plumiThe Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and stellar life cycles: Edexcel International A Level Physics questions
Edexcel International A Level Physics past-paper questions on 5.6.3.2 The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and stellar life cycles, 2019–2025, with mark schemes and examiner’s reports where available.
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Q18(a)(i)
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Open the full PDFYour answerQ20(a)(ii)
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Open the full PDFYour answerQ21(a)(ii)
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All 31 questions on The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram and stellar life cycles, as a list
- June 2025, Unit 5, Q18(a)(i) (1 mark): Label the position of the Sun on the diagram with the letter S. (1)
- June 2025, Unit 5, Q18(a)(ii) (2 marks): In the final stages of the Sun’s evolution, it will become a white dwarf star. Draw on the diagram a possible path of the Sun as it evolves to a white dwarf sta
- June 2025, Unit 5, Q18(b) (6 marks): Describe the stages in the evolution of the Sun from a main sequence star to a white dwarf star. (6)
- June 2025, Unit 5, Q18(c) (2 marks): Explain why the Sun will stay on the main sequence for a much greater time than the most massive main sequence stars. (2)
- January 2025, Unit 5, Q1 (1 mark): A main sequence star evolves into a red giant star. Which row of the table gives the change in diameter and the change in surface temperature when the star evol
- October 2024, Unit 5, Q8 (1 mark): Epsilon Indi is a main sequence star. Which row of the table gives a possible surface temperature and luminosity for Epsilon Indi? Surface temperature / K Lumin
- October 2024, Unit 5, Q20(a)(ii) (1 mark): The Hertzsprung‑Russell diagram below is incomplete. 106 104 102 L / LSun 1 10–2 10–4 40 000 20 000 10 000 5000 2500 T / K Label the position of the Sun on the
- October 2024, Unit 5, Q20(a)(iii) (3 marks): Add to the diagram to indicate the areas where the following stars are located: A Main sequence stars B Red giant stars C White dwarf stars You should identify
- June 2024, Unit 5, Q1 (1 mark): A red giant star evolves into a white dwarf star. Which row of the table gives the changes in density and surface temperature as the red giant star evolves into
- June 2024, Unit 5, Q7 (1 mark): Wolf 359 is a star with a surface temperature of 2700 K. The luminosity of the Sun is LSun . The luminosity of Wolf 359 is 0.001 LSun . Which of the following d
- June 2024, Unit 5, Q19(b) (6 marks): Main sequence stars evolve into red giant stars. Red giant stars eventually become white dwarf stars. Explain this evolutionary sequence. You should refer to th
- January 2024, Unit 5, Q11 (3 marks): The Hertzsprung–Russell diagram below shows some groups of stars. P, Q, R and S refer to different areas on the diagram. L S P R Q T Describe a possible evoluti
- October 2023, Unit 5, Q9 (1 mark): The Hertzsprung‑Russell diagram shows four areas P, Q, R and S, where different types of stars are located. L S P R Q T Which of the following is a possible evo
- October 2023, Unit 5, Q21(a)(ii) (2 marks): The Hertzsprung‑Russell diagram shows the positions of some main sequence stars. Add the approximate positions of the Sun and Betelgeuse to the diagram. Mark th
- October 2023, Unit 5, Q21(a)(iii) (1 mark): State what is meant by a main sequence star. (1)
- June 2023, Unit 5, Q20(a) (2 marks): Add a scale to the horizontal axis. (2)
- June 2023, Unit 5, Q20(b) (3 marks): Explain how this Hertzsprung-Russell diagram shows that the star cluster is not a young star cluster. You should refer to groups of stars and their positions on
- January 2023, Unit 5, Q8 (1 mark): The Hertzsprung‑Russell diagrams W, X, Y and Z below show a star cluster at various times when the star cluster is in different stages of evolution. L L T T Dia
- October 2022, Unit 5, Q4 (1 mark): The Hertzsprung-Russell diagram below has an incomplete temperature scale. Luminosity X 6000 Y Temperature / K Which row of the table gives possible values for
- June 2022, Unit 5, Q1 (1 mark): The luminosity axis of a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram has a logarithmic scale. Which of the following is the reason for this? A Stars all have very large luminos
- June 2022, Unit 5, Q19(c) (1 mark): The surface temperature of Chi Lupi is twice the surface temperature of the Sun. The radius of Chi Lupi is three times the radius of the Sun. State where Chi Lu
- January 2022, Unit 5, Q19(c)(i) (3 marks): Label the x-axis of the HR diagram. You should include approximate values. (3)
- January 2022, Unit 5, Q19(c)(ii) (3 marks): There are five zones, Z1, Z2, Z3, Z4 and Z5, identified on the HR diagram. Complete the following table. You should match one zone with each description. (3) De
- January 2022, Unit 5, Q19(c)(iii) (6 marks): The position of a star on the HR diagram changes as the star evolves. Explain how a star like the Sun evolves as it progresses from zone Z3 to its final positio
- October 2021, Unit 5, Q8 (1 mark): Which of the following is part of a possible evolutionary path of a star? A W → Y B X → Y C Y → W D Y → Z
- October 2021, Unit 5, Q9 (1 mark): Which of the following statements about stars in positions W, X, Y and Z is correct? A W and Y have the same mass. B W has a lower surface temperature than Z. C
- October 2021, Unit 5, Q20(a) (1 mark): State what is meant by a main sequence star. (1)
- June 2021, Unit 5, Q6 (1 mark): Tau Ceti is one of the closest stars to the Sun. Tau Ceti has a surface temperature of 5300 K and a luminosity of 0.55 LSun, where LSun is the luminosity of the
- January 2021, Unit 5, Q20(a)(i) (1 mark): Mark on the diagram the position of a star similar to the Sun. (1)
- January 2021, Unit 5, Q20(a)(ii) (6 marks): The appearance of the HR diagram changes as stars in the cluster evolve. Explain the changes in the appearance of the HR diagram as the star cluster gets older.
- October 2020, Unit 5, Q16(a) (1 mark): State where these stars would be located on a Hertzsprung-Russell diagram. (1)
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