Big Bang Quiz #1

What are two important pieces of evidence we have for the Big Bang?

• The fact that we have multiple Universes to compare and study and cosmic background radiation (CBR)

• The abundance of hydrogen, helium, and lithium found in the Universe and Ptolemy’s work on epicycles

• Ptolemy’s work on epicycles and Hubble’s law (the expansion of the Universe)

• Hubble’s law (the expansion of the Universe) and cosmic background radiation (CBR)

Why is the Big Bang seen as the first major threshold in this course?

• It created the foundation for further complexity later on

• It included the creation of Earth, the home of all life in the Universe

• It led to the immediate creation of early life forms, precursors to humans

• It is the origin story of the Universe with the most evidence

What is cosmic microwave background radiation (cosmic background radiation)?

• Energy released during the fusion of hydrogen nuclei in the center of stars

• Energy released 380,000 years after the Big Bang

• Energy used in the laboratory to sterilize equipment

• Energy emitted by the Sun

What were the first two elements to form once the Universe expanded and cooled?

• Helium and oxygen

• Hydrogen and helium

• Carbon and helium

• Hydrogen and oxygen

How was Hubble able to calculate a rough estimate for the formation of the Universe?

• By calculating the rate at which the Universe is shrinking

• By calculating the age of the oldest atoms

• By calculating when hydrogen was first formed

• By calculating the rate at which the Universe is expanding

According to the standard model of Big Bang cosmology, approximately how old is the Universe?

• 4.5 billion years old

• 13.7 billion years old

• 3.8 billion years old

• 65 million years old