12. Cosmology

Learning Goals:

  • Explain in detail the cosmological principle.
  • Describe how thew Hubble constant can be used to estimate the age of the universe.
  • Describe the observational evidence for the Big Bang.
  • Explain which chemical elements were created in the early hot universe.
  • Describe the evidence for the accelerating expansion of the universe.
  • Describe the early period of rapid expansion known as inflation.
  • Explain how the events that occurred in the earliest moments of the universe are related to the four fundamental forces.
  • Describe the distribution of galaxies in the universe.
  • Explain how the structure that began to form shortly after the Big Bang evolved to the large-scale structure we see today.

Activities:

  • Reader Chapters 21-22, 23-1, 23-2.
  • LT: Expansion, Look-back Times, and Distances (pg. 150)
  • LT: Hubble Law Part II (p. 156)
  • Why is the Sky Dark?; for additional reading Olbers Paradox
  • “Origins: Back to the Beginning”
  • Lab 10: Hubble’s Law
  • ClassAction: Cosmology (all questions)

Extra Stuff