What About the Real Big Bang Theory? Quiz

Answer: The Steady State theory

Developed in the 1940s by Sir Fred Hoyle, Thomas Gold and Hermann Bondi, the Steady State theory (also known as Infinite Universe theory or continuous creation) states that the universe has no end and no beginning, and doesn't change its appearance over time.

The theory started to lose favour in the 1960s with the discovery of distant quasars, which showed that the universe was very different a long time ago.

Answer: True

Everything that makes up our universe - matter, energy, space, and even time - all came into existence at the moment of the 'Big Bang'. Before the beginning of time, the entire universe existed as a singularity. 'The Big Bang Theory' says that all the matter in the cosmos existed in a form smaller than a subatomic particle. According to Einstein's general theory of relativity, as gravity increases the passage of time slows down. Because all the matter in the universe was compressed to an infinitely small point before the big bang, time actually stopped completely.

Answer: 13.7 billion years ago

Because we can measure the rate at which the universe is expanding, we can calculate that moment in time when the universe was just a single point. Before the beginning of time, according to the 'Big Bang Theory' the entire universe existed as a singularity in a form smaller than a subatomic particle. Because all the mass in the universe was concentrated into one point, time was slowed to a standstill.

In 2011 the Nobel prize was awarded to Brian Schmidt and Adam Riess for "the discovery of the accelerating expansion of the Universe through observations of distant supernovae".

Answer: An accelerating rate

Edwin Hubble observed the doppler shift when observing galaxies in the 1920s. He noted that the galaxies were coloured in the red end of the spectrum and that the further they were away from us the more they were shifted towards the red end of the spectrum. From this he deduced that the galaxies were accelerating away from us.

The universe was expanding at a decreasing rate until about five billion years ago and then it began to expand at a faster rate.

Answer: it gets cooler

Because the universe is expanding, matter is moving further and further apart. Therefore there is less interaction between atoms, less friction and so less heat produced. Eventually the entire universe will cool to a temperature of absolute zero. I wouldn't worry too much though, as this shouldn't happen for at least 50 billion years!

Answer: One second

Since it was first predicted by physicist Paul Dirac in 1928, anti-matter has been the subject of much debate. When identical amounts of matter and anti-matter meet they annihilate each other completely. It is thought that there was a minute imbalance in the amount of matter and anti-matter (in favour of matter) which produced in the big bang and is why we exist.

Answer: Hydrogen and helium

When the universe first formed it was so hot that atomic nuclei could not form and any bonds formed would have been immediately blasted apart. After a few hundred thousand years the universe had cooled sufficiently to allow the simple bonds of hydrogen and helium to form. Hydrogen and helium still make up over 90% of the matter in the universe.

Answer: when the wavelength of light is stretched so that it 'shifts' towards the red part of the spectrum

In 1929 Edwin Hubble announced that the universe was expanding, and all galaxies were moving away from each other. He based his theory upon the fact that light from far away galaxies was shifted towards the red end of the spectrum and therefore they were accelerating away from us in all directions.

Answer: the formation of the first atoms

In 1964 Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson accidentally discovered cosmic microwave background radiation. They were originally looking for faint radio waves and had to eliminate all forms of interference to detect these, but discovered the existence of cosmic microwave background radiation.

The existence of the background radiation was one of the main supporting arguments for the "Big Bang Theory", as it would not exist according to the Steady State Theory.

Answer: The big pancake

The 'Big Freeze' theorises that entropy in the universe will increase until eventually the entire universe will cool to absolute zero. The 'Big Crunch' model theorises that instead of expanding forever, the universe will reach a point where gravity becomes the dominant force and causes it to collapse upon itself.

The 'Big Rip' theory states that eventually the expansion of the universe will outstrip gravity and the universe will tear itself apart.