Redshift
What Redshift means in Physics A-Level, as defined for AQA.
Definitions of Redshift
Exam boards and our study guides word this term in slightly different ways. Learn the version your board uses.
Check what you remember
Read the wording for your board, then hide it and explain Redshift in your own words. Rough notes are fine. This is a self-check, with no mark or grade.
Reference: AQA
A shift of spectral lines that gives the recession speed, often using Δλ/λ₀ = v/c for speeds much less than c.
Observed wavelengths longer than rest wavelengths, corresponding to recession.
Topics that use Redshift
- Doppler effect (A-level only) (AQA A-Level)
- Hubble's law (A-level only) (AQA A-Level)
Related terms
- Age of the universe
- Big Bang nucleosynthesis
- Cosmological redshift
- Doppler effect
- Hubble's law
- Quasar
- Cosmological microwave background radiation
- Expansion of the Universe
Using Redshift in the exam
Check the command word and mark scheme for your exact question. After comparing your explanation with the reference, use the term in an answer on the linked topic. This practice does not predict an exam mark.
Practise Physics questions
Create a free account to answer exam-style questions on this topic and get feedback on your answers.
A week of Premium from your first lesson · Then the free plan continues · No card, no charge