The Big BangImportant notes to record in your journal are marked with a STAR.

Information that does not have a star is provided to expand on the broad concepts presented throughout the powerpoint.

The Big Bang Theory is the current model that describes the early development of the universe.

The universe started as a little speck of a hot, super-massive, and super dense ball.

Everything that is currently in the universe came from that one tiny speck.

The Big Bang Defined

Every proton, neutron, atom, and so forth came from that hot, super-massive, and super-dense ball.

About 13.7 Billion years, BANG!!! A violent explosion hurled the material

within that ball into all directions of space.

The Big Bang Defined

The universe expanded quickly after the Big Bang and continues to expand today.

As the universe expanded and cooled, things started to form.◦ i.e. – Protons, neutrons, atoms, stars, and galaxies

All of the different elements that exist today developed from that initial ball 13.7 billion years ago.

The Moments After

13.7 billion years ago – BANG!◦ Exactly what triggered the sudden expansion

remains a mystery.

Timeline of the Universe

Gravity formed Electromagnetic forces emerged The universe was made up of fundamental

particles, including quarks, electrons, photons, and neutrons

1 Second later…

The universe takes shape. The protons, neutrons, and electrons come

together to form elements.◦ At this time, the universe is made up largely of

helium and hydrogen, which we will learn later are two of the simplest elements in existence.

3 minutes later…

The universe remained an enormous cloud of hot, expanding gas.

As the universe continued to cool, electrons were able to combine with hydrogen and helium.

Photons were no longer scattered. Time and distance shifted them into microwave lengths.

500,000 years later…

Gravity amplified slight irregularities in the density of the “primordial gas.”

Even as the universe continued to expand, pockets of gas became more and more dense.

Stars were formed within these pockets. Groups of stars became the earliest

galaxies.

1,000,000,000 years later…

Smaller galaxies merged into larger ones, forming different shapes (like spirals or spheres).

Sometimes these mergers were so violent that stars and gas collapsed into a common center, creating black holes.

3,000,000,000 years later…

Within galaxies, stars were born while others died.

When stars die, they create enormous explosions called supernovas.

Supernovas are important to the evolution of galaxies because they distribute all of the common elements (oxygen, carbon, nitrogen) into space.

These explosions also create heavier elements such as gold, silver, and lead.

6,000,000,000 years later…

The sun formed within a cloud of gas in the Milky Way Galaxy.

A vast disk of gas and debris that swirled around this new star formed planets, moons, and asteroids.

5,000,000 years before THE PRESENT

Astronomers estimate that in about 3,000,000,000 years, our galaxy will be swallowed up by one of its nearest neighbors (Andromeda).

Scientists believe that depending on their pathways, these two galaxies will either merge to form one galaxy or they will destroy each other.

What does the future hold?

Write a letter to a Kindergartener explaining The Big Bang Theory. Be sure to use your timeline notes.

Important vocabulary to include: gravity, electromagnetic forces, supernova, stars, galaxies, scientific theory, The Big Bang

Demonstrate Your Knowledge