ORIGIN OF THE UNIVERSE

 Religious Cosmology - is a way of explaining the origin, history and evolution of the
cosmos or universe based on religious mythology of a specific tradition

Genesis/Creationism - Six days

- God separated light from darkness, and created the
sky, land, see, moon, stars, and every living creature
Mormon cosmology - preexisting or premortal life
- Human spirits are literal children of heavenly parents
- not created from nothing but organized from existing
matter
Buddhist cosmology - dependent upon the action or karma of its inhabitants
- 31 planes of existence
Islamic cosmology - God created the universe, including the earth's
physical environment and human beings
- cause most as a book of symbols for meditation
contemplation to be used for spiritual upliftment
Hindu cosmology - Creation is timeless
- has no beginning
- the universe is created destroyed then reverted in an
eternally repetitive series of cycles

Modern Theories on the Origin of the Universe

Big Bang Theory

- Expansion not explosion
- Originated from an infinitely tiny, infinitely dense point around
- 14 billion years ago
- Singularity
- TIMELINE:
Expansion - caused the inflation of the
universe
- Universe was extremely hot that
matter could not yet exist
In a fraction of a second - four fundamental forces were
formed: Gravity,
electromagnetic force, strong
nuclear force, and weak nuclear
force
After about 3 minutes - Universe continuously
expanding
- began to cool down
- protons and neutrons to fuse and
form the nucleus of hydrogen
and helium atoms
300,000 years later - temperatures became cool
enough

300 million years later
- hydrogen and helium atoms to
completely form
- photons escaped and light
existed for the very first time
- stars and galaxies began to form
as hydrogen and helium coalesce
with the aid of gravity
- overall composition of the
universe transition from light to
heavier elements
- Made solid particles in the form
of nebula to exist
- nebulae  the star systems and
planets known today

OTHER THEORIES:
Oscillating - Albert Einstein's favored model
Universe - Follow the general theory of relativity equations of the
universe with positive curvature
- resulted in the expansion of the universe for a time
- contraction due to the pull of its gravity in a perpetual
cycle of Big Bang and big crunch
Steady State - Proposed by Fred Hoyle, Thomas Gold, and Hermann
Theory Bondi
- A universe that expanded but did not change its density
- matter was inserted into the universe as it expanded to
maintain a constant density
Inflationary - Alan Guth
Universe - Based on The Big Bang theory
- A short early period of exponential cosmic inflation to
solve the uncertainties of the standard Big Bang model
Multiverse - Sees the universe as just one of many bubbles that grew
as a part of a multiverse

Origin of the Solar System

Encounter Hypothesis
Nebular Hypothesis
Protoplanet Hypothesis
- a rogue star passed close to the sun and stripped materials
(hot gases)
- continued to spin in the same direction as the sun
- Coalesced into smaller lumps which formed the planets
- Was able to explain why all the planets revolve in the
same direction
- was able to explain why the inner planets are denser than
the outer ones
- the entire solar system started as a large cloud of gas that
contracted due to self-gravity
- a rotating disc forms with a large concentration at the
center; protosun  planets would begin forming within
the disk
- Based on nebular hypothesis
 - the solar system began with a fragment from an
interstellar cloud composed mainly of hydrogen, helium,
and trace amounts of light elements
- Fragments of the interstellar cloud  form the dense
central region of the solar nebula (Collapsed more rapidly
than its outlying parts)
- Solar nebula contracted  Rotated more rapidly 
conserving its angular momentum
- materials continued to fall inward from its surroundings
- solar nebula  sun
- Disk  eddies (small particles which built up an
accreted)  planetesimals  (due to gravitational
attraction exerted on to one another) moon sized bodies
 planets
- Jovian planets (outer disk and higher temperature) and
terrestrial planets (inner disc and cooler temperature)

Characteristics of Earth
1. Liquid water - allowed the first photosynthetic organisms to thrive
2. Heat source - internal heating of earth and external heating from the sun
a. internal  radiogenic heat from radioactive decay of materials in the core and
mantle; extruded via active tectonic activities, such as volcanism and plate
movement
b. external  Form of radiation which enters the earth; heat is trapped by a layer of
gases called atmosphere  Responsible for the occurrence of greenhouse
phenomenon, a natural process which maintains heat
3. Atmosphere - a vital part of photosynthesis  ensures the adequate amount and flow
of gases on earth

Minerals
- defined as a naturally occurring, inorganic solid with a definite chemical composition and an
ordered internal structure

Naturally occurring - exist naturally

Inorganic - limited to substances formed through inorganic
processes, and exclude materials derived from living
organisms which involve organic processes
- coal is not a mineral
Solid - all liquids and gases are not considered minerals
Definite chemical - should express the exact chemical formula with the
composition elements and compounds in specific ratios
- only exception  atomic substitution for certain
minerals
Ordered internal - organized in a regular, repetitive geometric pattern or
 structure crystal structure

Physical Properties of Minerals

Crystal form and Habit - Definite chemical composition = Forms a definite
structure which crystallizes into a specific crystal form
- outward appearance of the mineral’s crystal form;
habit (granular, tabular, dendritic, acicular, massive,
reniform, drusy, or encrusting
Cleavage and Fracture - Tendency of a mineral to break along planes of
weakness
Luster - Describes the appearance of light as it is reflected off
its surface
- may be described as metallic, non-metallic, and
vitreous (glass), Resinous (resin)
Color and Streak - Most obvious mineral property but not the most
reliable
- streak  color of a mineral in its powdered form it can
be obtained by rubbing the mineral on an abrasive
ceramic tile called streak plate (streak test)
Hardness - Measurement of the strength of the chemical bonds in
its structure
- can be measured by scratching it with another mineral
- Mobs scale of hardness
Density - Weight of a mineral relative to the weight of an equal
volume of water

Rock
- Naturally occurring, coherent aggregate of minerals or solid materials such as natural
glass or organic matter
- phone in the lithosphere
- Greek word “lithos”  “stone”

Rock Cycle
Processes Product
Melting Magma
Crystallization Igneous rocks
Uplift and Exposure Sediments
Weathering and Erosion
Transportation
Deposition Sedimentary rocks
Lithification
Metamorphism Metamorphic rocks

FORMATION OF ROCKS
Rock Formation
Igneous  Cooling and solidification of magma or lava
1. Intrusive (below the surface)  Slowly cooling magma = crystals
 that are visible to the naked eye
2. Exclusive (on the surface)  rapidly cooling lava = very small
crystals that may not be visible to the naked eye
3. Porphyritic (Shallow depth near the earth surface)  slow
crystallization
4. Pyroclastic (on the surface)  Strengthening of particles erupted by
explosive volcanic activity = depending on how much gas is present
(may solidify as small as ash or as large as basketballs
Sedimentary  Lithification of particles produced by the weathering of other
preexisting rocks
Metamorphic  Formed when preexisting or parent rocks are altered by heat, pressure,
and the chemical activity of fluids

Classification of Rocks
Igneous - Either crystalline or pyroclastic
Sedimentary - Clastic  Formed from the notification of rock and mineral
fragments
- Ex: quartz, feldspar, and clay
- Crystalline  precipitates out of solution
- Ex: dolomite, calcite, halite, or gypsum
- Bioclastic  accumulation of organic material or biologic
activity
Metamorphic - Foliated  dominant agent is pressure
- Crystalline  dominant agent is heat