Timeline of the Big Bang

High school (ages 12+)
Space & Astronomy

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/timeline-of-the-big-bang

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the age of the universe?Approximately 13.8 billion years
2. What is the hubble constant (h₀)?Represents the current rate of expansion of the universe, approximately 70 km/s/Mpc
3. What was the Big Bang and when did it happen?The Big Bang was the rapid expansion of spacetime from a tiny, hot, dense point about 13.8 billion years ago.
4. Why did the universe start to cool and form atoms?As it expanded, the universe cooled, letting electrons combine with nuclei around 380,000 years later, creating neutral atoms and letting light travel freely.

Cosmic Inflation: A hypothetical period of exponential expansion in the very early universe, explaining its flatness and homogeneity.
Big Bang Nucleosynthesis: The formation of light atomic nuclei in the first few minutes after the Big Bang.
Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB): The relic radiation from the epoch of recombination, providing a snapshot of the early universe.