Topic 4: Cosmology

4.1 The birth, life and death of the universe

Nature of science:

  • Occam’s Razor: The Big Bang model was purely speculative until it was confirmed by the discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation. The model, while correctly describing many aspects of the universe as we observe it today, still cannot explain what happened at time zero.

Understandings:

  • The Big Bang model

  • Cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation

  • Cosmological redshift

  • Hubble’s law

  • Hubble’s constant and the age of the universe

  • The cosmological principle

  • Olbers’ paradox

Applications and skills:

  • Describing both space and time as originating with the Big Bang

  • Explaining how redshift data indicates the universe is expanding and how this leads to the idea of the Big Bang

  • Describing the characteristics of the CMB radiation

  • Explaining how the CMB radiation is evidence for a Hot Big Bang

  • Solving problems involving Hubble’s law

  • Estimating the age of the universe by assuming a constant expansion rate

4.2 Large scale structures in the universe

Nature of science:

  • Observation: As the amount of data increases as a result of more detailed observations our understanding of the universe also increases.

Understandings:

  • Galactic distribution

  • Galactic clusters

  • Local groups

  • Superclusters

  • Walls of galaxies, including the Great Wall

  • The galactic arrangement in the universe

Applications and skills:

  • Explaining the distribution of galaxies within the universe to include rich and poor clusters

4.3 The shape of spacetime

Nature of science:

  • Paradigm shift: Over time there have been a number of different theories of gravitation and some of these have led to a major change in our understanding of the world around us.

Understandings:

  • The ancient Greeks

  • Galileo Galilei and falling objects

  • Isaac Newton and the universal law of gravitation

  • Albert Einstein and General Relativity

  • The effect of gravity is equivalent to the acceleration of an object

  • Relativistic ideas about time and space can be reconciled by describing these things together as four-dimensional spacetime

  • Geometries for spacetime

  • Know that the Big Bang theory of cosmology raises questions

  • Inflation

Applications and skills:

  • Understanding the development of ideas of gravitational forces

  • Understanding the consequences of the possible geometries of spacetime

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