PHYSICAL SCIENCE REVIEWER

What is physical Science?

- Deals with the study of non-living matter, energy
- The physical properties of the universe itself, summing up the inorganic world.
Physical science, the systematic study of the inorganic world, is distinct from
the study of the organic world, which is the province of biological science.
Physical science is ordinarily thought of as consisting of four broad areas:
astronomy, physics, chemistry, and the Earth sciences. Each of these is in turn
divided into fields and subfields. This article discusses the historical development
—with due attention to the scope, principal concerns, and methods—of the first
three of these areas. The Earth sciences are discussed in a separate article.
Physics, in its modern sense, was founded in the mid-19th century as a synthesis of
several older sciences—namely, those of mechanics, optics, acoustics,
electricity, magnetism, heat, and the physical properties of matter. The
synthesis was based in large part on the recognition that the different forces of
nature are related and are, in fact, interconvertible because they are forms of
energy.
The boundary between physics and chemistry is somewhat arbitrary. As it
developed in the 20th century, physics is concerned with the structure and
behavior of individual atoms and their components, while chemistry deals
with the properties and reactions of molecules. These latter depend on energy,
especially heat, as well as on atoms; hence, there is a strong link between physics
and chemistry. Chemists tend to be more interested in the specific properties of
different elements and compounds, whereas physicists are concerned with
general properties shared by all matter.
• Physics- the science of matter, energy, space, and time. The study of the
interactions between physical systems. Deals with the structure of matter and the
interactions between fundamental constituents of the observable universe.
• Chemistry- the science that studies the composition, structure, and properties of
matter. Describes matter-its properties, the changes it undergoes and the energy
changes that accompany those processes.
• Astronomy - the science which deals with celestial objects, space, and the
physical universe as a whole.
• Earth Science - the science which deals with the planet Earth. The study of Earth
and its neighbor in space.
The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang refers to the very start of the whole process called the Big Bang
Theory.
 The Big Bang was NOT an explosion that carried matter outward from a point.
It refers to the rapid inflation of space itself.
 The theory does not explain what caused it or where the singularity came from,
BUT the Big Bang model does not need a cause to be a valid theory. It simply
needs to show that observations and evidence validate its assumptions. The
model is a work in progress that we are still finding evidence for until now.
First suggested by Georges Lemaitre (a Belgian priest) in the 1920s
 Original name: Hypothesis of the “primeval atom” or the “cosmic egg”
 Famous name: The “Big Bang” coined by Fred Hoyle
 Famous advocate: George Gamow- contributes to the understanding of the
nucleus of the atom, the activity of stars, the creation of the elements, and the
genetic code of life.
“The universe began from a single point then stretched and expanded to get as big
as it is now, and that it could keep on stretching.”
Supporting evidences
 Abundance of Elements - Hydrogen and Helium
 Red Shift - Light pattern indicates an object is moving away from observer
(Edwin Hubble)
 Cosmic Microwave Background - the leftover radiation from the Big Bang
(By Amio Penzias and Robert