778 million kilometres and takes around
11.86 Earth years to complete a revolution around the sun.

Note that one Earth day is 24 hours.

Calculate the orbital speed of Jupiter in ms-1.

[3 marks]

Question 15:
State the quantity that the redshift of a galaxy is used to calculate.

[1 mark]

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Question 16:
Explain the formation of the sun and the planets using the accretion model.

You explanation must also include the formation of the inner and outer planets.

[6 marks]

Question 17:
One of the types of radiation emitted by the sun is Ultra Violet radiation.

List 2 other types of radiation emitted by the sun.

[2 marks]

Question 18:
Name the 4 inner planets in the solar system.

[1 mark]

Question 19:
The gravitational field strength on Mercury is 4 N/kg and the gravitational field
strength on Earth is 9 N/kg.

Explain why this is the case despite Mercury being closer to the sun than Earth.

[3 marks]

Question 20:
Explain what redshift is and how it provides evidence for the expansion of the
universe.

[5 marks]

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Mark Scheme
Question Answer Mark
1 Before: Mars 2
After: Jupiter
2 Award one mark for each mentioned point (max 4): 4
• First four planets are made up of dense elements closer to the
sun
• Last four planets are made up of lighter elements farther from
the sun
• Size of the planets is influenced by their distance from the sun
and force of gravity (1 mark)
• Inner planets are smaller due to the increased force they
experienced from the sun (1 mark)
• Outer planets are larger due to experiencing less force of gravity
(1 mark)
3 The distance travelled in (the vacuum of) space by light in one year 1
4 Main sequence star 1
5 Award one mark per two correct points: 3
• Gas and dust
• Protostar
• Main sequence
• Red giant
• White Dwarf
• Black Dwarf
6 9.5 × 1015 1
7 Avoid one mark per point: 3
• Must show the use of D = ST
• Must show clear and logical working to reach the answer.
• Must use speed of light as 3×108

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Question Answer Mark

8 Award one mark for correct definition of either redshift or blueshift. 2
Award one mark for explanation suggesting that blueshift is caused
by the moving towards of spatial entities from the observer or
redshift is caused by the moving away of spatial entities from the
observer.
9 Milky way 1
10 Award one mark per point: 3
• Correctly identifying the next stage after the main sequence
phase (red giant).
• Mentioning the subsequent stage after the red giant (white
dwarf).
• Identifying the final stage of a star's life cycle, after the white
dwarf phase (black dwarf).
11 Award one mark per idea: 2
• Betelgeuse will become unstable and result in a supernova
• Either it becomes a black hole or a neutron star.
12 Award one mark for the use of the formula: 4
1
𝐴𝑔𝑒 = ′
𝐻𝑢𝑏𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑠 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡
Award one mark for proper conversions.
Award up to two marks for proper calculations and logic behind the
answer.
13 Award one mark for each idea (3 max): 3
• Microwave radiation is observed at all points in space around the
Earth.
• Radiation was produced when the Universe was formed
• This radiation has expanded into the microwave region of the
electromagnetic spectrum
• This is evidence that the Universe expanded

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Question Answer Mark

14 Award one mark per point: 3
• 13,070 ms-1
Uses the formal 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = in any form
2𝜋𝑟
• 𝑡
• Correct conversions and logical method
15 Change of wavelength (which occurs when galaxy is moving quickly) 1
16 • One mark for correct general explanation of the formation of the 6
sun and planets.
• Two marks for correct explanation of the formation of inner
planets.
• Two marks for correct explanation of the formation of outer
planets.
• One mark for clear, concise, well-structured, and logical answer.
17 Award one mark for each: 2
• Visible light
• Infrared Radiation
18 Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars 1
19 • Explanation that the gravitational field strength is dependent on 3
mass and distance from the sun.
• Correctly identifying that Earth is heavier than Mercury.
• Explanation that the greater mass of Earth compensates for its
greater distance from the sun, leading to a higher gravitational
field strength than Mercury.
20 • Redshift is when the observed wavelength is greater than the 5
actual wavelength
o …due to the motion of objects.
• Explaining the Doppler Effect.
• Explaining how Doppler Effect causes redshift in the light from
galaxies.
• Redshift provides an estimate of the rate of expansion
o …how this is done using the amount of redshift in the light
from galaxies

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My Answers (Model Answers)

Question 1:
The asteroid belt is what splits the gas giants from the rocky planets; write down the
planet which comes after and before the asteroid belt.

Before: Mars

After: Jupiter

[2 marks]

Question 2:
The solar system is made up of 8 planets:

Planet Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune

Density
5.4 5.2 5.5 3.9 1.3 0.7 1.3 1.6
(gm/cm3)

Explain why the first four planets are denser than the last four planets

When the solar system was still in its early stages and the planets were not made
yet, the elements close to the sun were mainly dense elements, this is because the
lighter ones existed as liquids or gases. This meant that the first four planets would be
made up of the dense and heavy elements, they were also smaller due to the
increased force they experienced due to their less distance from the sun.

The last four planets however, were made up of lighter elements, this is because the
far region did not have high temperatures meaning the lighter elements could exist
as solids, this meant that the outer planets would be made up of these light elements.
They are also far larger in size when compared to the inner planets because they
experienced less force of gravity due to their increased distance from the sun.

[4 marks]

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Question 3:
The distance between galaxies is measured using a unit called “light year”.

State what is meant by the term light year.

A light year refers to the distance travelled by light in the span of one year.

[1 mark]

Question 4:
All the planets in the solar system orbit around the sun.

State which stage of a star’s lifestyle our sun is at.

It is a main sequence star.

[1 mark]

Question 5:
A star was found recently by scientists, they found out that it is a black dwarf.

List the stages this star went through.

• Gas and dust

• Protostar
• Main sequence star
• Red giant
• White dwarf
• Black dwarf

[3 marks]

Question 6:
Express the size of one lightyear in meters.

9.5 × 1015 meters

[1 mark]

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Question 7:
Show that the size of one light year is 9.5 × 1012 km

Duration of 1 year = 365 days

365 days in seconds = 365 × 24 × 60 × 60

Speed of light = 3 × 108 ms-1

Distance (m) = Speed (ms-1) × Time (s)

Distance (m) = 3 × 108 × 365 × 24 × 60 × 60

Distance (m) = 9.5 × 1015 meters

Distance (km) = 9.5 × 1015 ÷ 1000

Distance (km) = 9.5 × 1012 km

[3 marks]

Question 8:
State the difference between redshift and blueshift.

Redshift is when the observed wavelength is more than the real wavelength as a
result of the moving away of galaxies and spatial entities from the observer, this is
because the spectrum shifts to the red side of the spectrum.

Blue shift is when the observed wavelength is less than the real wavelength as a result
of the galaxies and objects moving towards the observer, it is when the spectrum
shifts towards the purple side of the spectrum.

[2 marks]

Question 9:
Name the galaxy the Solar System is located in.

It is located in the Milky Way.

[1 mark]

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Question 10:
Our sun is a main sequence star.

Suggest its later stages in its life cycle.

As of now, our sun is a main sequence star; this stage will come to an end once it has
run out of its hydrogen fuel. This will result in it becoming a red giant. This red giant
eventually becomes unstable and releases its outer layers and eventually becomes a
white dwarf. His white dwarf will eventually run out of energy and then become a
black dwarf.

[3 marks]

Question 11:
Betelgeuse is a red supergiant located in the Orion constellation.
Suggest what will happen to the supergiant in the later stages of its life cycle.

Betelgeuse is a red supergiant, this means that it will become unstable and result in a
supernova. The end of the star is dependent on the size, if it is massive, then it would
end up collapsing in on itself and become a black hole. If this is not the case, then it
would become a neutron star.

[2 marks]

Question 12:
Show that the universe is 14 billion years old using Hubble’s constant.

Hubble’s constant = 2.2 × 10-18

1.27 × 1014
= 1.44 × 1010 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠
24×365

Age = 1.44×1010
1
𝐻𝑢𝑏𝑏𝑙𝑒 ′ 𝑠 𝐶𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡
= 14413.54 𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠
1,000,000

Age = = 4.55 × 1017s

1 14413.54
2.2 × 10−18
= 14.41 𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠
1000
4.55 ×1017 14.41 = 14 𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑦𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑠 (2 𝑠. 𝑓)
= 1.27 × 1014 ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑟𝑠
60×60

[4 marks]

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Question 13:
Explain what is meant by CMBR.

CMBR or Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation is radiation which was released

during the big bang; this radiation is still present and is experienced throughout the
universe and is of one specific frequency. It is radiation which has expanded into the
microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum.

[3 marks]

Question 14:
Jupiter has an average orbital distance of 778 million kilometres and takes around
11.86 Earth years to complete a revolution around the sun.

Note that one Earth day is 24 hours.

Calculate the orbital speed of Jupiter in ms-1.

2𝜋𝑟
𝑂𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = 𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 (𝑠) = 11.86 × 365 × 24 × 60 × 60
𝑡
2𝜋(778×109 )
𝑂𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 = 778 × 106 𝑘𝑚 𝑂𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = 11.86×365×24×60×60
𝑂𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 (𝑚) = 778 × 109 𝑂𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = 13,069.77675 𝑚𝑠 −1
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 = 11.86 × 365 𝑑𝑎𝑦𝑠 𝑂𝑟𝑏𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = 13,070 𝑚𝑠 −1

[3 marks]

Question 15:
State the quantity that the redshift of a galaxy is used to calculate.

It is used to calculate the change in wavelength.

[1 marks]

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Question 16:
Explain the formation of the sun and the planets using the accretion model.

Your explanation must also include the formation of the inner and outer planets.

The sun formed as a result of the contraction of a solar nebula, this contraction cause
gases and other molecules to form the sun. The planets were formed be the
remaining matter.

The inner planets were located near the sun, this meant that the area had high
temperatures. This caused the lighter elements to become liquids or gases unlike the
heavier elements which stayed solid due to their high melting and boiling points. This
meant that the inner planets would be made up of dense elements with high melting
points.

The outer planets are lighter and are made up of the light elements which could exist
as solids due to the low temperatures, this lead to them being less dense. They are
also large in size, this is because the outer region did not experience lots of
gravitational force from the sun.

[6 marks]

Question 17:
One of the types of radiation emitted by the sun is Ultra Violet radiation.

List 2 other types of radiation emitted by the sun.

• Visible light • Infrared Radiation

[2 marks]

Question 18:
Name the 4 inner planets in the solar system.

Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars.

[1 mark]

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Question 19:
The gravitational field strength on Mercury is 4 N/kg and the gravitational field
strength on Earth is 9 N/kg.

Explain why this is the case despite Mercury being closer to the sun than Earth.

The reason why Earth has a greater gravitational field strength than Mercury is due
to the Earth being heavier than Mercury.

While it is true that the gravitational field strength decreases as the distance between
the object and the sun increases. However, it is also dependent on the mass of the
planet, this means that heavier planets have more gravitational field strength as well.

When compared, Mercury’s less distance from the sun is not enough to make it have
a higher gravitational field strength which is why Earth has more gravitational field
strength.

[3 marks]

Question 20:
Explain what redshift is and how it provides evidence for the expansion of the
universe.

Redshift is when the observed wavelength is more the actual wavelength, this
phenomenon is due to the Doppler Effect where the motion of an object causes
wavelength of light to expand as it moves away from the observer.

In the case of galaxies, it tells us the rate at which the universe is expanding. This is
done by calculating the amount that the light from the galaxies have redshifted, this
provides us with an estimate of the rate at which the universe is expanding.

[5 marks]

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2023

Practice Questions
Block 6 (Physics 0625)
These are some sample questions for the newly added Space Physics block
to help prepare for the upcoming exams for physics 0620!

Final Words
I hope this resource was useful for you!
This resource is just one of the many resources I have made till now.
You can find all the other resources at my website.
This includes resources such as revision notes, topical past papers, and
other helpful resources.

I also work on other projects such as game or software to help with math
prep!

Notes By MST_CREATOR Page 15