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Red-shift: AQA GCSE Physics questions

Every AQA GCSE Physics exam question on 4.8.2 Red-shift, 2018–2025, with its mark scheme and examiner’s report.

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1,653 questions

  1. Q04.4

    June 2025 · Paper 2 Higher

    1 mark4.8.2 Red-shift
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 2 Higher, question 04.4: Complete the sentence. [1 mark]

  2. Q04.5

    June 2025 · Paper 2 Higher

    1 mark4.8.2 Red-shift
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 2 Higher, question 04.5: Why is the electromagnetic radiation from distant galaxies red-shifted? [1 mark] Tick () one box. All observed light from distant galaxies appears red. Distant

  3. Q04.6

    June 2025 · Paper 2 Higher

    1 mark4.8.2 Red-shift
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 2 Higher, question 04.6: The James Webb Space Telescope has detected electromagnetic radiation from many different galaxies. Electromagnetic radiation from one of the galaxies detected

  4. Q03.4

    June 2025 · Paper 2 Foundation

    1 mark4.8.2 Red-shift
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 2 Foundation, question 03.4: Very distant galaxies can be observed using the James Webb Space Telescope. How does the speed of a very distant galaxy compare to the speed of a much nearer ga

  5. Q03.5

    June 2025 · Paper 2 Foundation

    1 mark4.8.2 Red-shift
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 2 Foundation, question 03.5: There is an observed increase in the wavelength of light from most distant galaxies. What name is given to this increase in the wavelength of light? [1 mark] Ti

  6. Q03.6

    June 2025 · Paper 2 Foundation

    1 mark4.8.2 Red-shift
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 2 Foundation, question 03.6: Observations from the James Webb Space Telescope support the Big Bang theory. Complete the sentence. Choose the answer from the box. [1 mark] cold hot large The

  7. Q03.7

    June 2025 · Paper 2 Foundation

    1 mark4.8.2 Red-shift
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2025 Paper 2 Foundation, question 03.7: What does the Big Bang theory suggest is happening to the size of the universe? [1 mark] Tick () one box. The universe is getting smaller. The size of the univ

  8. Q03.4

    June 2024 · Paper 2 Higher

    3 marks4.8.2 Red-shift
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2024 Paper 2 Higher, question 03.4: The light spectrum from every galaxy includes dark lines. The lines have the same pattern. Figure 7 shows the position of dark lines in the visible spectra of l

  9. Q06.4

    June 2023 · Paper 2 Higher

    3 marks4.8.2 Red-shift
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2023 Paper 2 Higher, question 06.4: The Hubble Space Telescope can detect visible light from distant galaxies. The visible light spectra from stars and galaxies include dark lines at specific wave

  10. Q07.4

    June 2023 · Paper 2 Foundation

    1 mark4.8.2 Red-shift
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2023 Paper 2 Foundation, question 07.4: Which galaxy is moving away from the Earth the fastest? [1 mark] Tick () one box. Galaxy A Galaxy B Galaxy C

  11. Q07.5

    June 2023 · Paper 2 Foundation

    1 mark4.8.2 Red-shift
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2023 Paper 2 Foundation, question 07.5: Which galaxy is the furthest away from the Earth? [1 mark] Tick () one box. Galaxy A Galaxy B Galaxy C

  12. Q07.6

    June 2023 · Paper 2 Foundation

    1 mark4.8.2 Red-shift
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2023 Paper 2 Foundation, question 07.6: New scientific observations indicate that many galaxies rotate too quickly for the known mass of the stars they contain. Why is it important that new scientific

  13. Q06.2

    June 2022 · Paper 2 Higher

    2 marks4.8.2 Red-shift
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2022 Paper 2 Higher, question 06.2: Light from all galaxies represented in Figure 11 is red-shifted. Describe what is meant by red-shift. [2 marks]

  14. Q06.3

    June 2022 · Paper 2 Higher

    2 marks4.8.2 Red-shift
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2022 Paper 2 Higher, question 06.3: Explain how Figure 11 provides evidence for the Big Bang theory. [2 marks]

  15. Q06.4

    June 2022 · Paper 2 Higher

    1 mark4.8.2 Red-shift
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2022 Paper 2 Higher, question 06.4: Sometimes scientists have to change theories about the universe. Give the reason why. [1 mark]

  16. Q03.3

    November 2021 · Paper 2 Higher

    2 marks4.8.2 Red-shift
    The whole paper ↗
    November 2021 Paper 2 Higher, question 03.3: Figure 5 shows how the speed of galaxies moving away from Earth varies with the distance of the galaxies from Earth. Figure 5 Which galaxy would show the smalle

  17. Q05.1

    June 2019 · Paper 2 Higher

    1 mark4.8.2 Red-shift
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2019 Paper 2 Higher, question 05.1: The light from distant galaxies shows red-shift. Complete the sentence. [1 mark] The term red-shift describes the observed increase in the of the light from a d

  18. Q05.2

    June 2019 · Paper 2 Higher

    1 mark4.8.2 Red-shift
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2019 Paper 2 Higher, question 05.2: The Big Bang theory is one model used to explain the origin of the universe. How does the Big Bang theory describe the universe when it began? [1 mark]

  19. Q05.3

    June 2019 · Paper 2 Higher

    1 mark4.8.2 Red-shift
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2019 Paper 2 Higher, question 05.3: Describe the relationship between the speed of a galaxy and the distance the galaxy is from the Earth. [1 mark]

  20. Q05.4

    June 2019 · Paper 2 Higher

    1 mark4.8.2 Red-shift
    The whole paper ↗
    June 2019 Paper 2 Higher, question 05.4: Which of the following is the same as 6 x 1012 terametres? [1 mark] Tick () one box. 6 × 1015 m 6 × 1018 m 6 × 1021 m 6 × 1024 m
All 40 questions on Red-shift, as a list
  1. June 2025, Paper 2 Higher, Q04.4 (1 mark): Complete the sentence. [1 mark]
  2. June 2025, Paper 2 Higher, Q04.5 (1 mark): Why is the electromagnetic radiation from distant galaxies red-shifted? [1 mark] Tick () one box. All observed light from distant galaxies appears red. Distant
  3. June 2025, Paper 2 Higher, Q04.6 (1 mark): The James Webb Space Telescope has detected electromagnetic radiation from many different galaxies. Electromagnetic radiation from one of the galaxies detected
  4. June 2025, Paper 2 Foundation, Q03.4 (1 mark): Very distant galaxies can be observed using the James Webb Space Telescope. How does the speed of a very distant galaxy compare to the speed of a much nearer ga
  5. June 2025, Paper 2 Foundation, Q03.5 (1 mark): There is an observed increase in the wavelength of light from most distant galaxies. What name is given to this increase in the wavelength of light? [1 mark] Ti
  6. June 2025, Paper 2 Foundation, Q03.6 (1 mark): Observations from the James Webb Space Telescope support the Big Bang theory. Complete the sentence. Choose the answer from the box. [1 mark] cold hot large The
  7. June 2025, Paper 2 Foundation, Q03.7 (1 mark): What does the Big Bang theory suggest is happening to the size of the universe? [1 mark] Tick () one box. The universe is getting smaller. The size of the univ
  8. June 2024, Paper 2 Higher, Q03.4 (3 marks): The light spectrum from every galaxy includes dark lines. The lines have the same pattern. Figure 7 shows the position of dark lines in the visible spectra of l
  9. June 2023, Paper 2 Higher, Q06.4 (3 marks): The Hubble Space Telescope can detect visible light from distant galaxies. The visible light spectra from stars and galaxies include dark lines at specific wave
  10. June 2023, Paper 2 Foundation, Q07.4 (1 mark): Which galaxy is moving away from the Earth the fastest? [1 mark] Tick () one box. Galaxy A Galaxy B Galaxy C
  11. June 2023, Paper 2 Foundation, Q07.5 (1 mark): Which galaxy is the furthest away from the Earth? [1 mark] Tick () one box. Galaxy A Galaxy B Galaxy C
  12. June 2023, Paper 2 Foundation, Q07.6 (1 mark): New scientific observations indicate that many galaxies rotate too quickly for the known mass of the stars they contain. Why is it important that new scientific
  13. June 2022, Paper 2 Higher, Q06.2 (2 marks): Light from all galaxies represented in Figure 11 is red-shifted. Describe what is meant by red-shift. [2 marks]
  14. June 2022, Paper 2 Higher, Q06.3 (2 marks): Explain how Figure 11 provides evidence for the Big Bang theory. [2 marks]
  15. June 2022, Paper 2 Higher, Q06.4 (1 mark): Sometimes scientists have to change theories about the universe. Give the reason why. [1 mark]
  16. November 2021, Paper 2 Higher, Q03.3 (2 marks): Figure 5 shows how the speed of galaxies moving away from Earth varies with the distance of the galaxies from Earth. Figure 5 Which galaxy would show the smalle
  17. June 2019, Paper 2 Higher, Q05.1 (1 mark): The light from distant galaxies shows red-shift. Complete the sentence. [1 mark] The term red-shift describes the observed increase in the of the light from a d
  18. June 2019, Paper 2 Higher, Q05.2 (1 mark): The Big Bang theory is one model used to explain the origin of the universe. How does the Big Bang theory describe the universe when it began? [1 mark]
  19. June 2019, Paper 2 Higher, Q05.3 (1 mark): Describe the relationship between the speed of a galaxy and the distance the galaxy is from the Earth. [1 mark]
  20. June 2019, Paper 2 Higher, Q05.4 (1 mark): Which of the following is the same as 6 x 1012 terametres? [1 mark] Tick () one box. 6 × 1015 m 6 × 1018 m 6 × 1021 m 6 × 1024 m
  21. June 2019, Paper 2 Higher, Q05.5 (2 marks): Explain how the data in Figure 9 supports the suggestion that the universe began from a very small region. [2 marks]
  22. June 2019, Paper 2 Higher, Q05.6 (1 mark): The Big Bang theory suggested that gravity would slow the rate at which galaxies move away from the Earth. New observations suggest that distant galaxies are mo
  23. June 2019, Paper 2 Higher, Q05.7 (1 mark): New observations and data that do not fit existing theories should undergo peer review. Give one reason why peer review is an important process. [1 mark]
  24. June 2019, Paper 2 Higher, Q05.8 (2 marks): The Andromeda galaxy is moving towards the Earth. Describe how the wavelength and frequency of the light from Andromeda seem to have changed when viewed from th
  25. June 2019, Paper 2 Foundation, Q02.1 (1 mark): Complete the sentence. Choose the answer from the box. [1 mark] frequency speed wavelength When scientists observe the light from distant galaxies, they observe
  26. June 2019, Paper 2 Foundation, Q02.2 (1 mark): Which galaxy is moving the fastest away from the Earth? [1 mark] Tick () one box. A B C D
  27. June 2019, Paper 2 Foundation, Q02.3 (1 mark): Which galaxy is the furthest away from the Earth? [1 mark] Tick () one box. A B C D
  28. June 2019, Paper 2 Foundation, Q02.4 (1 mark): The Big Bang theory is one way to explain the origin of the universe. How does the Big Bang theory describe the universe when it began? [1 mark] Tick () one bo
  29. June 2019, Paper 2 Foundation, Q02.5 (1 mark): Which statement about the Big Bang theory is correct? [1 mark] Tick () one box. Scientists have proved that the theory is correct. Scientific evidence supports
  30. June 2019, Paper 2 Foundation, Q02.6 (2 marks): Figure 4 shows three ways that the size of the universe may have changed with time. Figure 4 Which graph would the Big Bang theory suggest is correct? [2 marks]
  31. Specimen, Paper 2 Higher, Q02.1: Give the reason for your conclusion. In 1929, the astronomer Edwin Hubble observed that the light from galaxies moving away from the Earth had longer wavelength
  32. Specimen, Paper 2 Higher, Q02.2: Give the reason for your conclusion. In 1929, the astronomer Edwin Hubble observed that the light from galaxies moving away from the Earth had longer wavelength
  33. Specimen, Paper 2 Higher, Q02.3 (2 marks): In the 1950s there were two main theories to explain how the Universe began. The Universe has always existed, it is continually expanding. New galaxies are form
  34. Specimen, Paper 2 Higher, Q02.4: Give the reason for your conclusion. In 1929, the astronomer Edwin Hubble observed that the light from galaxies moving away from the Earth had longer wavelength
  35. Specimen, Paper 2 Higher, Q02.5: Give the reason for your conclusion. In 1929, the astronomer Edwin Hubble observed that the light from galaxies moving away from the Earth had longer wavelength
  36. Specimen, Paper 2 Foundation, Q11.1 (1 mark): In 1929, the astronomer Edwin Hubble observed that the light from galaxies moving away from the Earth had longer wavelengths than expected. 1 1 What name is giv
  37. Specimen, Paper 2 Foundation, Q11.2 (1 mark): In 1929, the astronomer Edwin Hubble observed that the light from galaxies moving away from the Earth had longer wavelengths than expected. 1 1 From his observa
  38. Specimen, Paper 2 Foundation, Q11.3 (2 marks): In the 1950s there were two main theories to explain how the Universe began. The Universe has always existed, it is continually expanding. New galaxies are form
  39. Specimen, Paper 2 Foundation, Q11.4 (1 mark): In 1929, the astronomer Edwin Hubble observed that the light from galaxies moving away from the Earth had longer wavelengths than expected. 1 1 In what way do t
  40. Specimen, Paper 2 Foundation, Q11.5 (1 mark): In 1929, the astronomer Edwin Hubble observed that the light from galaxies moving away from the Earth had longer wavelengths than expected. 1 1 Most scientists

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