Origins of the

Universe
Prepared by:
Rosemarie A. Abao
OBJECTIVE
At the end of the lesson, the Grade 11 learners should be able to:
• Describe the structure and composition of the Universe
• State the different hypotheses explaining the origin of the
universe
• Explain the Big Bang Theory and evidences supporting the
theory
Cosmology
-is a branch of astronomy
that involves the study of
the origin and evolution
of the universe

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Structure, Composition and Age of the Universe
• Comprises all space and time, and all matter and energy in it

• 13.8 billion years old.

• The diameter of the universe is possibly infinite but should be at

least 91 billion light-years (1 light-year = 9.4607 × 1012 km)

• Hydrogen, helium, and lithium are the three most abundant

elements.
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Components of the Universe
4.6%

24% • Baryonic Matter- ordinary matter

which consists of protons,
71.4% neutrons & electrons (e.g. atoms,
stars, planets)
• Dark Matter- matter that has
Baryonic Matter gravity but does not emit light
Dark Matter • Dark Energy- source of anti gravity
Dark Energy
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 How did the
universe came
to be?

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At the beginning, the universe may have been a

• Shapeless matter

• Dark formless chaos

• Nothingness

However, there are early religious beliefs in a universe that is eternal,

having no beginning and no end
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3 great monotheistic religions:

• Judaism

• Christianity

• Islam

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14th century

• The great scientific endeavour

began

• Huge strides in Biology,

Chemistry and Physics produced
a body of knowledge that
explained the created world
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Mid 20th Century

• Two main theories that explain

the origin of the universe came
to be
• Big Bang Theory
• Steady State Theory

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The Big Bang
Theory

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Big Bang Theory

• States that this universe is expanding.

• In the past, the expanding universe must have been denser and
started from a point or a particle with infinite density.

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Georges Henri Edouard Lemaître

• Belgian priest-astronomer
• First suggested in 1927 that
the expanding universe began
from a primordial particle
• He called his idea as
“Hypothesis of the Primeval
Atom” or the “Cosmic Egg”

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Georges Henri Edouard Lemaître

1. The universe is expanding

2. The outward speed of
distant objects in the
universe is proportional to
their distance from us
(Hubble’s Law)
3. The rate of expansion can be
estimated from observation
(Hubble Constant) 14
Edwin Hubble
• American astronomer

• Proved the existence of other

galaxies besides the Milky Way
in 1929

• First examined redshifts in light

coming from distant galaxies
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Redshift
• Light undergoes redshift if the
source us moving away from the
observer
• As the source moves away from
the observer, the light waves are
stretched and the wavelength
becomes larger 16
George Gamow
• According to him, elements were
formed after the Big Bang
• Large amounts (99%) of
Hydrogen and Helium in the
universe came from the reaction
when the universe expanded
from its very dense state
• This reaction produced an
afterglow, which is now detected
as residual cosmic microwave
background radiation. 17
Cosmic Microwave
Background (CMB) Radiation
• Accidentally discovered in 1964 by
Arno Penzias and Robert Woodrow
Wilson which earned them the
physics Nobel Prize in 1978.
• Pervasive residue from the early
stages of the universe

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Evolution of the
Universe
According to the Big Bang
Theory

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Time Zero Hot, dense particle containing all matter and energy
10-43 to 10-32 second Very rapid, exponential inflation
Only fundamental particles (quarks) and subatomic particles (
10-32 to10thsecond
hadrons & leptons) could exist
Quarks, hadrons & leptons fused to create protons, neutrons
10th second to 20 minutes and atomic nuclei
Hydrogen, Helium and Lithium were formed by nucleosynthesis
20 minutes to 380 000 The universe cooled down and photons separated from matter,
years travelled freely and are now detected as CMB radiation
Matter collected into nebulae or the clouds that gives rise to
After 380,000 years
stars
Galaxies formed
After 100 million years Carbon & elements heavier than carbon are produced through
nucleosynthesis in stars
After 9.8 billion years Our Solar System was formed. 20
The Steady
StateTheory

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Steady State Theory

• States that while the universe is expanding, matter is

continuously created. Thus, the density of the whole
universe remains the same

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Fred Hoyle
• English astrophysicist and
cosmologist
• Contributed to the Theory of
Stellar Nucleosynthesis
• The process of the formation
of light elements in the
universe
• Rejected the Big Bang Theory
and believed in a Steady State
universe 23
REVIEW

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1.How do ancient philosophy and theology explain the
origin of the universe?
2.In our times, what are the main theories of the origin of
the universe?
3.What were the roles of Lemaitre, Hubble and Gamow in
the development of the Big bang Theory?
4.How did the universe evolve from a hot, dense particle
into the universe we know of today?

25
5-minute break

26
The Solar
System
OBJECTIVE
At the end of the lesson, the Grade 11 learners should be able to:
• Describe the different hypotheses explaining the origin of the
solar system
• Explain the current advancements/information on the solar
system
 The class will be divided into 3 groups. Using
your previous knowledge, draw the solar system on
a manila paper and label it. You will be given 5
minutes to complete your task. When the time is up,
1 representative from each group must present their
work in front and you will be graded using the
following rubric. 29
 Criteria 5 4 2
Time Finished before Finished on the Finished after the given
Management the given time given time time
Content All answers are Most answers 2-3 answers are
correct are correct incorrect
Collaboration & All members Most members 2-3 members did not
Teamwork participated participated participate
Communication Reporter has Reporter has Reporter has low
Skills confidence and confidence but confidence and speaks
presents occasionally in vernacular
fluently in speaks in
English. vernacular.
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OVERVIEW
• The solar system is located in the
Milky Way galaxy
• a huge disc and spiral-shaped
aggregation of about at least
100 billion stars and other
bodies with a super massive
blackhole at its centre
• Radioactive dating of meteorites,
suggests that the Earth and solar
system are 4.6 billion years old

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YOU ARE HERE

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Large Scale Features of the Solar System
1. Most of the mass of the Solar System is concentrated at the
center (Sun) while angular momentum is held by the outer
planets
• The Sun composes 99.86% of the solar system
• 0.138% for the 4 gas giants
• 0.002% for other objects
2. Orbits of the planets elliptical and are on the same plane
3. All planets revolve around the sun
4. The periods of revolution of the planets increase with
increasing distance from the Sun
5. All planets are located at regular intervals from the Sun 33
Small Scale Features of the Solar System

• Most planets rotate prograde.

• Inner solar system consists of the terrestrial planets and the asteroid
belt are made of materials with high melting points such as silicates,
iron , and nickel.
• Outer solar system consists of the four "gas giants“
• Outermost solar system or trans-Neptunian consist of objects beyond
Neptune, the Kuiper Belt

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Origin of the
Solar System

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Nebular Hypothesis
• In the 1700s Emanuel
Swedenborg, Immanuel Kant,
and Pierre-Simon Laplace
independently thought that the
solar system came from a huge
whirling cloud of dust and gas
(Nebula) that cools and
contracts in the middle to form
the sun and the rest into a disc
that become the planets

36
Encounter Hypotheses
• Involves an unlikely encounter
between the Sun and another
celestial body (e.g. comet, star,
proto planet, interstellar cloud)
• The two major flaws :
• 1) It fails to explain how planets
are formed (hot gas from the
sun/star expands and will not
form planets)
• 2) This type of encounters are
extremely rare 37
Protoplanet Hypothesis
• The Solar System was born
from a slowly rotating
nebula which began to
collapse due to gravity.
• As the collapse progressed,
more and more materials
was pulled inward, forming
a dense core that eventually
became a protostar or the
protosun
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Protoplanet Hypothesis
• Surrounding particles and
materials stuck together
and formed an accretion
disc.
• Whirling rocky objects
called planetesimals were
formed.
• These eventually became
planets and moons.

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Protoplanet Hypothesis
• Collision of the Earth with
large object produces the
moon.
• When the proto-Sun was
established as a star, its
solar wind blasts hydrogen,
helium, and volatiles from
the inner planets to beyond
Mars to form the gas giants
leaving behind a system we
know today 40
Recent advancement/information on the Solar System
• Exploration of Mars
• Recently, NASA, using high resolution imagery of the surface of Mars, presented
evidence of seasonal flow liquid water (in the form of brine - salty water) on the
surface of Mars
• Rosetta's Comet
• Analysis of the water (ice) from the comet suggest that its isotopic composition is
different from water from Earth.
• Pluto Flyby
• On 14 July 2015, NASA's New Horizon spacecraft provided mankind the first
close-up view of the dwarf planet Pluto. Images captured from the flyby revealed
a complex terrain - ice mountains and vast crater free plains. The presence of
crater free plains suggests recent (last 100 millions of years) of geologic activity.
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TIME FOR A
QUIZ

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Instruction:
On a ¼ sheet of paper, write the letter
of the correct answer.

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1. Which among the following describes the Nebular
Hypothesis of Immanuel Kant and other scientists?
A. The Solar System formed from an encounter of the Sun
and another celestial body
B. The Solar System formed from a rotating gaseous cloud
that cools and contracts
C. The Solar System formed from an explosion of space and
matter
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2. Which of the following describes the Encounter Hypothesis?
A. The Solar System formed from an encounter of the Sun
and another celestial body
B. The Solar System formed from a rotating gaseous cloud
that cools and contracts
C. The Solar System formed from an explosion of space and
matter

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3.) Which of the following is the currently accepted hypothesis
on the origin of the Solar System?
A. Nebular Hypothesis
B. Encounter Hypothesis
C. Protoplanet Hypothesis
4-5.) In at least 3 sentences, explain the significance of the
study of the origin of the Solar System and the planets to you.

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5-minute break

47
THE EARTH
And its life supporting properties
 The class will be divided into 3-4 groups. You will have
to compare the 3 planets Venus, Earth and Mars using the
information on the printouts. Then you will have to create
a Venn diagram about the 3 planets’ similarities and
differences, on a Manila paper. You will be given 1O
minutes to complete this task. Once the time is up,
present your work in front.
 Criteria 5 4 2
Time Finished before Finished on the Finished after the given
Management the given time given time time
Content All answers are Most answers 2-3 answers are
correct are correct incorrect
Collaboration & All members Most members 2-3 members did not
Teamwork participated participated participate
Communication Reporter has Reporter has Reporter has low
Skills confidence and confidence but confidence and speaks
presents occasionally in vernacular
fluently in speaks in
English. vernacular.
50
Venn Diagram

EARTH

VENUS MARS
Guide Questions
1. What property/properties does the Earth have which is/are not
too different with Venus? With Mars?
2. What property/properties that only Earth has?
3. What element/s is/are common among the 3 planets?
4. What element/s is/are only found on Earth?
5. How does the Earth’s unique properties contribute to its
habitability?
6. What can you conclude based on the observed similarities and
differences of the Earth’s properties with the other planets?
ThankYou