OUR HOME

I. Overview

Image retrieved from https://cutt.ly/synyttE . May 12, 2020

What are the implications of the image above, which indicates that the universe contains a truly
countless number of stars and galaxies, beside ours?
The universe is truly a wonder. By simply looking at the clear night sky, one can already
see stars and even some galaxies if telescope or binocular is available. Some aspects of
the known universe are readily observable by anyone, such as the progression of the Sun
during the day or the Moon during a month. But in the first place, how does the universe
came into existence?
In this module, we will be discussing the different historical development of theories on
the origin of the universe we will be engaging ourselves with activities that will be serving
as guide in understanding of the concept.

II. Learning Unit : Unit I – Origin of the Universe

III. Learning Plan

3.1. Intended Learning Outcomes
3.1.1. Describe the historical development of theories that explain the origin of
the universe; and
3.1.2. Compare the different hypotheses and theories explaining the origin of the
Solar System.

3.2. Time Allotment : 3 hours

3.3. Resource Materials:

- https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/seuforum/download/CQEdGuide.pdf . Retrieved
May 13, 2020
- Activity sheet (Activity 1)
- Activity 2 : one balloon, a flexible metric ruler and a paper strip for conducting
measurements, a sheet of paper for the tabulation, and a marker
- Activity 3: Internet Connection

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 3.4. Teaching and Learning Activities:
Activity 1. What am I? (Class A and B) Turn in this activity to the
google classroom classwork (Deadlines: MWF class Sept.4/ TTH class Sept. 5)
Procedures
1. For each of the six objects, first observe the image of that object and list as many
observations as you can, describing the scene.
2. From your observations, identify what type of feature an object likely represents.
For example, is the object a certain type of galaxy, star, or stellar remnant?
3. Based on your identification of the object, explain how you think that object formed
and what types of processes were occurring at the time the image was taken.
4. For each object, predict what will likely happen to it in the future.

Object 1 Object 2

 I observed that this object is a  This object looks like a disk with
orange, huge ball that has a high an eye.
temperature.  This object is a galaxy.
 This object certainly a star.  I think galaxies are formed in a
 I think stars are formed as a extreme gravitational pull that can
bond of gigantic gas clouds be able to compact gas clouds and
rotating around the space. This stars. The galaxy will become
clouds will be flattened into a bigger when it fuse to other galaxy.
disk and spun faster as the  I guess galaxies will become bigger
gravity increases. The heat of as the time passes.
the star will serve as a light that
makes it visible and increases
the temperature of the object
near to it.
 I guess the elements of the star
starts to heat up in the future
that cause for an explosion.

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 Object 3
 It is like a colorful marble.
 This object is a planet.
 For me, planets are formed when the
asteroids or the rock in space pulled
by gravity, enabling it to assemble a
new bigger rock. It gains energy
coming from the star. planets orbits
around the star.
 The planets may slowly came closer
to the star and lose its property due
to extreme heat.
Object 5
 This object looks like a compressed cloud. It is
also looks like a colorful cotton candy.
 This object is a dense stellar remnant.
 It is also made up from the fragments releases
from the explosion of a star. It starts to
compact fragments by the help of the
gravitational pull. It is about to form another
object that are more dense and high in
temperature.
 Soon, This object will become a super hot
object.
Object 4
 It looks like a corals under water.
also it looks like a smoke and dust.
 This object is a diffuse stellar
remnant.
 It is a dust and cloud formed from
the explosion of a star. I think it
produces energy as heated.
 Super hot object will be formed as
the fragments of this object
condenses.
Object 6
 It looks like a rock that is on fire with
high acceleration.
 This object is a meteor.
 Meteors are small parts of asteroid that
enter the atmosphere. As it enters the
atmosphere the meteors will heat up
because the air in front of it
compresses incredibly quick. When
gas is compressed, its temperature
rises.
 Meteors may become a meteorite. 3
 Activity 2. The expanding Universe (You may do it by group with a maximum
members of 6). You don’t have to go into someone else’s house for this but rather
you may just communicate with each other thru text, calls or chats. But if it’s easier
for you to comply with this alone, then so be it. (Deadlines: TTh class Sept.10/ MWF
class Sept. 11)

Procedures

1. In this activity, you are going to create a model of the expanding Universe. You
will need one balloon, a flexible metric ruler and a paper strip for conducting
measurements, a sheet of paper for the tabulation, and a marker.
2. Use the markers to make 5 dots on the balloon and number them after the balloon
is partially inflated.
3. Inflate balloon with 4 medium breaths to about the size of your fist; do not over
inflate the balloon!
4. Bend the end of the balloon down and paper clip it so that no air escapes.
5. Record below what happens to the dots. Be very specific - use complete
sentences.
6. Measure and record the distance between dot number one (your "home" dot) and
neighbouring dots with the METRIC RULERS. Be careful not to indent the
balloon by pressing on it.
7. Now measure and record the distance between dot number one (your "home" dot)
and the other 4 dots with the paper strip. Note any differences in the two
measuring techniques.
8. Double the size of the balloon by inflating it slowly; do not over inflate the
balloon! Measure and record the data from the enlarged balloon using both tools.
9. Answer the summary questions below.

Table 1. Information for the partially expanded Balloon.

Initial Initial
Distance from Distance from Differ-
Dot Dot #1 Dot #1
using the using the
ence
ruler paper strip
2
3
4
5

Table 2. Information for the totally expanded Balloon.

Initial Initial
Distance from Distance from
Differ-
Dot Dot #1 Dot #1
using the using the
ence
ruler paper strip
2
3
4
5

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Summary Questions for Activity no. 2
1. If the dots represent galaxies, do they get larger as the balloon expands?
Why do you think this is or is not so?

2. What relationship exists between the speed of the galaxies moving apart and
their initial distance from one another?
Name this Law.

3. Which measuring tool was more accurate? Why?

3.5. Learning Content/Concept:

Structure, Composition, and Age
• The universe as we currently know it comprises all space and time, and all
matter & energy in it.
• It is made of 4.6% baryonic matter (“ordinary” matter consisting of protons,
electrons, and neutrons: atoms, planets, stars, galaxies, nebulae, and other
bodies), 24% cold dark matter(matter that has gravity but does not emit light),
and 71.4% dark energy (a source of antigravity)
• Dark matter can explain what may be holding galaxies together for the reason
that the low total mass is insufficient for gravity alone to do so while dark
energy can explain the observed accelerating expansion of the universe.
• Hydrogen, helium, and lithium are the three most abundant elements.
• Stars - the building block of galaxies born out of clouds of gas and dust in
galaxies.
Instabilities within the clouds eventually results into gravitational collapse,
rotation, heating up, and transformation to a protostar-the core of a future
star as thermonuclear reactions set in.
• Stellar interiors are like furnaces where elements are synthesized or
combined/fused together. Most stars such as the Sun belong to the so-called
“main sequence stars.” In the cores of such stars, hydrogen atoms are fused
through thermonuclear reactions to make helium atoms (fig.
• Massive main sequence stars burn up their hydrogen faster than smaller
stars. Stars like our Sun burn-up hydrogen in about 10 billion years.
• The remaining dust and gas may end up as they are or as planets,
asteroids, or other bodies in the accompanying planetary system.
• A galaxy is a cluster of billions of stars and clusters of galaxies form super
clusters. In between the clusters is practically an empty space. This
organization of matter in the universe suggests that it is indeed clumpy at a
certain scale. But at a large scale, it appears homogeneous and isotropic.

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 • Based on recent data, the universe is 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). Its density is 4.5 x 10-31 g/cm3.

Expanding Universe
• In 1929, Edwin Hubble announced his significant discovery of the “redshift”
(fig. 5) and its interpretation that galaxies are moving away from each other,
hence as evidence for an expanding universe, just as predicted by
Einstein’s Theory of General Relativity.
• He observed that spectral lines of starlight made to pass through a prism
are shifted toward the red part of the electromagnetic spectrum, i.e., toward
the band of lower frequency; thus, the inference that the star or galaxy must
be moving away from us.

Cosmic Microwave Background

• There is a pervasive cosmic microwave background (CMB) radiation in the
universe. Its accidental discovery in 1964 by Arno Penzias and Robert
Woodrow Wilson earned them the physics Nobel Prize in 1978.
• It can be observed as a strikingly uniform faint glow in the microwave band
coming from all directions-blackbody radiation with an average temperature
of about 2.7 degrees above absolute zero (fig. 6).

Origin of the Universe

Non-scientific Thought
• Ancient Egyptians believed in many gods and myths which narrate that the
world arose from an infinite sea at the first rising of the sun.
• The Kuba people of Central Africa tell the story of a creator god Mbombo (or
Bumba) who, alone in a dark and water-covered Earth, felt an intense
stomach pain and then vomited the stars, sun, and moon.
• In India, there is the narrative that gods sacrificed Purusha, the primal man
whose head, feet, eyes, and mind became the sky, earth, sun, and moon
respectively.

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 • The monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam claim that a
supreme being created the universe, including man and other living
organisms.

Scientific Thought (Theories and Hypotheses)

Steady State Model
• The now discredited steady state model of the universe was proposed in
1948 by Bondi and Gould and by Hoyle. It maintains that new matter is
created as the universe expands thereby maintaining its density.
• Its predictions led to tests and its eventual rejection with the discovery of the
cosmic microwave background.

Fig. 1 Representation of Steady state Universe TheoryRetrieved

from https://www.google.com/search?q=steady+state+theory+of+the+universe .May 12,
2020

Big Bang Theory

• As the currently accepted theory of the origin and evolution of the universe,
the Big Bang Theory postulates that 13.8 billion years ago, the universe
expanded from a tiny, dense and hot mass to its present size and much
cooler state.
• The theory rests on two ideas: General Relativity and the Cosmological
Principle. In Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity, gravity is thought of as
a distortion of space-time and no longer described by a gravitational field in
contrast to the Law of Gravity of Isaac Newton. General Relativity explains
the peculiarities of the orbit of Mercury and the bending of light by theSun
and has passed rigorous tests. The Cosmological Principle assumes that
the universe is homogeneous and isotropic when averaged over large
scales. This is consistent with our current large-scale image of the universe.
But keep in mind that it is clumpy at smaller scales.
• The Big Bang Theory has withstood the tests for expansion: 1) the redshift
2) abundance of hydrogen, helium, and lithium, and 3) the uniformly
pervasive cosmic microwave background radiation-the remnant heat from
the bang.

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 Fig. 2 The Big bang as depicted by the ideas of the proponent.
Retrieved from en.wikipedia.com. May 13, 2020

Nebular Hypothesis
• Proposed by Immanuel Kant in 1755.
• According to his idea, the solar system started to become as it is today from
the condensation of an enormously dispersed gaseous atmosphere.
Increased rotational velocity of this atmosphere during condensation was
assumed to have produced a discoidal shape (the plane of the disk
coinciding with that of the sun’s equator)
• This discoidal shape formed all the materials in our solar system including
the sun at the center, all the known planets including their natural satellites
and the debris floating in the vast area of the solar system.

Fig. 3 The Nebular hypothesis

Retrieved from everthingselectric.com. May 13, 2020

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Oscillating Universe Theory
• The oscillating universe theory was briefly considered by Albert Einstein
in 1930.
• Based on the idea of Einstein, another big bang will occur when the
universe starts to run down.

Fig. 4 Illustrative representation of Oscillating Universe Theory

Retrieved from Quora.com/oscillatingUniverse. May 13, 2020

Gas Cloud Theory

• Proposed by Carl Von Weizsacker.
• Gas cloud were pulled by sun’s gravity, then formed into planets and
moons.

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 Capture Theory
• Proposed by Michael Mark Woolfson in 1964.
• According to this theory, planets and moons were wandering around and
were captured by the sun.

Fig. 4 Illustrative representation of the ideas based from on the claims of the Capture
Theory Retrieved from sites.google.com. May 12, 2020

Accretion Theory
• Proposed by Otto Schmidt.
• Small chunks of materials gradually combined and formed Earth, then
more chunks formed the moon.

Fig. 7 Accretion Theory

Retrieved from khadley.com. May 12, 2020

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 Planetary collision Theory
• Proposed by William K. Hartmann and Donald R. Davis.
• Their idea suggested that Earth collided with a small planet, producing the
moon.

Fig. 8 The creation of moon from the idea based on the claims in planetary collision
theory Retrieved from space.com. May 12, 2020

Fission Theory
• Proposed by R.W. Stewart.
• This theory claims that the bursting of sun set out planets and moon.

Fig. 9 Illustrative representation of the ideas based from the Fission Theory. Retrieved
from supernova.eso.org. May 12, 2020

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 Stellar Collision Theory
• First proposed by Albert Einstein and later supported and developed
by
Charles Messier.
• The main thought of the theory is that two stars collided and the remnant
materials solidified and became the planets and the moon.

Fig. 10 The collision of two stars that later gave rise to a solar system. Retrieved from
rookandalus.com. May 12, 2020

3.6. References/Suggested Readings:

References:
Ardagh, M. (2013). Understanding Earth Science. Random Exports. New
Delhi, India
Reynolds, S., and Johnson, J. (2016). Earth Science. C & E Publishing, Inc.,
Quezon City, Phils
Earth Science. (2016). Cengage Learning Asia Pte Ltd. REX Bookstore.
Manila, Phils

Suggested Readings:
The origin of the Universe (ODF File)
at https://www.scielo.br/pdf/ea/v20n58/en_20.pdf Retrieved May 12, 2020
Naked Science (Video documentary) at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OpbdMjvni0 Retrieved May 13, 2020
Origins of the Universe 1010 (Video) at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdPzOWlLrbE Retrieved May 12, 2020
The History of Earth- How our planet formed (Video Documentary) at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHUTbq-j0UU Retrieved May 12, 2020
Origin of the Solar system (Video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdxH9cnJbRQ Retrieved May 12, 2020

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