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Date November 2020 Marks available 1 Reference code 20N.3.SL.TZ0.15
Level Standard level Paper Paper 3 Time zone 0 - no time zone
Command term Show that Question number 15 Adapted from N/A

Question

Show that the apparent brightness bAT4d2, where d is the distance of the object from Earth, T is the surface temperature of the object and A is the surface area of the object.

[1]
a.

Two of the brightest objects in the night sky seen from Earth are the planet Venus and the star Sirius. Explain why the equation bAT4d2 is applicable to Sirius but not to Venus.

[2]
b.

Markscheme

substitution of L=σAT4 into b=L4πd2 giving b=σAT44πd2

 

Removal of constants σ and 4π is optional

a.

equation applies to Sirius/stars that are luminous/emit light «from fusion»

but Venus reflects the Sun’s light/does not emit light «from fusion»

 

OWTTE

b.

Examiners report

[N/A]
a.
[N/A]
b.

Syllabus sections

Option D: Astrophysics » Option D: Astrophysics (Core topics) » D.1 – Stellar quantities
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Option D: Astrophysics » Option D: Astrophysics (Core topics)
Option D: Astrophysics

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