By the end of this section you need to be understand and be able to address the following:

1. Explain the basic premise of the Big Bang Theory.
2. What three lines of evidence support the Big Bang Theory?  How does each line of evidence explain what is expected (predicted) if the theory is correct?
3. Name the four fundamental forces that organize the physical universe.  What is the range of each force?  Give an example of the action of each force.
4. Explain the basic stages in the evolution of the universe that led to the formation of atoms, according to the Big Bang Theory.  Include a time line as you describe each stage.
5. What physical property of the universe was a major factor in the occurrence of each freezing?
6. How does the Inflationary Theory help explain the uniformity of cosmic microwave background radiation?
7. How did the universe become transparent?  What does that mean?  Why was the universe not always transparent?
8. If the universe were contracting, which would be moving faster, nearby galaxies, or ones further away?  Why?
9. If the universe is much cooler now than at its beginning, where did all that heat go?
10. H, He, and Li formed about 3 minutes into the Big Bang.  Explain why they could not form sooner and then why they and heavier elements did not keep forming later.
11. What does it mean when we say a force "froze" at a certain point in the Big Bang?
12. If the strong force is so strong, why isn't it, rather than gravity, responsible for keeping planets in their orbits and you firmly on the ground?
13. Penzais and Wilson found the residual heat from the big bang as microwave radiation.  If we went back in time billions of years, would the universe be warmer or cooler than it is now?  Assuming the temperature difference were enough to get it out of the microwave, what type of radiation would be observed?  (refer to the electromagnetic spectrum in your handout).
14. What parts of the big bang theory are now "check-able" by physicists duplicating or approximating the conditions in the laboratory?
15. How good of a theory is the big bang?  Is it proven?  well supported?  just one more possibility?  Explain your reasoning.
16. Why is Hubble called the father of cosmology?
17. Be able to solve problems involving relationships between velocity, distance, Hubbell's constant, and time.