07/19/23

The Earth in the Universe

(OCR 21st Century)

W Richards

The Weald School

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P1.1 The Earth in the Universe
The eight planets of our Solar System 07/19/23

Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars
Jupiter
Saturn
Uranus
Neptune

As well as the eight planets, the solar system is also made

up of asteroids, dwarf planets, comets and moons
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Mercury = 88 days
Mercury
Venus
Earth
Mars = 687 days
Mars
Jupiter
Pluto =
Saturn 90,500 days
Uranus
Neptune
Pluto
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The Earth’s Orbit

Ellipse
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Asteroids

An “asteroid belt” lies between Mars and

Jupiter. But what is an asteroid?
 Comets
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Comets are balls of dust and frozen

gas. They have very elliptical orbits:

Notice how the tail always points away from the sun!
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The Solar System summarised
What makes up our solar system? Complete the following mind
map with what you now about each object:

The solar system

 Solar systems, galaxies and the Universe 07/19/23

Our planet (around 13,000km diameter and 4500 million

years old) is pretty small compared to...
OUR SUN (100 times wider
and 4.6 billion years old),
which is small compared to…

THE MILKY WAY, which

contains at least 200 billion
THE UNIVERSE, which stars and is 100,000 light
contains billions of galaxies and years across, which is small
is 14,000 million years old. compared to…
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How to make a solar system
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Stage 1: Nebulae

A nebulae is a collection of dust, gas and rock.

Some examples of nebulae…

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Dark nebula
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Emission nebula
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Planetary nebula
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Reflection nebula
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Stage 2: Throw the nebula together
Gravity will slowly pull these
particles together…

As they move inwards their

gravitational potential energy
is converted into heat and a
big object (PROTOSTAR) or
smaller objects (planets,
asteroids etc) are formed
 Stage 3: Make a star
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In a star the forces of

gravitational attraction
pulling the particles inwards
are _________ by forces
acting outwards due to the
huge __________ inside the
star.
Stars are basically ________ reactors that use _______
as a fuel. During its main sequence a star will release
energy by combining hydrogen and helium nuclei (light
elements) into _________ elements.

Any element in space that is heavier than helium is

thought to have been made in a star.
Words – heavier, balanced, hydrogen, nuclear, temperatures
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Observing the Universe

All of these methods rely on detecting radiation from stars.

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The Light Year
Distances in space are so big that they are measured in units
called “light years”:

1 light year = the distance

travelled by light in one yar

Q. If light travels through space (i.e. A vacuum) at 300,000

km/s how far is one light year?

Because of this, when we see stars in the night sky we are

actually seeing them as they were in the past.
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Distances in space
The Sun, our closest star, is 1.6x10-5 light years
away from us.

The next closest star, Proxima

Centauri (4.2 light years away)

The centre of our galaxy, the Milky Way, is

around 26,000 light years away.

The Andromeda Galaxy (our closest galaxy)

– approximately 2.5 million light years away
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Measuring distance using brightness
The sun looks very
bright. But, to be fair,
it’s very close to us so
it should look bright!
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Measuring distance using brightness
When I look at these stars some appear brighter than
others. This because they are either brighter stars or
closer to me.
For example, the star Antares is 10,000 times brighter
than the sun but it is 500 light years away from me, so
it is only the 15th brightest star in the night sky.
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Measuring distances to stars
1) Relative Brightness
The further away a Distant
star is the dimmer it stars
is. Simple. Nearby star

2) Parallax

Parallax is the
apparent change in
position of closer
stars due to the
Earth moving around
the sun.
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Problems in Measuring Distances
1) Light pollution and other
atmospheric conditions can
interfere with observing stars:

2) Stars are simply very far away so the

angles involved in using techniques like
parallax are very small:
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compare to others…
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How did the universe begin?
Scientists believe that the universe began by a “big bang”
around 14 billion years ago:
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Evidence about the origins of

the universe…
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Source of
light “Spectra”
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If you pass the light through a gas something

different is seen…

helium

Some wavelengths of light

are absorbed by the gas –
an “absorption spectrum”.
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If the light source is moving away the absorption
spectra look a little different…

Before

helium
helium

After
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The absorption lines have all been “shifted”
towards the longer wavelength end (red end)…
Before
This is called red
shift. The faster
the light source
moves the further
its light will be
“shifted”

After
A similar effect happens with sound
– this is called “The Doppler
Effect”
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Red Shift simplified
Basically, if I walk towards you I’ll
look slightly more blue. Then, if I
walk away from you, I’ll look slightly
more red!!

Let’s try it…

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Light from different stars and from the
edge of the universe also shows this “red-
shift”. This suggests that everything in
the universe is moving away from a single
point.

This is the BIG

BANG theory
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Red shift summary
Light from other galaxies has a longer _________ than
expected. This shows that these galaxies are moving ____
from us very quickly. This effect is seen to a greater
extent in galaxies that are _______ away from us. This
indicates that the further away the galaxy is, the ______
it is moving.

This evidence seems to suggest that everything in the

universe is moving away from a single point, and that this
process started around 15 _____ years ago. This is the
____ ________ Theory.

Words to use – faster, away, big bang,

billion, wavelength, further
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Hubble’s Law
The speed at which galaxies are
moving away from us is proportional
to their distance from us.

In other words, the further away

they are, the faster they go.

Edwin Hubble
1889-1953
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Big Bang Theory
Some scientists have explained that red shift can actually be used to
support the Big Bang Theory – this explanation is based around the rates
of expansion and contraction of different galaxies. If our neighbouring
galaxy is expanding at a different rate to the Milky Way then it will appear
red or blue-shifted.

So Mr President, red shift

shows us that galaxies are
moving and therefore we
assume that space itself is
expanding. Elementary!

Stephen Hawking, 1942 -

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The end of the Universe
There are some theories about how the
universe will end but its difficult to tell
due to difficulties in measuring objects
that are so far away:

“The big crunch” – if there is too much mass (i.e. too much
matter) the universe will collapse under its own gravity. It
may then do another “big bang” – this is the “oscillating
universe” theory.

“Expanding Universe” – if there isn’t enough mass in the

universe then it will just keep on expending forever.

If there is just the right mass in the universe then it will

reach a fixed size.
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The End of the Universe
Basically, how the universe will end
depends on its “energy-mass density”.

Stephen Hawking
Now Open universe
Size of universe

Critical
density

Closed
universe

Time
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P1.2 The Changing Earth
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Evidence for the age of the Earth
Scientists once thought that the Earth was only 6000 years
old. Rocks have provided lots of evidence for the world being
older.
1) Erosion

2) Craters

3) Mountains

4) Fossils

5) Folding

6) Radioactive dating
The Earth’s age must be older than the oldest rocks, which
are around 4,000,000,000 years old.
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Continental Drift
Look at the coastlines of South
America and Africa. I wonder of
they used to fit together…

Alfred
Wegener

I’m going to call this my

Theory of Continental Drift
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Tectonic theory

What’s my evidence for this? Three things:

1) The “jigsaw fit”
2) Each continent has similar rocks and fossils
3) Each continent has similar animal species
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Another Example of Continental Drift
The formation of mountain ranges can be explained by
tectonic theory. Consider the Himalayas at the top of India:

This is where
India is now

This is where
India was millions
of years ago

If it wasn’t for processes like this then, if you think

about it, continents would eventually disappear due to
erosion. Fascinating.
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The Evidence:
Tectonic theory
1) Some continents look like they used to “fit”
together
2) Similar rock patterns and fossil records

The Problems:
Wegener couldn't explain how continental drift
happened or provide evidence so nobody
believed him. Also, he wasn’t a geologist so he
had no credibility and there were other
explanations for the same evidence.

The Answer:

Scientists discovered 50 years later that the Earth generates massive

amounts of heat through radioactive decay in the core. This heat
generated convection currents in the mantle causing the crust to move.

Conclusion – scientists now believe Wegener’s Tectonic Theory

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Movement of the Lithosphere
The Earth’s LITHOSPHERE (i.e. the _______) is split
up into different sections called ________ plates:

These plates are moving ______ from each other a few

centimetres every _______. They can slide past each
other, move apart from each other or move towards
each other, causing volcanoes and _________.
Words – earthquakes, crust, apart, tectonic, year
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Sea Floor Spreading

Earthquakes and
volcanic eruptions can
Igneous Rock be common here

Oceanic Crust

Mantle

Convection
Currents Magma
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Magnetic Patterns in Sea Floor Spreading

The Earth’s magnetic field swaps poles every million years.

The above picture shows those changes recorded over time in
rocks on the sea floor and provides evidence for long-term sea
floor spreading.
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More on Plate Movements

Subduction

Thick, less dense

continental plate
Thin, dense oceanic plate

Convection
Currents
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The Structure of the Earth
A thin crust - 10-
100km thick and
not very dense

A mantle – extends
almost halfway to the
centre, hot and dense

A core – made of molten

nickel and iron. Outer
part is liquid and inner
part is solid. Gets hot
due to radioactive decay.

How do we know? A lot of the evidence for these facts

comes from studying earthquakes (seismic waves)…
 An introduction to Waves
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A Wave is a “movement of energy” but NOT a transfer of

matter
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Transverse vs. longitudinal waves
Transverse waves

Displacement
are when the
displacement is at
right angles to the
direction of the
wave. Direction
Examples – light, other EM waves, some seismic waves
Displacement Longitudinal waves
are when the
displacement is
parallel to the
direction of the
Direction wave…
Examples – sound, some seismic waves
 Seismic waves 07/19/23

Earthquakes travel as waves through the Earth – we call them

SEISMIC WAVES. There are two types:

P waves:
1) They are longitudinal so they cause the ground
to move up and down
2) They can pass through solids and liquids
3) They go faster through more dense material

S waves:
1) They are transverse so they cause the ground
to move from right to left
2) They ONLY pass through solids
3) They are slower than P waves
4) They go faster through more dense material
 Seismic waves 07/19/23

These P waves are

being reflected at the
crust

These P waves travel

through the Earth and
are refracted when
they pass through a
medium

These S waves cannot

travel through the
outer core as they only
The paths of these waves are all go through solids – this
curved because density is tells us that the outer
gradually changing core is liquid
Locating Earthquakes
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By measuring the time

it takes the wave to
travel to these
locations the location
of the earthquake can
be found.
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Wave definitions…
1) Amplitude – this is
“how high” the wave is:

2) Wavelength () – this is the

distance between two
corresponding points on the
wave and is measured in metres:

3) Frequency – this is how many waves pass by

every second and is measured in Hertz (Hz)

4) Speed – this is how fast the wave travels and is

measured in metres per second (m/s)
 Distance, Speed
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D
and Time for waves
Speed = distance (in metres)
time (in seconds) S T
1) A water wave travels 200 metres in 40 seconds. What is its speed?

2) Another wave covers 2km in 1,000 seconds. What is its speed?

3) Sound travels at around 330m/s. How long does it take to travel one
mile (roughly 1,600m)?

4) Light travels at a speed of 300,000,000m/s. How long would it take to

travel around the world if the diameter at the equator is around
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Drawing waves

1) Low amplitude, low frequency:

2) Low amplitude, high frequency:

3) High amplitude, low frequency:

4) High amplitude, high frequency:

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The Wave Equation
All E-M waves obey the Wave Equation:

Wave speed (v) = frequency (f) x wavelength ()

in m/s in Hz in m

Notice that frequency is

V inversely proportional to
wavelength – if wavelength
goes up, frequency goes down

f 
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Some example wave equation questions
1) A water wave has a frequency of 2Hz and a wavelength
of 0.3m. How fast is it moving?
0.6m/s

2) A water wave travels through a pond with a speed of

1m/s and a frequency of 5Hz. What is the wavelength
of the waves?
0.2m

3) The speed of sound is 330m/s (in air). When Dave

hears this sound his ear vibrates 660 times a second.
What was the wavelength of the sound? 0.5m

4) Purple light has a wavelength of around 6x10-7m and a

frequency of 5x1014Hz. What is the speed of purple
light? 3x108m/s