Question

1. The closest star, other than the Sun, to us is at about 4 light years. To escape from the solar system a space craft has to travel at a minimum of 42 km per second. That is not really fast enough, because as the Sun's gravity keeps tugging on it, while it would escape, it would slow down in velocity as time goes on and not be going very fast once it is far from the Sun. But let's assume we have a space craft that leaves the solar system at 100 km per second velocity in the direction of the nearest star. How long would it take in years to complete the journey, assuming the space craft keeps travelling at 100 km per second in a straight line towards the star?

2. Is our Solar System expanding as a result of the expansion of the Universe, or not? Explain your answer.

3. Why can we not use ¹⁴C to date most of the rocks on Earth?

Answer 1