19 Stars
OCR Physics A Exam-style questions
Refer to the Physics A data sheet for data, formulae and relationships information.
1 a The solar system consists of planets, with their attendant moons, and dwarf
planets orbiting the Sun. State two other types of body that orbit our Sun and
describe two features which distinguish them from each other.
(4 marks)
b The Sun is a main sequence star of average mass. Describe the way in
which the Sun was formed and its most probable future evolution.
(6 marks)
2 Antares is a red supergiant star in the constellation Scorpius.
a i Describe three characteristics of a red supergiant star.
(3 marks)
ii State what is meant by a constellation.
(1 mark)
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19 Stars
OCR Physics A Exam-style questions
b The future evolution of Antares will be very different from that of our
own Sun.
Describe how you would expect Antares to evolve.
(4 marks)
3 Figure 1 is an outline of the Hertzsprung–Russell (H–R) diagram.
Figure 1
a On Figure 1:
i label the axes and draw arrows to indicate the directions of increasing
values
(2 marks)
ii name the region which is shaded
(1 mark)
iii mark the approximate position that currently represents the Sun.
Label this point S.
(2 marks)
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19 Stars
OCR Physics A Exam-style questions
b Also on Figure 1:
i mark and name positions in two other regions that the Sun is expected to
occupy in the future. (4 marks)
ii draw a line showing the path that the Sun is expected to take over the
next 5 × 109 years. (2 marks)
c Explain what is likely to be the final fate of the Sun.
(2 marks)
OCR Physics A, Jan 2010
4 a A diffraction grating is used to analyse the visible light emitted by a lamp
containing hydrogen. A narrow beam of light is incident normally on the
grating. The first-order spectrum of the diffracted light includes red and blue
rays which emerge symmetrically from the grating, as shown in Figure 2.
Figure 2
The angle between the two blue rays is 30.2º and the angle between the two
red rays is 46.4º.
The grating has 600 lines/mm.
Show that the wavelength of the blue light is 434 nm and that of the red light
is 656 nm.
(3 marks)
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19 Stars
OCR Physics A Exam-style questions
b The diffraction grating in a is used to analyse the light emitted by the Sun.
It is observed that its continuous spectrum is crossed by a series of dark
lines, two of which correspond to the wavelengths determined in a. Describe
how these dark lines are produced in the solar spectrum.
(5 marks)
5 a Figure 3 shows the lowest four energy levels of electrons in a hydrogen
atom. Excited atoms of hydrogen can emit light of specific wavelengths when
electrons ‘fall’ to lower energy levels.
Figure 3
i Determine the wavelength which corresponds to transitions between the
E3 and E2 levels.
(3 marks)
ii The transition from E3 to E2 gives light in the visible part of the spectrum.
Without calculation, suggest in which region of the spectrum you would
expect to detect photons emitted when electrons transfer from the E3 to
E1 level. Make your reasoning clear in your answer.
(2 marks)
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19 Stars
OCR Physics A Exam-style questions
b Figure 4 shows the black-body radiation curves for three stars labelled A, B
and C.
Figure 4
i State and explain, without calculation, which one of the three stars is the
coolest.
(2 marks)
ii Calculate the black body temperature of star B.
Wien’s constant 2.9 × 103 m K
(3 marks)
6 Rigel is the brightest star in the constellation Orion and the seventh brightest star
in the night sky.
a The black-body radiation curve for Rigel shows a peak at a wavelength of
241 nm. Calculate the black-body temperature of Rigel.
Wien’s constant 2.9 × 103 m K
(2 marks)
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19 Stars
OCR Physics A Exam-style questions
b The luminosity of Rigel is 120 000 times greater than the Sun.
Use Stefan’s law to calculate the radius of Rigel.
Luminosity of the Sun 3.85 × 1026 W
Stefan’s constant 5.67 × 108 Wm2 K4
(3 marks)
c Explain how the spectrum obtained from Rigel can be used to give
information about its composition.
(4 marks)
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