11 SENIORHIGH

DAVAO INSTITUTE OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION, INC

PHYSICAL SCIENCE
QUARTER 4
Module 17 - How We Know That We Live In An Expanding Universe

Name:

Grade and Section:

 MODULE 17
How We Know That We Live In An Expanding Universe
Lesson 1: How We Know that We Live in an Expanding Universe
The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and
energy. Cosmology is the study of how the universe began, how it continues to exist, and how it will end. Approximately, the known
universe is about 14 billion years old.

WHAT IS IT
How We Know that We Live in An Expanding Universe

Terms and Definitions

The following definition of terms will be of great help while you are going through with this lesson.

a. quark - a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter

b. antiquark - antiparticle of quark

c. annihilation - the conversion of matter into energy

d. nucleosynthesis - the cosmic formation of atoms more complex than the hydrogen atom

e. gravity- the force that attracts a body toward the center of the earth

f. proton - subatomic particle of an atom with a positive electric charge and a mass slightly less than that of a neutron

What caused the Big Bang? Was there anything before the Big Bang? What evidence do we have for the Big Bang? When we say
the universe is expanding, what exactly is expanding?

Using the materials (balloon and stickers) from the previous activity enabled us to detect the light of other galaxies. This light is
found to be redshifted (the light looks “stretched”). This suggests that other galaxies are moving farther away from ours. It was later
determined that they are not moving away. Instead, space itself is expanding in all directions causing all the galaxies to be relatively
farther apart. From this “redshift” we learn how fast the universe is expanding. Redshift is the first piece of evidence for the Big Bang
model.

Similar to the Big Bang, a balloon expands very rapidly at the start, then more slowly when it has already inflated. But some
evidence shows that the expansion is now accelerating again. The balloon is the universe and space itself. There is no classroom
for it to expand into.

Before 1917, many scientists thought that the universe always existed. But Einstein’s revolutionary theory of gravity changed all the
rules. It opened up the mind-blogging possibility that space itself – the permanence of which had never been questioned – might
actually be expanding. If space is expanding, the universe that we inhabit today could be infinitely smaller.

In 1929, astronomer Edwin Hubble made the amazing discovery that distant galaxies are speeding away from us. This means that
the galaxies we see today are much closer together – originating from a tiny region of space. The origin of the universe remains one
of the greatest questions in science. Current scientific evidence supports the Big Bang as an expansion of space itself. Every part of
space participated in it. Space is not simply emptiness; it's a real stretchable, flexible thing. Galaxies are moving away from us
because space is expanding. Galaxies are moving with space, not through space.

Look and study the diagram showing the key stages of the Big Bang Model.

From the diagram we can assume the key stages of the Big Bang:

a. The universe may have begun as an infinitely hot and dense initial singularity, a point with all of space, time, matter and energy.
This means that there was nowhere, when or what. There is no space around the singularity – just nothingness.

b. All of it then began to rapidly expand in a process known as inflation. Space itself expanded faster than the speed of light. In this
still hot and dense mass of the universe, pairs of matter and antimatter (quarks and antiquarks) were formed from energy, but these
pairs cancelled each other back into energy (annihilation).

PHYSICAL SCIENCE | PAGE 1

c. The universe cooled down as it expanded. An excess of matter (electrons, protons, neutrons and other particles) somehow came
to be in a highly energetic “plasma soup.” Photons (light particles) were being scattered everywhere in this “soup”. Protons and
neutrons came together to form different types of nuclei by nucleosynthesis or nuclear fusion.

d. Much later on, electrons started to bind to ionized protons and nuclei forming neutral atoms in a process called recombination.
The bound particles no longer scattered photons so light and energy moved freely across space. The period was hence known as
the “dark ages”.

e. Gravity caused these atoms to collapse onto one another to form stars and galaxies and eventually, other matter. This still
happens today. Space also continues to expand at an accelerating rate, thus increasing the distance between the matters inside it.

The relative abundance of light elements in the universe is the second piece of evidence to prove that the Big Bang occurred.
Through measurements, we find that around 24% of the universe’s ordinary matter currently comprises helium, about 74%
hydrogen, and 2% of other elements. These figures only make sense if nucleosynthesis in the Big Bang model actually occurred
since no chemical process significantly changes these percentages.

A third part of evidence for the Big Bang model: cosmic microwave background, or the energy (thermal radiation) that was left as a
result of recombination. Atoms become neutral due to the binding of nuclei and electrons. The remaining radiation then began to
scatter. This is seen by scientists as a faint microwave glow not emitted by any object in space.

Keep in mind the following misconceptions associated with the Big Bang Theory:

1. The Big Bang refers to the very start of the whole process called the Big Bang model.

2. The Big Bang was NOT an explosion that carried matter outward from a point. It refers to the rapid inflation of space itself.

3. The theory does not explain what caused it or where the singularity came from, BUT the Big Bang model does not need a cause
to be a valid theory. It simply needs to show that observations and evidence validate its assumptions. The model is a work in
progress that we are still finding evidence for until now.

PHYSICAL SCIENCE | PAGE 2

________________________________________________________

DAVAO INSTITUTE OF TECHNICAL EDUCATION, INC

PHYSICAL SCIENCE
Quarter 4 - Module 17
Learning Activity Sheet

Name: ____________________________________ Year and Section: _____________________

Date: _____________________________________

Activity 1.

Present the key stages of the Big Bang through an illustration. Draw in your own creative way.

a. The universe may have begun as an infinitely hot and dense

b. Space itself expanded faster than the speed of light

c. Protons and neutrons came together to form different types of nuclei

d. Electrons started to bind to ionized protons and nuclei forming neutral atoms

PHYSICAL SCIENCE | PAGE 3