Questions for discussion or short essays:

Students will find these exercises akin to a pre-test, largely evaluating one's understanding either based on prior knoledge or on the brief presentation in the Prologue. They are therefore meant to provoke critical thinking. Much more information regarding each of these questions will be developed in greater detail in the principal epochs of this Web site.

 

1. What is the scientific method? When was it developed? What are its three basic steps? What are the advantages of using the scientific method? Can you think of any disadvantages?

 

 

2. What is the Universe? Name and describe some of its more important properties.

 

 

3. Define cosmic evolution? How is it related to biological evolution?

 

 

4. Name the eight main epochs of cosmic evolution. Are these epochs causally connected and does one epoch naturally lead to the next? (In other words, could humans or even planets have preceded stars or galaxies, or is there a specific ordering to cosmic evolution?)

 

 

5. What are some of the general questions that cosmic evolution attempts to answer?

 

 

6. What are some of the biggest mysteries and challenges in the study of cosmic evolution as it stands today?

 

 

7. What epoch of cosmic evolution are we in now? Do humans have any special place in the Universe? Why or why not?

 

 

8. Name at least six scientific disciplines incorporated into the study of cosmic evolution.

 

 

9. What is a star? A galaxy? A planet? How are they related?

 

 

10. How do scientists reason that the Universe started? Describe what the Universe was like just after its birth. What evidence do scientists have of the conditions in the early Universe?

 

 

11. How are the heavy elements (carbon, oxygen, silicon, etc.) created? By what means have they been dispersed throughout the galaxy? Why was that important to us?

 

 

12. Try defining intelligence. Are computers intelligent?

 

 

13. What is cultural evolution? What are some of its main accomplishments? What dangers has it created for humans and our surroundings?

 

 

---

 

True or False:

1. True or False: The heavier elements (carbon, oxygen, etc.) were created along with the lighter elements (hydrogen and helium) in the very early Universe. _____ Explain your answer.

 

 

2. True or False: Stars no longer form because the stellar epoch of cosmic evolution has ended. _____ Explain your answer.

 

 

3. True or False: Stars and planets are born, mature, and die, generally similar to humans and other living things. _____ Explain your answer.

 

 

4. True or False: Planets generally form during collisions of stars. _____ Explain your answer.

 

 

5. True or False: Scientists estimate that the Universe started sometime between 10 and 20 billion years ago. _____ Explain your answer.

 

 

Quantitative Problems:

1. How might you estimate the number of stars in the Milky Way Galaxy? If you could count 1 star per second, 16 hours per day, how long would it take you to count all of them?

 

 

2. How many Earths could fit inside the Sun? How many Moons within the Earth?

 

 

3. How old is the Universe? How big, then, is the visible Universe in cubic light-years?