Question 1

Which single observation is perhaps the strongest argument against the steady-state model of the universe and for the Big Bang model?

Accepted Answer

A)  The number of supporters of the steady-state model is less than the number of supporters of the Big Bang model. 
B)  We have not observed matter being created from nothing in the space around us. 
C)  The universe is expanding. 
D)  The universe is bathed in a sea of microwaves coming from the edge of the visible universe. 
A)  The number of supporters of the steady-state model is less than the number of supporters of the Big Bang model. 
B)  We have not observed matter being created from nothing in the space around us. 
C)  The universe is expanding. 
D)  The universe is bathed in a sea of microwaves coming from the edge of the visible universe.

Question 2

If the cosmic microwave background radiation is the radiation left over from the Big Bang,why is its temperature only 3 K?

Accepted Answer

A)  The universe has expanded and cooled to the temperature we now observe for the background radiation. 
B)  The cosmic microwave background radiation we observe is not cool-it is very hot, just like the Big Bang. 
C)  The Big Bang was a cold explosion, not a hot explosion-its temperature was the same as the current temperature we observe from the cosmic background radiation. 
D)  The cosmic background radiation we observe now is not from the Big Bang at all-it is from cold, intergalactic hydrogen clouds that cover the sky. 
A)  The universe has expanded and cooled to the temperature we now observe for the background radiation. 
B)  The cosmic microwave background radiation we observe is not cool-it is very hot, just like the Big Bang. 
C)  The Big Bang was a cold explosion, not a hot explosion-its temperature was the same as the current temperature we observe from the cosmic background radiation. 
D)  The cosmic background radiation we observe now is not from the Big Bang at all-it is from cold, intergalactic hydrogen clouds that cover the sky.

Question 3

The Theory of Everything is the attempt to describe all four fundamental forces as aspects of a single unified force.The force that has proved to be the MOST difficult to incorporate into such a theory is:

Accepted Answer

A)  gravity. 
B)  electromagnetism. 
C)  the weak nuclear force. 
D)  the strong nuclear force. 
A)  gravity. 
B)  electromagnetism. 
C)  the weak nuclear force. 
D)  the strong nuclear force.

Question 4

What is the Great Attractor?

Accepted Answer

A)  a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy 
B)  an immense black hole thought to be at the center of the universe and a remnant of the cosmic singularity 
C)  a large collection of mass about 50 Mpc from Earth in the direction of the Hydra-Centaurus supercluster toward which the Local Group of galaxies is being drawn 
D)  an immense black hole somewhere in the universe from the accretion disk of which the cosmic 3-K background radiation is believed to be emitted 
A)  a supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy 
B)  an immense black hole thought to be at the center of the universe and a remnant of the cosmic singularity 
C)  a large collection of mass about 50 Mpc from Earth in the direction of the Hydra-Centaurus supercluster toward which the Local Group of galaxies is being drawn 
D)  an immense black hole somewhere in the universe from the accretion disk of which the cosmic 3-K background radiation is believed to be emitted

Question 5

What is the difference between dark matter and dark energy?

Accepted Answer

A)  Dark matter exists today, whereas dark energy existed only until the strong nuclear force became a separate force at the Planck time. 
B)  Dark energy is the energy emitted by dark matter, much as luminous energy (light) is emitted by visible matter. 
C)  There is no difference: Energy has mass by E = mc², and dark matter and dark energy are two names for the same effect. 
D)  Dark matter is attractive and slows the universal expansion, whereas dark energy is repulsive and accelerates the universal expansion. 
A)  Dark matter exists today, whereas dark energy existed only until the strong nuclear force became a separate force at the Planck time. 
B)  Dark energy is the energy emitted by dark matter, much as luminous energy (light) is emitted by visible matter. 
C)  There is no difference: Energy has mass by E = mc², and dark matter and dark energy are two names for the same effect. 
D)  Dark matter is attractive and slows the universal expansion, whereas dark energy is repulsive and accelerates the universal expansion.

Which single observation is perhaps the strongest argument against the steady-state model of the universe and for the Big Bang model?

If the cosmic microwave background radiation is the radiation left over from the Big Bang,why is its temperature only 3 K?

The Theory of Everything is the attempt to describe all four fundamental forces as aspects of a single unified force.The force that has proved to be the MOST difficult to incorporate into such a theory is:

What is the Great Attractor?

What is the difference between dark matter and dark energy?

Discovering the Night Sky

Gravitation and the Waltz of the Planets

Light and Telescopes

Formation of the Solar System and Other Planetary Systems

Exoplanets

The Terrestrial Planets and Their Moons

The Outer Planets and Their Moons

Vagabonds of the Solar System

The Sun: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Star

Characterizing Stars

The Lives of the Stars From Birth Through Middle Age

The Deaths and Remnants of Stars

The Galaxies

Astrobiology

Filters

Exam 14: Cosmology

Which single observation is perhaps the strongest argument against the steady-state model of the universe and for the Big Bang model?

If the cosmic microwave background radiation is the radiation left over from the Big Bang,why is its temperature only 3 K?

The Theory of Everything is the attempt to describe all four fundamental forces as aspects of a single unified force.The force that has proved to be the MOST difficult to incorporate into such a theory is:

What is the Great Attractor?

What is the difference between dark matter and dark energy?

Discovering the Night Sky

Gravitation and the Waltz of the Planets

Light and Telescopes

Formation of the Solar System and Other Planetary Systems

Exoplanets

The Terrestrial Planets and Their Moons

The Outer Planets and Their Moons

Vagabonds of the Solar System

The Sun: Our Extraordinary Ordinary Star

Characterizing Stars

The Lives of the Stars From Birth Through Middle Age

The Deaths and Remnants of Stars

The Galaxies

Astrobiology

Filters