GRADE 12 PHYSICAL SCIENCE (4th Quarter, Week 5)

LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET

The Earth in the Universe
Background Information
VARIOUS LIGHT PHENOMENA
Reflection of light (and other forms of electromagnetic radiation) occurs when the waves encounter a surface or other
boundary that does not absorb the energy of the radiation and bounces the waves away from the surface. The simplest example of
visible light reflection is the surface of a smooth pool of water, where incident light is reflected in an orderly manner to produce a
clear image of the scenery surrounding the pool. Throw a rock into the pool, and the water is perturbed to form waves, which
disrupt the reflection by scattering the reflected light rays in all directions.
When electromagnetic radiation, in the form of visible light, travels from one substance or medium into another, the light
waves may undergo a phenomenon known as refraction, which is manifested by a bending or change in direction of the light.
Refraction occurs as light passes from one medium to another only when there is a difference in the index of refraction between the
two materials. The effects of refraction are responsible for a variety of familiar phenomena, such as the apparent bending of an
object that is partially submerged in water and the mirages observed on a hot, sandy desert. The refraction of visible light is also an
important characteristic of lenses that enables them to focus a beam of light onto a single point.

 Ray Diagram of Concave Mirrors in a Spoon

In the center of the sphere from which the mirror was sliced is known as the center of
curvature and is denoted by the letter C in the diagram below. The point on the mirror's surface
where the principal axis meets the mirror is known as the vertex and is denoted by the letter A in
the diagram below. The vertex is the geometric center of the mirror. Midway between the vertex
and the center of curvature is a point known as the focal point; the focal point is denoted by the
letter F in the diagram below. The distance from the vertex to the center of curvature is known as
the radius of curvature (represented by R). The radius of curvature is the radius of the sphere from
which the mirror was cut. Finally, the distance from the mirror to the focal point is known as the
focal length (represented by f).
Since the focal point is the midpoint of the line segment adjoining the vertex and the center of
curvature, the focal length would be one-half the radius of curvature.
 Ray Diagram of Convex Mirrors in a Spoon
The diagram at the right depicts a convex mirror. In Lesson 3, a convex mirror was described as a
portion of a sphere that had been sliced away. If the outside of the sphere is silvered such that it can
reflect light, then the mirror is said to be convex. The center of that original sphere is known as the
center of curvature (C) and the line that passes from the mirror's surface through the sphere's center
is known as the principal axis. The mirror has a focal point (F) that is located along the principal axis,
midway between the mirror's surface and the center of curvature. Note that the center of curvature
and the focal point are located on the side of the mirror opposite the object - behind the mirror. Since
the focal point is located behind the convex mirror, such a mirror is said to have a negative focal
length value. A convex mirror is sometimes referred to as a diverging mirror due to the fact that
incident light
originating from the same point and will reflect off the mirror surface and diverge. The diagram at the right shows four incident rays
originating from a point and incident towards a convex mirror. These four rays will each reflect according to the law of reflection.
After reflection, the light rays diverge; subsequently they will never intersect on the object side of the mirror. For this reason,
convex mirrors produce virtual images that are located somewhere behind the mirror. The image in the diagram above is a virtual
image. Light does not actually pass through the image location. It only appears to observers as though all the reflected light from
each part of the object is diverging from this virtual image location. The fact that all the reflected light from the object appears to
diverge from this location in space means that any observer would view a replica or reproduction when sighting along a line at this
location.
 Mirages
The mirage is caused by the total internal reflection of light at layers of air at
different densities. In a desert, the sand is very hot during day time and a result
the layer of the air in contact with it gets heated up and becomes lighter. The
lighter the air rises up and the denser air from above comes down. The mirage is
caused by the total internal reflection of light at layers of air at different densities.
In a desert, the sand is very hot during day time and a result the layer of the air
in
contact with it gets heated up and becomes lighter. The lighter the air rises up and the denser air from above comes down.

 Light from a red laser passes more easily through red cellophane than green cellophane.
o White light - If you shine torch light onto a sheet of paper, the light from the torch appears white.
The light given out by torch lights, light globes and the Sun is white light. Some sources of light, for
example coloured neon lights or LEDs, do not produce white light, but coloured light. If you want to
know what colour make-up or clothes will appear under normal circumstances, you need to check
the colours in white light. Checking the colours under coloured light can cause them to look very
different.
o The light spectrum - If a beam of white light from a globe or from the Sun is shone through a
triangular prism, a rainbow is produced. This is because the white light that comes from a light globe
or from the Sun is a mixture of many different colors. When white light passes through a prism, it is
split up into these separate colors. White light is therefore a mixture of red, orange, yellow, green,
blue and violet light. It is our eye that sees this mixture as 'white’.

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 EXPERIMENT 1.1 Looking Through Red Cellophane
You will need the following: Several sheets of red cellophane, Flashlight, Rubber band, Printed sheet with red and green dots.
1. Stack the sheets of cellophane together and use them to cover the light end of the flashlight. Hold in place with the rubber
band.
2. Go into a room that is in complete darkness so that the only light that appears in the room will be the light of the flashlight.
3. Turn on the flashlight and shine it on the printed paper with the dots. Observe what you see on the paper.
4. Compare what you saw on the paper in the dark room to what is seen in a normally lighted room.
Guide Questions:
1. What is the color of the white parts of the paper and why does it appear so?
2. Can you see the red dots on the paper? Why do you think so?
3. Can you see the green dots on the paper? Why do you think so?
In Experiment 1.1, you should see the following observations when red light shines at a white paper with red and green dots:
(1) The white paper appears red; (2) The red dots on the paper cannot be seen; and (3) The green dots appear black. Let’s
understand why these happens and answer the question, “why does light from a red laser passes more easily though red
cellophane than green cellophane?”
The white paper appears red because the color white is a reflection of all wavelengths of light together, and therefore is able
to reflect the red light transmitted onto it, and also no other wavelengths of light are visible in the darkened room. The red dots
cannot be seen because they are reflecting the same wavelength of light that is being transmitted onto them. Since the red light is
the only light in the room, when it hits the red dots on the white paper the only wavelength of light that is reflected back is red.
There is no contrast between two different colors caused by multiple wavelengths of light so the colors cannot be distinguished
from one another. The green dots appear black in the red light because they absorb the red light and have no other wavelength of
light to reflect. A green dot appears green in white light because when the light hits it, it absorbs all wavelengths except for green,
which is reflected. The color black occurs when all wavelengths of light that hit an object are absorbed.
NOTE: Green cellophane will only allow green light to pass through it. The cellophane absorbs other colors of light. For example,
green light will not pass through red cellophane. The green light is absorbed by the red cellophane. However, green light will pass
through green cellophane. As a general rule each color filter (e.g. glass or cellophane) will only allow light of its own color to pass
through.
 EXPERIMENT “COLOR COMBINATIONS”
You will need:
*Three flashlights *Three rubber bands
*Red, green, and blue pieces of cellophane *A sheet of white card
What to do:
In a well-lit room, hold a piece of red cellophane in front of your eyes.
1. What do you see?
2. What is the normal color of the objects that seem brightest when viewed through the cellophane?
3. What is the normal color of the things that seem darkest?
Make the room as dark as possible and turn on a flashlight. Fix a blue piece of cellophane to the end of the flashlight with a
rubber band and again look through the red cellophane. What happens? Look through a piece of blue cellophane, then green. Try
different combinations of cellophane in front of they our eyes and around the flashlight. Makes notes of your findings and try to
explain them. Fasten a piece of red cellophane in front of one flashlight, a blue piece in front of another, and a green piece in front
of a third. Darken the room and shine the flashlights onto the card so that their beams overlap. Try the flashlights in pairs and then
all three together. What do you notice about the areas where the beams overlap?
Taking it further:
Repeat the last part of the experiment involving the three flashlights. But this time place your finger in various positions in
the beams from the flashlights just before they strike the screen. Look at the different shadows of your finger that are cast. What
colors are they? How do you explain what you see?
Note: This experiment will work even better if you use three slide projectors in place of the flashlights, and colored slides instead
of cellophane.

 Clothing of certain colors appear in different artificial light and in sunlight.

The dyes use absorb light and re-emit it at a different wavelength giving the
colors we see on the clothes. The color change happens because the dyes
can exist in two states, one of which fluoresces at UV wavelengths and the
other at visible wavelengths. The change between the two states is triggered
by ultra-violet light. Artificial light contains very little ultraviolet so the dyes
revert to the
state in which they do not fluoresce in the visible wavelengths. Sunlight contains significant UV and in sunlight the dyes change to
the form that fluoresces at visible wavelengths. That's why the color appears only in sunlight.
Question: Why does the color of clothing appear different in sunlight than it does in a store of florescent light?
 HALOES
Halo, any of a wide range of atmospheric optical phenomena that result when the Sun or
Moon shines through thin clouds composed of ice crystals. These phenomena may be due to
the refraction of light that passes through the crystals, or the reflection of light from crystal faces, or a

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 combination of both effects. Refraction effects give rise to colour separation because of the slightly
different bending of the different colours composing the incident light as it passes through the
crystals. On the other hand, reflection phenomena are whitish in colour, because the incident light is
not broken up into its component colours, each wavelength being reflected at the same angle. The
most common halo is the 22° halo, a series of coloured arcs, or in some cases complete circles, of
22° angular radius with the Sun or Moon at its centre. The order of coloration is red on the inside and
blue on the outside, opposite to that of the atmospheric corona.
 SUNDOGS
Also called mock sun or parhelion, atmospheric optical phenomenon appearing in the sky as luminous
spots 22° on each side of the Sun and at the same elevation as the Sun. Usually, the edges closest to the
Sun will appear reddish. Other colours are occasionally visible, but more often the outer portions of each
spot appear whitish. Sun dogs occur when the Sun or Moon shines through a thin cirrus cloud composed
of hexagonal ice crystals falling with their principal axes vertical, as opposed to the halo phenomenon that
occurs when the principal axes are randomly arranged in a plane perpendicular to the Sun’s or Moon’s
rays. The red end of the spectrum, being bent the least, appears on the inside, with the blue, when visible,
appearing on the outside. Sun dogs most commonly appear during the winter in the middle latitudes.

HOW HERTZ PRODUCED RADIO PULSES

“Hertz” is the measurement of the frequency of radio (electromagnetic) waves. These waves are created by alternating
electricity from direction to the other. The electrical signal goes from zero to its peak in one direction, then decreases to zero and
increases to the peak, then back to zero. That is called a “cycle,” and radio waves used to be measured in cycles per second. The
measurement unit was changed to “Hertz” to honor the scientist who discovered these waves. So, a radio station that broadcasts
at 89.9 Megahertz (MHz) transmits a signal that alternates 89.9 million times a second. Radios can be “tuned” so they ignore all of
the radio frequencies except the desired one (station).
WHAT ARE RADIO WAVES?
In 1932, Karl Jansky at Bell Labs revealed that stars and other objects in space radiated radio waves. Radio waves have the
longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum. They range from the length of a football to larger than our planet. Heinrich
Hertz proved the existence of radio waves in the late 1880s. He used a spark gap attached to an induction coil and a separate
spark gap on a receiving antenna. When waves created by the sparks of the coil transmitter were picked up by the receiving
antenna, sparks would jump its gap as well. Hertz showed in his experiments that these signals possessed all the properties of
electromagnetic waves.
You can tune a radio to a specific wavelength—or frequency—and listen to your favorite music. The radio "receives" these
electromagnetic radio waves and converts them to mechanical vibrations in the speaker to create the sound waves you can hear.
 SOME TERMS
1. Electromagnetic radiation is a form of energy that is all around us and takes many forms, such as radio waves,
microwaves, X-rays and gamma rays.

FACTS:
1. Radio Waves have frequencies as high as 300 GHz to as low as 3 KHz.
2. The sun and the planet Jupiter are extraterrestrial sources of radio waves.
USE OF RADIO WAVES
 The prime purpose of radio is to convey information from one place to another through the intervening media without wires
 Use for sending out signals and picking up their reflections from objects in their path.
 Use for transmitting sound and television signals, radio waves is used for transmission of data in coded form.
 Enables astronauts to communicate with the earth from moon and carry information from space probes as they travel to distant
planets.
 Automatic doors, WI-FI, and Bluetooth make use of radio waves
 GPS and radio frequency identification also make use of radio waves.

Learning Competencies:
 Explain various light phenomena such as:
A. Your reflection on the concave and convex sides of a spoon looks different

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 B. Mirages
C. Light from a red laser passes more easily though red cellophane than green cellophane
D. Clothing of certain colors appear different in artificial light and in sunlight
E. Haloes, sundogs, primary rainbows, secondary rainbows, and supernumerary bows
F. Why clouds are usually white and rainclouds dark
G. Why the sky is blue and sunsets are reddish
(S11/12PS-IVh-66)
 Describe how Hertz produced radio pulses (S11/12PS-IVh-67)
TASK 1: Fill in the Blanks
1. A spoon acts as a mirror, but with a curve in it. The front of the spoon is a _____ giving off an ______ image while the
back is a ____ giving off an _____ image. A diagram showing this phenomenon is called a ________.
2. A _____ is an optical phenomenon that creates the illusion of water and results from the refraction of _____ through a
non-uniform medium.
3. Green cellophane will only allow ______ light to pass through it; a red one will only allow red light to pass. The cellophane
_______ other colors of light. That is why a _____ light can easily pass through a red cellophane compared to a green
cellophane

TASK 2: Answer the following questions

1. How are radio waves used in cell phones?
2. What are harmful effects of radio waves?

Reflection:
Prove “Ray Diagram of Concave Mirrors in a Spoon”
Take a stainless steel spoon. Bring the outer side of the spoon near your face and look into it
Questions:
1. Do you see your image in it?
2. Is this image different from what you see in a plane mirror? Is this image erect?
3. Is the size of the image the same, smaller or larger?

Note: Attach to your answer sheet or send the picture to your teacher as evidence that you have proved the Ray Diagram of
Concave Mirrors in a Spoon.
Prepared by:
DAINAVI B. PALITAYAN
Teacher II
Bagabag National High School

GRADE 12 PHYSICAL SCIENCE (4th Quarter, Week 6)

LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET
The Earth in the Universe
Background Information
HOW SPECIAL RELATIVITY RESOLVED THE CONFLICT BETWEEN NEWTONIAN MECHANICS AND
MAXWELL’S ELECTROMAGNETIC THEORY

The theory of relativity developed by Albert Einstein includes the special theory of relativity and general theory of
relativity. According to him, the rate of proceeding into the future is influenced by the movement through space. His theories helped
the scientists in their comprehension of the universe.
The theory of special relativity explains how space and time are linked for objects that are moving at a consistent speed in
a straight line. One of its most famous aspects concerns objects moving at the speed of light.
The theory of special relativity was developed by Albert Einstein in 1905, and it forms part of the basis of modern physics.
After finishing his work in special relativity, Einstein spent a decade pondering what would happen if one introduced acceleration.
This formed the basis of his general relativity, published in 1915.
Before Einstein, astronomers (for the most part) understood the universe in terms of three laws of motion presented by Isaac
Newton in 1686. These three laws are:
1. Objects in motion (or at rest) remain in motion (or at rest) unless an external force imposes change.
2. Force is equal to the change in momentum per change of time. For a constant mass, force equals mass times
acceleration.
3. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
But there were cracks in the theory for decades before Einstein's arrival on the scene. In 1865, Scottish physicist James
Clerk Maxwell demonstrated that light is a wave with both electrical and magnetic components, and established the speed of
light (186,000 miles per second). Scientists supposed that the light had to be transmitted through some medium, which they called
the ether. (We now know that no transmission medium is required, and that light in space moves in a vacuum.)
Twenty years later, an unexpected result threw this into question. Physicist A.A. Michelson and chemist Edward Morley (both
Americans at the time) calculated how Earth's motion through this "ether" affected how the speed of light is measured, and found
that the speed of light is the same no matter what Earth's motion is. This led to further musings on light's behaviour and its
incongruence with classical mechanics by Austrian physicist Ernst Mach and French mathematician Henri Poincare.
Albert Einstein began thinking of light's behaviour when he was just 16 years old, in 1895. He did a thought experiment, where
he rode on one light wave and looked at another light wave moving parallel to him.
Classical physics should say that the light wave Einstein was looking at would have a relative speed of zero, but this
contradicted Maxwell's equations that showed light always has the same speed: 186,000 miles a second. Another problem with

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relative speeds is they would show that the laws of electromagnetism change depending on your vantage point, which contradicted
classical physics as well (which said the laws of physics were the same for everyone.)
This led to Einstein's eventual musings on the theory of special relativity, which he broke down into the everyday example of a
person standing beside a moving train, comparing observations with a person inside the train. He imagined the train being at a
point in the track equally between two trees. If a bolt of lightning hit both trees at the same time, due to the motion of the train, the
person on the train would see the bolt hit one tree before the other tree. But the person beside the track would see simultaneous
strikes.
Einstein concluded that simultaneity is relative; events that are simultaneous for one observer may not be for another. This led
him to the counterintuitive idea that time flows differently according to the state of motion, and to the conclusion that distance is
also relative."
Special Theory of Relativity
The special theory of relativity states the effect of motion in space at constant velocity and time. It also describes how
mass and energy are related at a constant speed. Motion in space affects motion in time and is timeless. Traveling through space
at the speed of light, therefore, does not consider time
The two main postulates of special relativity:
1. The laws of physics are the same in all reference frames that are moving at a constant velocity (not
accelerating).
According to Einstein, experiments cannot detect the state of uniform motion the way they can detect accelerated motion .He
claimed that all kinds of motion are relative and all reference frames are arbitrary. From this observation it will be difficult for two
reference frame to determine which is in motion and at rest
Example:
a. There are times when it appears that the cars you see in another lane seem moving backward. You will realized, however,
that they are really at rest and it is your car that is really moving forward.
b. When a pendulum is made to swing inside a car. It will be noticed that the velocity of the pendulum, when not moving,
remains the same even when the car starts to move.

2. The speed of light is the same in all of these reference frames, even if the source of the light is moving.
The speed of light in all frames of reference is always the same. Einstein was not convinced that a light beam would appear as if it
is at rest if one travels along beside it. Instead, he concluded that light could be measured by an observer as if it is moving away
from him at 300 000 km/s.

Example:
Suppose you are sitting on the hood of a stationary car and your brother is standing alongside the road some 50 feet
ahead of the car. If you throw a ball to your brother with a velocity of 10 m/s, it will travel, relative to you, at a velocity of 10 m/s and
it will travel, relative to your brother, as 10 m/s. Suppose then, that you repeat the throw except this time, you toss the ball while the
car is moving toward your brother at 10 m/s. This time, the ball will move, relative to you, with a velocity of 10 m/s but it will move,
relative to your brother, with a velocity of 20 m/s. In this case, the velocity of the source of the ball is added to the velocity of the ball
to get the velocity relative to a stationary observer.

The special theory of relativity copes with the results of the Michelson-Morley experiments much better than does classical
mechanics, but it also has some surprising consequences. For example, according to the theory of special relativity,
 Two events that occurred simultaneously for one observer were not simultaneous for another observer if the two observers
had relative motion to each other. (Relativity of simultaneity).
 Clocks in a moving frame of reference tick more slowly than an observer’s “stationary” clock. (Time dilation).
 Objects are measured to be shorter in the direction that they are moving with respect to a stationary observer. (Length
contraction).
 E=mc², energy and mass are equivalent and transmutable. (Mass-energy equivalence).
 No physical object can travel faster than the speed of light in a vacuum. (Maximum speed is finite).

Mass and Velocity Relation

In 1905 Einstein proved that the laws of physics are the same for all non-accelerating observers and that the speed of light
in a vacuum was independent of the motion of all observers. This was the Special Theory of Relativity.
Where:
• v is the magnitude of the velocity • c is the speed of light
• m 0 is the rest mass of the body • m is the relativistic mass
This equation tells us that if we travel with speeds approaching the speed of light then our mass will increase with speed.
So, do you really gain mass? Do you become fat? No, let me tell you that we take inertial mass into consideration here. Inertial
mass measures an object’s resistance to being accelerated by a force. Now, everybody has rest mass which is m0 here in the
formula.
If an object moves with some speed then the kinetic energy adds up to the rest mass and overall the inertial mass
increases. This means that if an object approaches light speed then its inertial mass increases rapidly and accelerating it further
becomes more and more difficult. If any object reaches light speed its inertial mass approaches infinite according to the above
equation. Thus, Einstein stated that no object can travel faster than light speed.

o Example: An electron has a rest mass of9.11 x 10−31kg. In a detector, the same electron has a mass of 12.55 x 10
−31
kg.
How fast is electron moving relative the detector?
*Given:
8 m *Solution:
c=3.00 × 10 From the formula of Special Theory of Relativity:
s
−31
m 0=9.11 x 10 kg
−31
m=12.55 x 10 kg

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 mo  We cleared the velocity of the equation of the
m= relativistic mass. Now we replace the data

√ √
2
v
( )
−31 2
1− m 8 9.11× 10 kg
c
2 v=3.00 ×10 1− −31
s 12.55× 10 kg
 We can transpose it and get the formula: 8 m
v=2.06 ×10

√
s
( )
2
m
v=c 1− o
m
The Equivalence of Mass and Energy
The equation E=mc 2 states that the amount of energy possessed by an object is equal to its mass multiplied by the
square of the speed of light. Since the speed of light is an incredibly high number, almost 300,000 km/sec, a small amount of mass
contains a lot of energy. Additionally, the equation suggests that energy and mass are interchangeable with each other. In other
words, energy can be converted to mass and mass to energy.
Where: E = energy, m = mass, and c = the speed of light.

o Example: How much energy is contained in a particle that has a mass of m=1μg?
*Given: *Solution:
m=1μg Using the formula E=mc 2, we can now substitute the
 In order to calculate the energy in our particle, we
must make sure that the mass is in units of kg. given:
1μg = 1 x 10−9 kg −9 8m
E=(1 x 10 kg)(3.00× 10 )²
m=1 x 10−9 kg s

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E=9 ×10 J Learning Competencies:
 Explain how special relativity resolved the conflict between Newtonian mechanics and Maxwell’s electromagnetic theory
(S11/12PS-IVh-69)

TASK 1: PAIR ME
Directions: Choose which term in the box is being described by the following statements in Column B. Write your answer on the
column A.
Speed of Light James Clerk Maxwell Length Contraction Isaac Newton A.A Michelson
First Postulate of Length Contraction Theory of Special Michelson – Morley Theory of Special
Special Relativity Relativity Experiment Relativity

Column A Column B
1. Explains how space and time are linked for objects that are moving at a consistent speed in a straight
line.
2. The proponent of three laws of motion
3. Demonstrated that light is a wave with both electrical and magnetic components
4. He found that the speed of light is the same no matter what Earth's motion is
5. Laws of physics are the same in all inertial frames of reference
6. Reference frame in which a body at rest remains at rest and a body in motion moves at a constant
speed in a straight line unless acted on by an outside force
7. Decrease in observed length of an object from its proper length L0 to length L when its length is
observed in a reference frame where it is traveling at speed v
8. Investigation performed in 1887 that showed that the speed of light in a vacuum is the same in all
frames of reference from which it is viewed
9. Investigation performed in 1887 that showed that the speed of light in a vacuum is the same in all
frames of reference from which it is viewed
10. Ultimate speed limit for any particle having mass

TASK 2: SOLVE ME
Objectives: Solve the following problems using mass- velocity relation and energy –mass relation.
Materials: Paper, Pen and Scientific Calculator
Directions: Solve the following problems using mass- velocity relation and energy –mass relation. Show your complete solution.
1. A 25 kg rock is accelerated to a speed of 0.98c.
a. What would the mass of this rock be at this speed?
b. What would the mass of this rock be at this speed?
10
2. It takes 2.3 ×10 J of energy to operate a long train for 1.0 h. How long could you operate this train if 45 kg of matter
could be converted to pure energy?
3. What is the momentum of a 5.0 kg rock travelling at 0.99c?
4. A 12500 kg (rest mass) spaceship is travelling at 0.99c. What is the spaceship kinetic energy?
5. If the rest mass of a proton is 1.67x10-27 Kg. What is its mass when traveling at 0.85 c?

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REFLECTIONS:
Answer the following question:

1. I learned that ___________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________
2. I enjoyed most on ___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. I want to learn more on ___________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________

Prepared by:
DAINAVI B. PALITAYAN
Teacher II
Bagabag National High School

GRADE 12 PHYSICAL SCIENCE (4th Quarter, Week 7)

LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET

The Earth in the Universe
Background Information
EINSTEIN’S SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY
The first person to understand the relationship between space and time was Albert Einstein. At a
very young age of 26, he showed how measurements of time and space are affected by motion between
observer and what is being observed. Einstein stated in 1905 that in moving through space, we also
change our rate of proceeding into the future time itself.
Special Theory of Relativity has two main postulates: 1) The laws of physics are the same in every
initial frame of reference; and 2) The speed of light is the same in all inertial frames of reference and is
independent of the motion of the source.

The First Postulate of Special Relativity

Einstein reasoned all motion is relative and all frames of reference are arbitrary.
 Example: Spaceman A considers himself at rest and sees spacewoman B pass by, while spacewoman B considers herself at
rest and sees spaceman A pass by. Spaceman A and spacewoman B will both observe only the relative motion. Einstein’s first
postulate of special relativity assumes our inability to detect a state of uniform motion.

Relativity. Presentation Express. Conceptual Physics.

The Second Postulate of Special Relativity
Einstein concluded that if an observer could travel close to the speed of light, he would measure the light as moving away at
300,000 km/s. Einstein’s second postulate of special relativity assumes that the speed of light is constant.
 Example1: The speed of light is constant regardless of the speed of the flashlight or observer.

 Example 2: A spaceship departing from the space station. The speed of a light flash emitted by either the spaceship or the
space station is measured as c by observers on the ship or the space station.

CONSEQUENCES OF THE THEORY OF SPECIAL RELATIVITY

Special Relativity implies a wide range of consequences which have been experimentally verified such as relativity of
simultaneity, time dilation, length contraction, relativistic mass, mass-energy equivalence and cosmic speed limit.
 RELATIVITY OF SIMULTANEITY
Two events happening at the same time in a frame of reference is a property known as the relativity of simultaneity. According
to Eintein’s theory of relativity, simultaneity is not an absolute property between events. If two distinct events are separated in
space, then it cannot be said absolutely that they occur at the same time. It does not necessarily follow what is simultaneous in one
frame is also simultaneous in another.

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 Example:
To inside observer, light beams hit top and bottom simultaneously while to
outside observer, downward beam hits first and upward beam hits next.

 TIME DILATION
Einstein proposed that time can be stretched depending on the motion between the observer and the
events being observed. The stretching of time is time dilation. A moving clock ticks more slowly than a
clock at rest. To further understand this, let’s consider a light clock at a moving ship. A stationary light
clock is shown here. Imagine an empty tube with a mirror at each end. A flash of light bounces back and
forth between the parallel mirrors. The mirrors are perfect reflectors, so the flash bounces indefinitely.
The moving ship contains a light clock.
a. An observer moving with the spaceship observes the light flash moving vertically.
b. An observer who is passed by the moving ship observes the flash moving along a
diagonal path.
From the outside, one tick of the light clock takes longer than it takes for occupants of the spaceship. The spaceship’s
clock has slowed down. However, for occupants of the spaceship, it has not slowed. The slowing of time is not peculiar to the light
clock. It is time itself in the moving frame of reference, as viewed from our frame of reference that slows.
The heartbeats of the spaceship occupants will have a slower rhythm.
All events on the moving ship will be observed by us as slower.
We say that time is stretched—it is dilated.
The Twin Paradox
A dramatic illustration of time dilation is afforded by identical twins, one an astronaut who
takes a high-speed round-trip journey while the other stays home on Earth. When the traveling twin
returns, he is younger than the stay-at-home twin. How much younger depends on the relative
speeds involved.
Einstein showed the relation between the time t 0 in
the observer’s own frame of reference and the relative time t
measured in another frame of reference is:
t0
t=

√ ( )
2
m
1−
c
where v represents the relative velocity between the observer and the observed and c is the speed of light.

 Example 1: Astronauts traveling at 99% of speed of light could go to star Procyon (11.4 light-years distant) and
back in 23.0 years in Earth time. How long would be is the travel if we apply the time dilation?
- List all the given:
v = 0.99 c - Solution :
t = 23.0 years
()
2
t0 = ? t 0=t √ 1− v (Derived formula on how to get t 0)
- Substitute:
c

( )
2

t=
t0 t 0=23 years √ 1− 0.99 c

√
c
( )
2
m t
1− Answer 0=3.22 years
c
 LENGTH CONTRACTION
For moving objects, space as
well as time undergoes change. The
observable shortening of moving
objects approaching the speed of light
is called length contraction. The
amount of contraction is related to the
amount of time
dilation. For everyday speeds, the amount of contraction is much too small to be
measured.
The contraction of speeding objects is the contraction of space itself. Space
contracts in only one direction, the direction of motion. Lengths along the direction
perpendicular to this motion are the same in the two frames of reference. As relative speed
increases, contraction in the direction of motion increases. Lengths in the perpendicular
direction do not change.
- Relativistic length contraction is stated mathematically:
v - speed of the object relative to the observer
c - speed of light L is the length of the moving object as measured by the observer
L0 - measured length of the object at rest

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 Example 1: An earth-bound observer measures the distance to star Sirius as 8.7 light years ( LY ). What distance between
the Earth and Sirius would be measured by an observer on a spaceship moving at speed of 0.8 c?
- Solution: - Substitute the given:

√
L=?
( )
2
0.8 c
L0=8..7 LY L=8.7 LY 1−
c
v=0.8 c Answer : L=5.2 LY

√ ()
2
v
L=L0 1−
c

 MASS ENERGY EQUIVALENCE

A remarkable insight of Einstein’s special theory of relativity is his conclusion
that
mass is simply a form of energy. A piece of matter has an “energy of being” called rest energy. Einstein concluded that it takes
energy to make mass and that energy is released when mass disappears. Rest mass is, in effect, a kind of potential energy. The
amount of rest energy E is related to the mass m by the most celebrated equation of the twentieth century: where c is again the
speed of light. This equation gives the total energy content of a piece of stationary matter of mass.
Rest energy can be converted to other forms. For example, when we strike a match, a chemical reaction occurs and heat
is released. A change in energy of any object at rest is accompanied by a change in its mass.
The equation E = mc² is more than a formula for the conversion of rest mass into other kinds of energy, or vice versa. It
states that energy and mass are the same thing
 Example: Two grams of helium are completely converted into energy and used to power a 100 kg man. If all of this energy is
converted into kinetic energy of the man, how fast will he move?
- Given: 2
kg .m
m = 0.002 kg (Always express mass into kg.) Note: 1 = 1 Joule
c = 3 ×1 08 m/s s2
2
E=? 14 kg .m
- Convert E=1.08× 10 2
to Joules
- Solution: s
2

( ) ( )
E=mc 14 kg . m
2
1 Joule
E= 1.08 ×10 ×
( )
2
8 m s 2
kg .m2
E=( 0.002 kg ) 3 ×10 1
s
2 s2
kg .m
E=1.08× 1014 2
14
E=1.08× 10 Jolues
s
Note: The unit of energy is Joule (J)
This energy computed can be equated to man’s kinetic energy, which can be then used to find the man’s
m v2
velocity. Now, let us now get the man’s velocity using the formula on how to get the Kinetic Energy (KE). KE=
2
where: m is the mass express in kg and v is velocity.
14 2
KE=1.08 ×10 J kg . m
Note: Convert Joules to to make easier
m=100 kg s
2

v=? elimination of units.

√(
2
mv
KE=
2
14 100 kg ( v )2 v=
1.08 ×10
kg . m2
14

s2
(2) )
(eliminate the unit kg)
1.08 ×10 J = 100 kg
2

√( )
2

v=
√ KE ( 2 ) m
3.6 ×10 2
14

m s
v=
v=
√ ( 1.08 ×10 14 J ) ( 2 ) 100
100 kg
m
v=1.9 ×1012
s
 RELATIVISTIC MASS
The relative change in mass is perceived when the body is in motion. This concept is
relativistic mass. Moving objects appear to be more massive. Relativistic mass is given
m0
m=
as:

√ 1−( ) v2
c
2

Where: m – relativistic mass m0 – mass of the object at rest (rest mass)

NOTE: Practice personal

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 The mass of an object moving at the speed v relative to an observer is larger than its mass when at rest relative to the
1

√ ( )
2
observer relative to the factor v . Increase in relativistic mass is significantly only at speeds approaching that of light.
1− 2
c
 Example: An object in motion has a mass of 12 kg and travels in the air with velocity of 0.82 c. What would be its
rest mass?
- Given: - Solution:

√
m=12 kg
( )
2
v
v=0.82 c m 0=m 1− 2
- Formula: c

√(
m0
m= 0.822 c 2
)
√
m0=12 kg 1−
( ) c2
2
v
1−
c
2
m0=12 kg √ 1−( 0.67 )
m0=6.8 kg

 COSMIC SPEED LIMIT

Einstein showed that the universe has a speed limit which is the speed of light in vacuum. Nothing can travel faster
than 300 000 km/s. It is impossible for any material object to travel faster than the speed of light because the faster the
object travels, the more it becomes massive and it takes more energy to increase its speed.
EINSTEIN’S GENERAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY
The General Theory of Relativity is, as the name indicates, a generalization of the
Special Theory of Relativity. Einstein’s 1916 General Theory of Relativity goes further by
including the effect of acceleration on what is observed. He was convinced that the laws of
nature should be expressed in the same form in every frame of reference. This motivation led
him to develop the General Theory of Relativity—a new theory of gravitation, in which gravity
causes space to become curved curve and time
to slow down around a body of matter. An object moving through such region in space in general follows a curve path
rather than a straight one and may be even trapped there.
Einstein was led to this new theory of gravity by thinking about observers in accelerated motion. He
imagined a spaceship far away from gravitational influences. In such a spaceship at rest or in uniform
motion relative to the distant stars, everything within the ship would float freely. If rocket motors were
activated to accelerate the ship, things would be different—phenomena similar to gravity would be
observed.
A. Everything inside is weightless when the spaceship isn’t accelerating.
B. When the spaceship accelerates, an occupant inside feels “gravity.”

 THE PRINCIPLE OF EQUIVALENCE

An important aspect of the General Theory of Relativity is the Principle of Equivalence. The principle states that:
An inertial frame of reference in a uniform gravitational field is equivalent to a frame of reference in the absence
of a gravitational field that has a constant acceleration with respect to the inertial frame.
An inertial frame of reference in a uniform gravitational field is equivalent to a frame of reference in the absence
of a gravitational field that has a constant acceleration with respect to the inertial frame.
Einstein concluded that gravity and accelerated motion through space-time are related. You cannot tell whether
you are being pulled by gravity or being accelerated. The effects of gravity and acceleration are equivalent.
Einstein concluded that gravity and accelerated motion through space-time are related. You cannot tell whether
you are being pulled by gravity or being accelerated. The effects of gravity and acceleration are equivalent.
Einstein incorporated this equivalence, or impossibility of distinguishing between gravitation and acceleration, in
the foundation of his general theory of relativity. He stated that the principle holds for all natural phenomena, including
optical, electromagnetic, and mechanical phenomena.

CONSEQUENCES OF THE THEORY OF GENERAL RELATIVITY

The General Theory of Relativity does not only explain the motion of the planets. It can also describe the history
and expansion of the universe as well as other consequences like the physics of black holes, gravitational bending of light,
and prediction of shifts in the orbit of mercury.
 MERCURY ORBIT SHIFTS
Mercury, as it orbits the Sun, follows an ellipse...but only approximately: it is found that the point of
closest approach of Mercury to the sun, called as the Perihelion Point, does not always occur at the same
place but that it slowly moves around the sun. This rotation of the orbit is called a precession. The perihelion
point of mercury moves forward in the planet’s orbital motion. Previous predictions of the actual rate of
advance fall short from actual observation. Yet when calculations using the general theory of relativity were
used, the advance was predicted perfectly. Mercury is a planet with an obviously elliptical orbit and is also
closest of all the planets to the sun. and so, Mercury is one of the most affected by the gravitational
relativistic time effect

 GRAVITATIONAL BENDING OF LIGHT

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 An important prediction that arises from the principle of equivalence is that light is bent
in a gravitational field. A light ray enters the spaceship horizontally through a side
window.
a. Light appears, to an outside observer, to be traveling horizontally in a straight line.
b. To an inside observer, the light appears to bend.
According to Einstein, light don’t curve because of any force, but because the space-time in
which they travel is curved.
An important application of the deflection effect concerns so-called gravitational lensing, a
phenomenon in which light from a distant galaxy is bent as it passes by a nearer galaxy in such a
way that multiple images of the distant galaxy appear. Masses configured in a way that
astronomers two or more images of one and the same far away object in the night sky.
The photograph on the right side shows a famous example. It is a four images of one and
the same object of a remote galaxy on either sides of an intervening cluster of galaxies observed
by the Hubble Space Telescope. The splitting of the central image is due to the gravitational
lensing effect produced by a nearby galaxy. The central image is visible because the galaxy does
not lie on a straight line from the quasar to Earth. The Einstein Cross is only visible from the
southern hemisphere.
 BLACK HOLE
The idea that affects light is seen in the concept of a black hole. When a star dies, its nuclear fuel
exhausted, it cools and contracts dramatically. In a very large star - several times as massive as the Sun -
many Physicist believe that there is no limit to the contraction. The star collapses under the pull of its
gravity until nothing, even light, can escape. It becomes the what we call “black hole”. A black hole is
generally considered to form from the gravitational collapsed remnant of a star. Such an object has a great
density and a very intense gravitational field that nothing can escape it. It can also be considered a
bottomless pit in the fabric of space-time.
By their nature, black holes cannot be seen directly. But their presence can be deduced from their effect on
nearby material.

Do You Know?
What may be the first known black hole was found in the 1970s about 6000 light years away
from the constellation of Cygnus the Swan. The area around the hole is known as Cyg X-1; it gives off
strong X-rays - the result, astronomers believe, of material being compressed and heated just before
it is sucked in.

Learning Competencies:
 Explain the consequences of the postulates of Special Relativity (e.g. relativity of simultaneity, time dilation, length
contraction, mass energy equivalence, and cosmic speed limit (S11/12PS-IVi-j-70)
 Explain the consequences of the postulates of General Relativity (e.g. correct predictions of shifts in the orbit of Mercury,
gravitational bending of light and black holes (S11/12PS-IVi-j-71)

Task 1: TRUTH or BLUFF

Directions: Write T if the statement is correct and B if the statement is a bluff. If the statement is a bluff, underline the word
or words that makes it
___1. Albert Einstein is the proponent of the Special Theory of Relativity.
___2. The Special Theory of Relativity has three main postulates.
___3. The speed of light is constant regardless of the observer.
___4. Space contracts in the direction of motion.
___5. A clock at rest ticks more slowly than a moving clock.
___6. Traveling at speed of 87% the speed of light for a year, then 2 years will have elapsed on Earth.
___7. Moving objects appear to be more massive.
___8. It is possible to travel faster than 300 000 km/s.
___9. black hole is generally considered to form from the gravitational collapsed remnant of a star.
___10. A light can escape from a black hole.

Task 2: SOLVE!
Directions: Solve the following problems. Write the solution that supports your answer.
1. Compute the contracted length of an object whose initial length is 10 m and travel with a velocity of 0.75 c?
2. If the combination of protons and neutrons in an atom’s nucleus results in mass defect of 0.528 amu (1 amu =
−27
1.66 x 10 kg), what is the binding energy for this atom?
3. A particle mass of 11.67 x 10−24kg travels with velocity of 0.65 c. Compute its rest mass

Task 3: LIKE A BLACK HOLE!

What you need: What to do:
✓ A light-weight table tennis ball 1. Put the table tennis ball at the comforter.
✓ A tennis ball 2. Try this now with a tennis ball and then with the iron ball.
✓ An iron ball 3. Place a glass marble at the border of the depression. Let the marbles roll
✓ A comforter one by one in the depression.
✓ A pair of glass marbles
Questions:

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 1. What happened to the surface of the comforter when you placed the table tennis ball? The tennis ball? The iron ball? 2.
Describe the speed of the marbles as they roll down to the depression caused by each ball.
3. What happens when a lot of marbles get collected in the depression?

REFLECTION
Directions: Answer the questions given.
 Why do we not notice the bending of light by gravity in our everyday environment?
__________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________

Prepared by:
DAINAVI B. PALITAYAN
Teacher II
Bagabag National High School

GRADE 12 PHYSICAL SCIENCE (4TH Quarter, Week 8)

LEARNING ACTIVITY SHEET
The Earth in the Universe
Background Information
ESTIMATING SPEED AND DISTANCE OF FAR-OFF OBJECTS
At night, when you look at the sky you see those tiny celestial objects with their luminous spheres of plasma,
commonly known as the “stars”. During the day time we see the sun up above--which is actually a star. But have you ever
wondered why does the star we see at night seems very small compared to the sun? By merely looking at these objects
with an unaided eye, we cannot assume how big or how small it is. Because they are way farther than what we thought.
The sun might be as big or as small as those luminous objects we see at night. (That depends on what type of stars are
those).
In this lesson we are not going to tackle the sizes of the stars, rather we are going to estimate how far these
objects are. Answering this question will lead to explain why they seem to have relative sizes as we perceived it includes
other celestial objects focusing on how their speeds and distances are being estimated.
In order to measure distances in the universe, we need to a "cosmic distance ladder". Astronomers use different
methods in determining distances of objects; the specific method used depends on how far away the object is. In
measuring distances in our solar system, astronomers used “Radar”. They used “Parallax” if they are going to measure
our distance to nearby stars (nearest star to ours is Proxima Centauri) and “Cepheids” if they are to measure our galaxy’s
distance to a nearby galaxy (nearest galaxy to ours is Andromeda). They used “Supernovae” for measuring distance of
other galaxies probably those farther than Andromeda. And for the far away objects they used “Redshift” and “Hubble’s
Law”. Let us study deeper these mentioned methods.
 THE COSMIC DISTANCE LADDER

 RADAR

It is used to measure distance in our solar system. But how do astronomers measure distance using Radar?
How does Radar actually work? This modern method of measuring distances is based on the fact that light (whether in the
form of radio waves, microwaves, visible light, or X-rays) travels with a speed of 300,000 km/sec.
Specifically, where d is distance, v is velocity, and t is time. As mentioned above, when we use
any form of light, v is equal to 300,000 km./sec. So if we measure how long it takes for light to
go to an object, we can calculate the distance. This method has been used in one form or
another to determine the distances to all of the planets in our solar system (except Pluto). It is
also routinely used to measure the distance from the Earth to the Moon. Light travels at a finite
speed of 3 ×108 m/s (299,792,458 m/s to be
exact). When a light signal (such as a radio pulse) is directed at a nearby planetary body part of the signal will be reflected
back. By timing how long it takes this light echo to return and then dividing this time by 2 and multiplying by the speed of
light, the distance to the planet can be determined.

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12
 PARALLAX
Astronomers derive distances to the nearest stars (closer than about 100 lightyears) by a method called stellar
parallax. This method relies on no assumptions other than the geometry of the Earth's orbit around the Sun. You are
probably familiar with the phenomenon known as parallax. Try this. Hold out your thumb at arm's length, close one of your
eyes, and examine the relative position of your thumb against other distant (background) objects, such as a window, wall,
or tree. Now look at your thumb with your other eye. What do you notice? Move your thumb closer to your
face and d = (v)(t)198 NOTE: Practice personal hygiene protocols at all times
repeat the experiment. What was different this time? This is a demonstration of the
parallax effect: the apparent shift in position of a relatively nearby object against
more distant ones when viewed from different vantage points. Consider that the
Earth moves in its orbit around the Sun, allowing us to look at nearby stars from
slightly different locations - just like your two eyes are at slightly different locations.
This method relies on watching nearby stars as they appear to move against the
background of more distant stars, which look fixed. By comparing a star’s apparent
position today with its apparent position six months ago, astronomers can calculate
distance. But that’s the catch — it only works for stars that are close enough that
they appear to move against
the more distant background. With current technology, parallax can measure distances to stars up to a few tens of
thousands of light-years away.
The general idea of parallax is to use triangulation to measure distances. When
looking at an object from two different vantage points, the object appears to shift its position
relative to the background. For astronomical applications, the position of Earth shifts by up
to 186 million miles (300
million kilometers) as Earth orbits the Sun. So it is possible to view distant objects, such as stars, at two different vantage
points. The measure of the amount of apparent change in position of that object is its parallax. Once the parallax is
known, it is possible to calculate the distance to that object.
The mathematical formula of a parallax distance is:

 CEPHEIDS
Also called Cepheid Variables, are stars which brighten and dim periodically. This behavior allows them to be used as
cosmic yardsticks out to distances of a few tens of millions of light-years. The important feature of a Cepheid Variable that
allows it to be used for distance measurements is that its period is related directly to its luminosity. This relation allows us
to work out how much brighter than the Sun the star is. From there we can calculate how much further away the star must
be than the Sun to make it the brightness we see from Earth.
In 1912, Henrietta Swan Leavitt noted that 25 stars, called Cepheid stars, in the Magellanic cloud would
brighten and dim periodically. Leavitt was able to measure the period of each star by measuring the timing
of its ups and downs in brightness. What she determined was that the brighter the Cepheid, the longer its
period. In fact, Cepheids are very special variable stars because their period (the time they take to
brighten, dim and brighten again) is regular (that is, does not change with time), and a uniform function of
their brightness. That is, there is relation between the period and brightness such that once the period is
known, the brightness can be inferred. So from the period and Leavitt's plot we get the brightness at the
distance
of one light-year. The brightness at the distance of one light-year will be larger than the observed brightness due to the
fact that brightness drops like the square of the distance. From these numbers one can extract the distance to the stars.
This method works up to 13 million light-years when Earth-bound telescopes are used; for larger distances these stars
become too dim to be observed.

 SUPERNOVAE
At large distances (up to about 1 billion light-years), astronomers can no longer use methods such as parallax or
Cepheid variables. Type Ia supernovae are extremely useful in measuring the distance of remote galaxies. It is known
that type Ia supernovae always reach the same brilliance at their peak. Type Ia supernova are extremely brilliant, often
outshining their parent galaxy, so unlike Cepheid variables they can be observed across tens of millions of light years. So
the distances to very distant galaxies can be determined using them.
So let’s work out how to determine the distance to a distant galaxy if we know the brightness of a type Ia supernova. A
typical type Ia supernova has an absolute magnitude of -19.3. The formula used is: M=5+m-5 logd
Where:
M = Absolute Magnitude (= -19.3)
m = Apparent Magnitude (brightness as observed from Earth)
d = Distance in Parsecs (1 Parsec = 3.26 light years)
The formula used is: M=5+m-5 logd Where: M = Absolute Magnitude (= -19.3) m = Apparent Magnitude
(brightness as observed from Earth d = Distance in Parsecs (1 Parsec = 3.26 light years). We now have all the
information we need to rewrite the equation to start to calculate the distance to M101.
19.3 = 5 + 10 – 5 log d
Simplified: 19.3 = 15 – 5 logd
The only unknown is now the distance, so the equation can be re-arranged thus:
5 logd = 15 + 19.3
5 logd = 34.3
This is then re-arranged to give:

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 34.3
logd = =6.86
5
The anti-log of 6.86 from a scientific calculator gives us 7,244,359 parsecs. As there are 3.26 light years in a single
parsec, our final calculation gives us:
7,244,359 x 3.26 = 23, 616,612 = 23.6 million light years

 REDSHIFT AND HUBBLE’S LAW

For very far objects (beyond about 1 billion light-years) none of the above methods work. Scientists must move from
direct observation to using observations in conjunction with a theory. The theory used to determine these very great
distances in the universe is based on the discovery by Edwin Hubble that the universe is expanding.

In 1929, Edwin Hubble announced that almost all galaxies appeared to be moving away from us. In fact, he found
that the universe was expanding - with all of the galaxies moving away from each other. This phenomenon was observed
as a redshift of a galaxy's spectrum. This redshift appeared to be larger for faint, presumably further, galaxies. (Redshift is
a phenomenon where electromagnetic radiation--such as light from an object undergoes an increase in wavelength.)

The velocity of a galaxy could be expressed mathematically as: v = H x d where v is the galaxy's radial outward
velocity, d is the galaxy's distance from Earth, and H is the constant of proportionality called the Hubble constant. (The
exact value of the Hubble constant is still somewhat uncertain, but is generally believed to be around 65 kilometers per
second for every megaparsec in distance. A megaparsec is given by 1 Mpc = 3 x 106 light-years).

So to determine an object's distance, we only need to know its velocity. Velocity is measurable thanks to the Doppler
shift. Doppler effect is defined as a change in the wavelength (or frequency) of energy in the form of waves, e.g., sound or
light, as a logd = 34.3/5 logd = 6.86203 NOTE: Practice personal hygiene protocols at all times result of motion of either
the source or the receiver of the waves. Doppler effect for light is used to measure the velocity (and indirectly distance)
and rotation of stars and galaxies along the direction of sight. In the spectrum of nearly every star there are wavelengths.
By taking the spectrum of a distant object, such as a galaxy, astronomers can see a shift in the lines of its spectrum and
from this shift determine its velocity. Putting this velocity into the Hubble equation, they determine the distance.

 DOPPLER EFFECT
The Doppler Effect for electromagnetic waves such as light is of great use in
astronomy and results in either a so-called redshift or blueshift. It has been used to
measure the speed at which stars and galaxies are approaching or receding from us;
that is, their radial velocities. When an object emits light—or any kind of electromagnetic
radiation, for that matter—moves toward someone, the wavelength of its emitted light is
decreased. Conversely, when the object moves away, the wavelength of its emitted light
is increased. For visible light, the bluer part of the spectrum has shorter wavelengths,
and the redder
part of the spectrum has longer wavelengths. Thus, the Doppler effect for light is called a “blueshift” if the light source is
coming toward an observer, and a “redshift” if it is moving away. The faster the object moves, the greater the blueshift or
redshift.
We know that the Doppler Effects can give us the measurement of the speed of a celestial object coming toward us
(blueshift) or moving away from us (redshift). But how does the Doppler Effect used to measure the velocity of a stellar
object that is away from Earth? To answer this question, let us analyze the pictures below;
Picture 1: Suppose a star does not move (meaning it has zero velocity) with respect to the
observer (person here on Earth). The stars photographic spectrum looks like this. We can see
it has absorption lines with spacing between them.
Picture 2: If the star is moving away (as we can see in the diagram) otherwise known as
“redshift”. We can see that those absorption lines are shifted toward the red color, meaning the
wavelengths are longer thus, the star is moving away from the observer. Note that the pattern
of the lines are just the same as the first picture, it’s just that the wavelengths are shifted to the
right.
Picture 3: And if the star moves towards the observer, “blueshift”. The wavelengths that the
observer detects are going to be shorter wavelengths. The absorption lines will be shifted
towards left (blue).

Be reminded that if a star appears to be bluish or reddish, it does not mean that it is moving towards us or away from us.
It’s the photographic spectrum that we should rely on and not what color we perceive as we star gaze.
The mathematical equation for Doppler shift is;
From this equation the velocity of any celestial object By deriving the formula we get;

THE EXPANDING UNIVERSE

 The Bigbang
Big Bang Theory was first proposed by George Lemaitre a Belgian Catholic priest. He
reasoned out that since the universe is expanding and galaxies are moving apart, then at a much earlier

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14
 time the universe must have been smaller. Before we discuss the expansion of our very own universe,
let us first review our Big Bang Theory which describes the birth, evolution, and fate of the universe.
According to this theory the universe started off as an extremely hot and supermassive state that
expanded rapidly in all directions (as shown in the picture below). The universe began to exist as a
single point of spacetime,
this means that before the Big Bang there was no space nor time. Time came into existence as well as space when the single dot
(which is believe to be the universe) began to expand. That is why it is not scientifically possible to ask what came “before” the Big
Bang, because time itself did not exist until the Big Bang occurred. As that expansion has occurred, the conditions in the universe
have changed— from small to big, from hot to cold, and from young to old—resulting in the universe we observe today. (Note that
the Big Bang theory does not explain why the Big Bang actually happened.)

Here are some Big Bang concepts;

1. Matter did not expand out from the big bang into space over a period of time: space and time came into existence with the big
bang and have been expanding ever since.
2. The universe was very different in the past to what it is now, and will be very different in the future.
3. The origins of the big bang itself are unknown.

 The Universe
Now that we have reviewed how the universe began through Big Bang Theory, we will move to the characteristics of
our universe. Try to close your eyes and imagine beyond our solar system, think of the stars you see at night---have you
ever wonder what is behind those tiny twinkling things? (Well scientifically speaking stars do not actually twinkle, they just
appear twinkling when seen from the surface of earth.) Have you ever wonder what is in a universe? Or what is a
universe?
The Universe is everything we can touch, feel, sense, measure or detect. It includes living things, planets, stars,
galaxies, dust clouds, light, and even time. The universe in its own sense is very broad for it includes variety of familiar
things. It contains billions of galaxies, each containing millions or billions of stars. The space between the stars and
galaxies is largely empty. Though spaces between these celestial objects is mostly empty, the Universe is incredibly huge.
It would take a modern jet fighter more than a million years to reach the nearest star to the Sun, which named as Proxima
Centauri. Travelling at the speed of light (300,000 km per second), it would take 100,000 years to cross our Milky Way
galaxy alone. No one knows the exact size of the Universe, because we cannot see the edge – if there is one. All we know
is that the visible Universe is at least 93 billion light years across and the Universe has not always been the same size.
Scientists believe it began in a Big Bang, which took place nearly 14 billion years ago. Since then, the Universe has been
expanding outward at very high speed. So the area of space we now see is billions of times bigger than it was when the
Universe was very young. The galaxies are also moving further apart as the space between them expands.
Now that we have mentioned that the universe is expanding, let us now try to answers the question, “how do we know that we live
in an expanding universe” by looking at the evidences of an expanding universe.

EXPANDING UNIVERSE
Raisin bread analogy of an Expanding Universe
One famous analogy to explain the expanding universe is imagining the universe like
a loaf of raisin bread dough. As the bread rises and expands, the raisins move farther away
from each other, but they are still stuck in the dough.
The dough represents the space itself and the raisins as the galaxies, galaxies in the universe
are moving away from each other due to the expansion of the universe. Likewise in the bread
analogy, raisins are moving away from each other not because they themselves move but the
space they are in is actually expanding as in the case of the rising dough.
The dough represents the space itself and the raisins as the galaxies, galaxies in the universe are moving away from each other
due to the expansion of the universe. Likewise in the bread analogy, raisins are moving away from each other not because they
themselves move but the space they are in is actually expanding as in the case of the rising dough.

How old is the Universe?

Age may only be a number, but when it comes to the age of the universe, it's a pretty important one. According to
research, the universe is approximately 13.8 billion years old. They can determine the age of the universe using two
different methods: by studying the oldest objects within the universe and measuring how fast it is expanding. In other
words, Cosmologists were able to calculate the age of the Universe by measuring the distances and radial velocities of
other galaxies, most of which are flying away from our own at speeds proportional to their distances. Using the current
expansion rate, we can imagine “rewinding” the universe to the point where everything was contained in a singularity, and
calculate how much time must have passed between that moment (the Big Bang) and the present. But extrapolating back
to the Big Bang also requires knowing the history of the expansion rate, which can be learned about by examining the
current density and composition of the universe. Cosmologists have studied observations of the cosmic microwave
background, relic radiation leftover from the Big Bang, to determine these parameters.

What are the evidences of an expanding Universe?

In 1912, Vesto Slipher was the first to discover that galaxies exhibit motion. He detected that galaxies rotate and
galaxies move relative to each other. His work focused on the shifts in the spectra of the galaxies which he then called
“fuzzy patches”. When a source of light is moving away from an observer the spectral lines shift toward the red end of the
spectrum, “Red shift”. Conversely, when a source of light is moving toward the observer, the spectral lines shift to the blue
end of the spectrum, Blue shift”.
In 1929, Edwin Hubble expanded the work of Slipher by conducting a study of the galaxies. He noticed that most galaxies have
spectral shifts toward the red end of the spectrum--which occurs when an object emitting light is receding from an observer.
Therefore all galaxies appear to be moving away from our galaxy the Milky Way. These patterns were later on called the
cosmological redshifts because they were deemed to be the result of the expansion of space. Using his measurements of galactic
distances along with Slipher’s measurement, Hubble discovered that the redshift increases with distance and that the most distant

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galaxies are receding the fastest. 216 NOTE: Practice personal hygiene protocols at all times Simply put, the farther the galaxy is,
the faster it moves away. Therefore, the concept is now called the Hubble’s Law “galaxies recede at a speed proportional to their
distances from the observer”.
1. Closed Universe
The gravitational attraction of all the matter in the universe may be high enough to slow the
expansion and eventually reverse it. And the universe will reach a maximum extent and then
contract back to a singularity (the big crunch).

2. Open Universe
If there is insufficient matter in the universe for gravity to slow its expansion, the universe will
go on expanding forever. Entropy will ensure that, eventually, all star formation will stop, all
matter will decay into dispersed subatomic particles, and black holes will evaporate. (This
ultimate conclusion of entropy is known as the heat death of the universe).

3. Static Universe
If there is just enough matter in the universe to slow and eventually stop its expansion, but not
enough to cause it to collapse again, the universe will reach a maximum extent and become
static. In this scenario the universe will also eventually undergo a heat death.

Learning Competencies:
 Explain how the speeds and distances of far-off objects are estimated (e.g., Doppler effect and cosmic distance ladder)
(S11/12PS-IVj-72)
 Explain how we know that we live in an expanding universe, which used to be hot and is approximately 14billion years old
(S11/12PS-IVj-73).

TASK 1: WHAT IS USED?

Directions: Complete the table below by specifying the use of given cosmic distance ladder.

Cosmic Distance Ladder What is it use for?

Radar
Parallax
Cepheids
Supernovae
Supernovae
Doppler Effect

TASK 2: WHAT IS YOUR HUBBLE’S LAW HUGOT?

Directions: Make a “Komiks” or a short story and think of a particular application or situation in real-life scenario where
Hubble’s Law can be applied and discuss the relationship between the two.

REFLECTION: ARE WE ALONE?

Directions: The universe is expanding since the beginning, do you believe with some conspiracy theories that aliens are real?
Scientifically discuss your claim.

CRITERIA (for Task 2 and Reflection)

5 points 3 points 3 points 1 point
Clear, complete and precise Clear, complete and precise Clear but not precise definition Unclear definition or
definition or explanation of definition or explanation of or explanation of the given explanation of the given
the given concept. The the given concept. The concept. The student concept. The student does
student fully understands the student fully understands somehow understands the not understand the lesson
lesson and able to relate and the lesson and able to relate lesson and needs extra effort and needs remediation to be
apply it to real life situations. and apply it to real life to be able to relate and apply able to relate and apply in
situations. in real life situations. real life situations

Prepared by:
DAINAVI B. PALITAYAN
Teacher II
Bagabag National High School

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