Lesson 1:

Universe and the Solar

System
Learning Competency
The learners shall be able to state the
different hypotheses and theories
explaining the origin of the universe
(S11/12ES-Ia-e-1).

At the end of this lesson, the learners will be

able to:

A. Describe the structure and composition of

the Universe;
B. Explain the red-shift and how it used as proof
of an expanding universe
C. State the different hypothesis that preceded
the Big Bang Theory of the Origin of the
Universe
D. Explain the Big Bang Theory
LIST OF IMPORTANT
TERMS
Baryonic matter -
"ordinary" matter
consisting of
protons, electrons,
and neutrons that
comprises atoms,
planets, stars,
galaxies, and other
bodies
Dark matter
- matter that
has gravity
but does not
emit light.
Dark Energy
- a source of anti-
gravity; a force
that counteracts
gravity and
causes the
universe to
expand.
Protostar
Protostar - an early stage in the formation of a star
resulting from the gravitational collapse of
gases.
Thermonuclear reaction - a
nuclear fusion reaction
responsible for the energy
produced by stars.
Main Sequence Stars - stars that
fuse hydrogen atoms to form helium
atoms in their cores; outward pressure
resulting from nuclear fusion is
balanced by gravitational forces
Light years - the distance light can travel
in a year; a unit of length used to measure
astronomical distance
The Universe is at least 13.8 billion
of years old and the Earth/Solar
System at least 4.5-4.6 billions of
years old.
But how large exactly is a billion?
How long will it take them to spend
1 billion pesos if they spend 1 peso
per second?
 The Earth as part of the solar system - inner terrestrial (as
opposed to the outer gaseous planets) . Earth is also known
as "the third rock from the Sun".
 The solar system as part of the Milky Way Galaxy
The Milky
Way is but
one of the
billion of
Galaxies in
the
Universe.
Engage

Video Presentation
Test yourself

What is the closest planet from the

sun?
Mercury
Test yourself

What is the farthest planet from

the sun?
Neptune
Test yourself

What is the largest planet in the

solar system?
Jupiter
The universe as we currently know it comprises all space and time,
and all matter and 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 anti-gravity)
•Dark matter can explain what may
be holding galaxies together
because 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..
THREE MOST ABUNDANT
ELEMENTS
 Stars - the building block of galaxies-are
born out of clouds of gas and dust in
galaxies.
Instabilities within the clouds eventually
results into gravitational collapse,
rotation, heating up, and
transformation into a protostar-the hot
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.
 Massive main sequence stars burn
up their hydrogen faster than
smaller stars. Stars like our Sun
burnup hydrogen in about 10
billion years
 Birth, evolution, death, and rebirth of star

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 superclusters.
•In between the
clusters is
practically an
empty space.
Age: 13.8 billion years old.

Diameter :infinite but should be at least 91

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

Density is 4.5 x 10-31 g/cm3

Edwin Hubble
• In 1929, Edwin Hubble announced his
significant discovery of the “redshift”
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.
 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.
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.
• 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.
The monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam
claim that a supreme being created the universe, including
man and other living organisms.
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.
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 the Sun 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.
Evolution of the Universe according to the Big Bang Theory
• From time zero (13.8 billion years ago) until 10-43 second later, all matter and
energy in the universe existed as a hot, dense, tiny state. It then underwent
extremely rapid, exponential inflation until 10-32 second later after which and
until 10 seconds from time zero, conditions allowed the existence of only quarks,
hadrons, and leptons.
• Then, Big Bang nucleosynthesis took place and produced protons, neutrons,
atomic nuclei, and then hydrogen, helium, and lithium until 20 minutes after
time zero when sufficient cooling did not allow further nucleosynthesis.
• From then on until 380,000 years, the cooling universe entered a matter-
dominated period when photons decoupled from matter and light could travel
freelyas still observed today in the form of cosmic microwave background
radiation.
• As the universe continued to cool down, matter collected into clouds giving
rise to only stars after 380,000 years and eventually galaxies would form after
100 million years from time zero during which, through nucleosynthesis in stars,
carbon and elements heavier than carbon were produced.
• From 9.8 billion years until the present, the universe became dark-energy
dominated and underwent accelerating expansion. At about 9.8 billion years
after the big bang, the solar system was formed