Date | May 2017 | Marks available | 1 | Reference code | 17M.3.HL.TZ2.7 |
Level | Higher level | Paper | Paper 3 | Time zone | 2 |
Command term | State | Question number | 7 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
State what is meant by the event horizon of a black hole.
Show that the surface area A of the sphere corresponding to the event horizon is given by
.
Suggest why the surface area of the event horizon can never decrease.
The diagram shows a box that is falling freely in the gravitational field of a planet.
A photon of frequency f is emitted from the floor of the box and is received at the ceiling. State and explain the frequency of the photon measured at the ceiling.
Markscheme
the surface at which the escape speed is the speed for light
OR
the surface from which nothing/not even light can escape to the outside
OR
the surface of a sphere whose radius is the Schwarzschild radius
Accept distance as alternative to surface.
[1 mark]
use of and
«to get »
[1 mark]
since mass and energy can never leave a black hole and
OR
some statement that area is increasing with mass
«the area cannot decrease»
[1 mark]
ALTERNATIVE 1 — (student/planet frame):
photon energy/frequency decreases with height
OR
there is a gravitational redshift
detector in ceiling is approaching photons so Doppler blue shift
two effects cancel/frequency unchanged
ALTERNATIVE 2 – (box frame):
by equivalence principle box is an inertial frame
so no force on photons
so no redshift/frequency unchanged
[3 marks]