The Big Bang Theory
What does the Big Bang Theory try to explain?
The creation of the universe.
How old is the universe according to the Big Bang Theory?
About 13.7 Billion Years
What is a nebula?
A giant cloud of dust and ice in space.
What started the formation of the solar system?
A nebula began contracting into its center to create our Sun.
How many planets are there in the solar system?
8
True/False
The universe started as a really tiny dot before it exploded into what we see today.
True
Since the Big Bang, what has happened to the temperature of the universe?
The universe started out extremely hot. Today it is extremely cold. Therefore, it has slowly cooled over time.
What is the word for a "baby star"?
Protostar
What is the correct order of the Planets?
Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune
How did Earth get water?
Asteroids crashed into Earth, bringing water.
List the following in order from when they were created, starting with the earliest:
Atoms, Gravity, Matter, Stars
Gravity → Matter → Atoms → Stars
True/False
Gravity and electromagnetism were created after the first minute.
False
They were created after the first second.
What is the word for a "baby planet"?
Protoplanet or planetesimal
True/False
Earth's early atmosphere (before life existed) contained Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Ammonia, and Oxygen.
False
All are correct except Oxygen. The first living things produced oxygen and put it in the atmosphere.
How old are the Earth and the Sun?
4.6 Billion Years
DAILY DOUBLE
More time will be given to discuss, but to get all the points you must answer all parts correctly.
Summarize the three pieces of evidence for the Big Bang Theory.
Hubble’s Law: the speed of the galaxies moving away from each other causes a change in the light spectrum, ‘red shift’.
Background radiation: We can still detect radiation from an explosion of this size – the radiation is the same everywhere on earth (TV static, etc).
Composition of Older Galaxies: Analysis of light from galaxies towards the ‘outside’ of the universe confirms theories about the early universe. They are made up of approx 93% H, 7% He, and trace Li.
What happened after the first three minutes after the Big Bang?
The universe cooled enough to create matter and particles.
What is meant by singularity?
A very dense and hot point, smaller than an atom, in which the universe is said to have originated from.
How did the Moon form?
A Mars-sized object hit the Earth which sent material out into space. That material began orbiting the Earth, accreting, cooling, and eventually formed the Moon.
Which planets formed first: The Rocky Planets or the Gas Giants?
The Gas Giants
What is Hubble's Law?
The farther objects are from each other in the universe, they speed up and look "redder".
What is the Cosmic Background Radiation and what does it tell us about the size of the universe?
The CMB is the farthest extent of the explosion of the Big Bang. We see that it is getting fainter, meaning the universe is growing.
Explain the difference between accretion and condensing when it comes to planet formation.
Accretion- Rocky planets accrete and absorbing rocks as they move around the sun.
Condensing- Gas giants start forming when the gas and dust in the outer edge of the solar system get pulled in together by gravity.
Why are the Gas Giants so much bigger than the Rocky Planets?
The Gas Giants are made of gas, dust, and ice. They are very low in density. The Rocky Planets are made of rock and metal and very dense, so they are packed in tight.
We did not go over this, but there is something large found in between Mars and Jupiter. What is it?
The Asteroid Belt, leftover rock and metal from the creation of our Solar System.