Lesson Purpose

The Big Bang hasn't always been the generally accepted explanation of how our Universe came to be. In fact, our views on the origin and structure of the universe have changed drastically over the last thousand years. As new thinking and evidence have built upon one another, our understanding of the Universe has evolved. Over the ages, astronomers have used the tools of their time to understand the origin and structure of the Universe.

The outcomes of this lesson are: 1.) To identify the raw materials that were created in the Big Bang and explain why they are important; 2.) To explain why the Big Bang is the beginning of the Big History story; 3.) To explain the basics of the Big Bang theory.

Activity 1 - Big Bang Snap Judgement

Activity Tasks
  1. Around the room are a series of statements on paper. Place a sticky note under all of the statements that you believe to be true:
    1. We have a sense of what happened during the first few minutes of the Big Bang.
    2. The four fundamental forces are gravity, electromagnetism, strong nuclear force, and weak nuclear force.
    3. As the Universe expanded, it got hotter.
    4. The formation of the first atoms had an effect on the Universe.
    5. Cosmic background radiation is compelling evidence that supports the Big Bang theory.

Activity 2 - A Big History of Everything H2

Activity Objectives
The Big Bang, the first threshold moment in Big History, is the beginning of the story that will be told in this course. Everything we know in the Universe came from the Big Bang, and that’s why it’s so important. The Big Bang is the start of Big History’s origin story.

Activity Tasks
Watch the video and try to answer the following questions:
  1. 0:51 What is Big History’s first threshold, and what did it come from?
  2. 2:19 What fundamental force appears after the Big Bang that is part of the forces that govern all existence forever?
  3. 2:41 What could have gone wrong in the first few seconds of the Universe?
  4. 2:56 Why is the Big Bang the first of eight thresholds?

Activity 3 - Threshold 1: The Big Bang
Activity Objectives
In this video David Christian, the creator and leader of Big History, provides another introduction to the Big Bang. Having some duplicate information, particularly about difficult concepts such as the Big Bang, should help you begin to grasp how important the Big Bang really is.

Activity Tasks
  1. Watch the video and try to answer the following questions:
    1. 0:26 How long ago did the Big Bang happen?​​
    2. 0:46 What made the Big Bang possible? Why did the Big Bang happen? Was there space and time before the Big Bang?
    3. 1:15 When did matter and energy form after the Big Bang?
    4. 1:20 What forms did energy take after the Big Bang?
  2. Discuss - Why is the Big Bang still important to us today?

Activity 4 - This Threshold Today

Activity Objectives
In this activity, you will read news articles that reveal unexpected connections between today's world and the Big Bang to understand how things we learn today are related to what we know about the Big Bang. Understanding the relevance to today should help you engage more with the theories related to the Big Bang, which can be difficult to understand.

Activity Tasks
  1. Download and complete this worksheet. You need to search for news stories to do with the Big Bang and record what the articles tell you about this threshold.​​

Activity 5 - Questions about the Big Bang
Activity Objectives
This video will help you get familiar with what we understand about the Big Bang and what is still a mystery so that you can start to understand the theory in more depth.

Activity Tasks
Watch the video and try to answer the following questions:
  1. 2:15 What are some of the questions we still can’t answer about the Big Bang?​​
  2. Now look back at the claims your evaluated at the beginning of the lesson. Have you changed your minds about what you thought was correct or not?

Activity 6 - Electromagnetism

Activity Objectives
This short video explores electromagnetism, which is one example of how things in today’s world are connected to the Big Bang. This should help you recognize why the Big Bang is so important for us to understand and how it’s still relevant today.

Activity Tasks
Watch the video and try to answer the following questions:
  1. 0:42 At what distance does a sound wave from the human voice run out of energy?​​
  2. 2:09 What does electromagnetism do for sound?
  3. What else that was created in the Big Bang is still important to us today?

Activity 7 - Looking into the Past
Activity Objectives
This video helps you gain an understanding of the close relationship between space and time in the Universe. It explains how light travels throughout the Universe and how scientists use this light to gather information about the Universe’s composition and expansion.

Activity Tasks
Watch the video and try to answer the following questions:
  1. 1:12 What is one light-year? How far is it?
  2. 1:49 How long ago did the light that you’ll see from the North Star tonight actually leave it?
  3. 4:33 Describe the evidence that Edwin Hubble discovered in the 1920s that suggested the Universe is expanding.
  4. 5:55 What is the significance of the Hubble eXtreme Deep Field?
  5. 6:36 What is the goal of the James Webb Space Telescope?
  6. Discuss - Here on Earth, we are at the centre of the “observable Universe.” From our vantage point, we can theoretically see the same distance in every direction—46 billion light-years (also known as our cosmic horizon). If the Universe is only 13.82 billion years old, how can our cosmic horizon be 46 billion light-years away? ​​

Activity 8 - Big Bang Infographic

Activity Objectives
In this activity, you will demonstrate your knowledge by creating an infographic that explains the Big Bang. This activity will help you evaluate whether you have an understanding of the Big Bang, which is a requirement before you move on to other concepts.

Activity Tasks
  1. Your task is to create an infographic that demonstrates your understanding of the Big Bang. Click here for instructions.​
  2. The infographic needs to include attention to the following:
    1. Topic: The topic of the infographic is specific in nature and is intended to inform or convince the viewer.
    2. Type: The type of infographic chosen (for example, timeline or informational) highly supports the content being presented.
    3. Objects: The objects included in the infographic are relevant and support the topic of the infographic.
    4. Data visualizations: The data visualizations present accurate data and are easy to understand.
    5. Style: Fonts, colours, and organization are aesthetically pleasing, appropriate to the content, and enhance the viewer’s understanding of the information in the infographic.
    6. Citations: Full bibliographic citations for all sources used are included.
  3. You also need to ensure that you provide an explanation of your knowledge of:
    1. Expansion of the Universe
    2. Cosmic Background Radiation
    3. Redshift
  4. Check out this interpreting infographics sheet for help.
  5. Watch this CrashCourse video about the Big Bang.

Challenge Yourself! - Optional Activities

1. Watch a mind-boggling video about the newly-discovered Big Bang gravitational waves.
2. Primordial gravitational waves provide evidence of the sudden inflation that happened 10-35 (roughly one trillionth of a trillionth of a trillionth) seconds after the Big Bang.
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