Cosmology and the Big Bang Theory

A student wants to demonstrate how galaxies move apart as the universe expands. Which of the following activities would best help the student illustrate this concept?

• The student can sprinkle glitter on a flat surface and then shake the surface gently.

• The student can place stickers on a rubber band and then stretch the rubber band.

• The student can drop marbles into a bowl of water and watch them sink.

• The student can squeeze a sponge and then release it.

When the Big Bang theory was first proposed, many scientists did not accept it because they did not believe there was enough evidence to support it. Which observation led to the Big Bang theory becoming more widely accepted by scientists?

• The universe appears to be shrinking.

• The universe appears to be expanding.

• The planets seem to move in elliptical orbits.

• The planets seem to move backward in their orbits.

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-2

Astronomers have observed that galaxies are moving away from each other, suggesting that the universe is expanding from a single point. This observation supports which scientific theory about the origin of the universe?

• The Nebular Theory

• The Big Bang Theory

• The Geocentric Theory

• The Steady State Theory

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-2

Which observation supports the idea that the universe is expanding?

• galaxies are shrinking in size

• galaxies are moving away from each other

• galaxies are merging together

• the number of stars in galaxies is decreasing

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-2

Compared to the Earth’s Solar System, the Universe is inferred to be_____.

• Younger and Larger

• Younger and Smaller

• Older and Larger

• Older and Smaller

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-2

Scientists think that our universe is approximately

• 1 to 5 million years old

• 1 to 2 billion years old

• 10 to 15 billion years old

• 100 to 200 billion years old

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-2

What were the conditions of the universe immediately after the Big Bang expansion began?

• extremely dense and cold

• vast and cold

• extremely dense and hot

• vast and hot

Tags

NGSS.HS-ESS1-2

What does the universe include?

• only matter

• only energy

• only space

• matter, energy, and space

Tags

NGSS.MS-ESS2-1

Which astronomical model did Nicholas Copernicus propose that changed the way people understood the solar system?

• The sun is at the center and planets revolve around it.

• The Earth is at the center and everything revolves around it.

• The universe is infinite and has no center.

• The moon is the center of the solar system.