9.

3 Factors Affecting the Brightness of Stars Testable Question How does the distance of a star affect its brightness as seen from Earth? Hypothesis The farther away a star is from where it is being seen, the dimmer it appears to be. When the star is closer, it appears to be brighter. This happens because when the light source is farther away, the light spreads across a larger area and becomes more diffuse. When the light is closer, it is concentrated in a smaller area so therefore appears brighter. Equipment and Materials -2 meter sticks -2 light sources differing in brightness (two different flashlights were used) -pencil -masking tape Experimental Design -Variables: Independent: distance Dependent: the apparent brightness Controlled: light sources -Precautions: Do not shine light in eyes Do not touch the area near the light bulb. Procedure 1. Gather materials and equipment 2. Place the smaller flashlight (light source) 50cm away from the wall (object). 3. The apparent brightness was rated on a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the brightest. Record ratings. 4. Steps 2 and 3 were repeated with the larger flashlight. 5. Steps 2-4 were repeated, but from distances of 100cm, 150cm, and 200cm from the wall. 6. The materials were cleaned up. Analyze and Evaluate a) The independent variable was the distance and the dependent variable was the apparent brightness. b) The light source appeared at its brightest when the flashlight with the smaller diameter was closest to the wall.

c) The light source appeared at its dimmest when the flashlight with the bigger diameter appeared farther away from the wall. d) The factors that affect how bright a light source appears are the light sources size/diameter and its distance from the viewer. e) The light does appear dimmer when the light source is farther away because it diffuses. The observations supported the hypothesis. f) An error may have included that the batteries could have begun to dim, making the observations slightly inaccurate. To solve this problem, new batteries could be used each time; however, it would be a waste of batteries. Battery voltage could have been another error. To correct this, new batteries with the same voltage from the same company (in other words, identical batteries) could be used for the flashlights. Another error may have been that the rulers were not lined up against the wall at the exact same distance for each measurement. This is a human error, but to improve the conditions, the rulers should not be moved at all, and all observations should be done at one time. A final error is the colour of the light or light bulb. In the experiment, one light bulb appeared yellowish in colour whereas the other appeared white. This affected the way one views the brightness of the light. To improve next time, same coloured lights should be used. g) The brighter the light appears to be, the closer it will probably be. h) The farther away the star is, the dimmer it will appear. i) They rank them as the lower the number the brighter the star and the greater the number the dimmer the star. j) They calculate the brightness as if they were 33 light years away.