The Universe and the Solar System (Earth Science SHS-CORE-STEM)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms related to the universe, its origin theories, and related cosmological concepts from the lecture notes.

Universe

The totality of space, time, matter, and energy, including all cosmic phenomena and even time itself.

Big Bang Theory

The model that the universe began about 13.7 billion years ago from a hot, dense state (singularity) and expanded rapidly to form the cosmos.

Singularity

The initial hot, dense point from which the Big Bang originated, where space, time, matter, and energy came into existence.

Inflation

A brief period of exponential expansion early in the universe that stretched space and set up later cosmic evolution.

Inflationary epoch

The early phase during which the universe underwent rapid exponential growth before standard Big Bang expansion.

Radiation Era

A cosmic era when radiation dominated the energy content of the universe soon after its formation.

Matter Domination

The era when matter became the dominant component of the universe’s energy density.

Birth of Stars and Galaxies

The period in cosmic history when the first stars and galaxies formed from collapsing matter.

Steady State Theory

A cosmological model proposing the universe is unchanging in time and uniform in space, with continuous matter creation to maintain constant density as it expands.

Horizon problem

The puzzle of why distant regions of the universe have nearly identical properties despite lacking causal contact; inflation helps explain.

Flatness problem

The question of why the universe’s spatial geometry is so close to flat; inflation provides an explanation.

Inflation Theory

A theory proposing a period of exponential expansion of the universe before the slower Big Bang expansion, addressing issues in the standard model.

String Theory

A theoretical framework in which fundamental particles are described as one-dimensional strings, potentially unifying all forces with quantum gravity.

Quantum gravity

The field of physics attempting to describe gravity according to quantum mechanics, essential for unifying forces in theories like string theory.

Oscillating Universe

A cosmological model in which expansion halts and the universe contracts, potentially leading to a new cycle of expansion (a new Big Bang).

Creation Theory

The belief that the universe and life were created by God from nothing (ex nihilo), as described in Genesis.

Ex nihilo

Latin for 'out of nothing,' referring to creation from nothing in Creation Theory.

Genesis 1

Biblical account of God creating the world in six days: light, sky, land/vegetation, sun and moon, animals, and humans.