May/June 2026 Paper 42

Match each statement about the Earth to the approximate time taken for the event it describes to take place. One has been completed for you: light travels from the Sun to the Earth in 8.3 minutes.

The planet Jupiter orbits the Sun. The average radius of the orbit of Jupiter is $7.78\times 10^8$ km. The average orbital speed of Jupiter is $4.70\times 10^4$ km / h. Show that the orbital period of Jupiter is 11.9 years.

Define a ‘light-year’ in words.

A distant galaxy is $1.6\times 10^8$ light-years away from the Earth. The current estimate for the Hubble constant is $2.2\times 10^{-18}$ per second. Calculate the speed at which this galaxy moves away from the Earth. Give your answer in m / s.