Birth of our Universe

Universe All matter, light, radiation and energy in existence

13.7 Billion years ago
Evolutionary Theory Big Bang Density of matter decreases
Timeline of the Big Bang
Singularity Epoch (0 to approximately 10-32)
Also known as the Planck Epoch
Earliest known period of the Universe
All matter was condensed on a single point of infinite density and extreme heat
Temp: Infinite; Density: Infinite
Heat expanded it; Fundamental forces united
Inflationary Epoch (10-35 to 10-33 s)
The universe expanded from the size of an atomic nucleus to 1035 meters in width.
Strong Nuclear force separated; Hot soup of quarks
Formation of the Universe (10-6 s)
The universe was made up of fundamental particles and energy: quarks, gluons
Strong Force separates; atomic nuclei form due to nuclear fusion; Rapid cooling
Formation of the basic elements (3 s)
Quarks and gluons form protons
Protons and neutrons combined to form hydrogen nuclei.
Pairs of hydrogen nuclei form hydrogen nucleic, the process is called Nucleosynthesis
Hydrogen - First element; Helium; Lithium
Charged electrons which are moving everywhere hit photons prevent light
Universe is opaque
Radiation Era ( 10 000 years)
Energy was in the form of radiation (wavelengths)
Cosmic microwave background radiation (Fingerprint of BB)
Electrons + protons + neutrons = Light (Photons)
Weak Force
Electromagnetic Force
Matter domination (300 000 years)
Matter began to dominate
Electrons joined with hydrogen and helium nuclei to make small neutral atoms
Gravity form gas clouds
Birth of Stars and Galaxies (300 million years)
Slightly irregular areas of gas cloud gravitationally attracted nearby matter and became denser
First stars died which emerged other elements
Gravitational Force

Fundamental Force (weakest to strongest)

FORCES PARTICLES RANGE

Gravity Between objects Infinite
attractive with mass
force that
binds the solar
system
Weak Force Particle decay; Short
quarks and
leptons
 Present in
radioactive
decay
Electromagnetic Electrically Infinite
can be charged
attractive or particles
repulsive
Strong Force Quarks and Short range
force that gluons
binds nucleus

Radioactive Decay is when isotopes are unstable they emit energy in the form of radiation.

Evidences of that the universe was expanding

Galaxies are moving away (Edwin Hubble); Red Shift/Doppler Effect - The wavelength of light stretch as an
object moves further away
CMB (Arno Penzias & Robert Wilson, 1960) Remnant energy
Abundance of light elements (Red shift)

Hubbles law
States that the galaxies are retreating from the Milky Way at a speed that is proportional to their distance.
The further, the faster: An objects recession velocity is proportional to its distance from the observer.
The Hooker - 100 inch telescope atop Mt. Wilson near Pasadena, CA. It was the largest telescope in the world
from 1917-1947
Hubble Space Telescope

Big Crunch - Gravity will be greater than dark energy; Universe will reverse

Other theories
Steady State - Bondi, Gold Hoyle Universe is constant and not expanding
Inflationary - Theory regarded as an extension of Big Bang that proposes a period of exponential expansion of
the universe prior to the more gradual big bang expansion.
Evidence: Existence of gravitational waves

Our Solar System

Solar System explorers

Kepler Space Telescope (2009) Find other planets
Voyager 1 - Take photos beyond Heliosphere (Everything the solar wind touches)
Voyager 2 - Samedt - BOTH contain messages from Earth
Juno - Launched on 2011-2017 to Jupiter
Hope and opportunity Mars rovers

Terms
Slingshot maneuver - Uses Earth's orbit for momentum
Observable Universe - Seen from Earth's vantage point; extends more than ten billion light years in all
directions; 28.5 gigaparsecs; BECAUSE one tiny bubble in an infinite ocean of other universes
Cosmic Address: Earth, Solar system, Solar interstellar neighborhood, Milky Way galaxy, Local Galactic Group,
Virgo Super cluster, Local supercluster, Observable universe.
Virgo Supercluster
Contains Local Group
Central cluster contains thousands of galaxies which we see in the direction of the constellation Virgo
Local Galactic Group
most of which are rather smaller than the Milky Way
Clump of galaxies
Solar System
Eight major planets (Pluto isn't considered "major" any more)
Solar winds - Superhot highly charged particles from Sun
 Milky Way Galaxy Contains the sun and many stars
Aurora - Result of magnetic field and solar winds
Rocky Planets - Are close to sun because they can withstand the heat of Sun; Rocky - metal and rock clouds and
lower temperature
Gas Planets - Cold atmosphere that's why gas atmosphere; Core - ice and gas - generated gravity; Moons made
from Gas and Dust. All have rings; Moons have many water
Magnetic Field - Result of convection of core (Liquid core move around solid core)

Solar Systems is made up of:

Earth-moon systems
Sun
8 planets
Satellites/moons
Asteroid
Comet nuclei

Planets in depth
Terrestrial small rocky planets (Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars)
Terrestrial planets (Earth-like planets or inner planets). Composed mostly of dense, rocky, and metallic
materials, formed within the frost line where rocks and metals condense, and hydrogen compounds remain
as gas.
Substantially smaller
short orbital periods and less satellites
move slowly in space
no rings and few moons
Jovian gas giants (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune)
JUPITER-like a.k.a Outer Planets)
mostly of H and He
formed outside the frost line where light elements condense into ice
substantially larger
long orbital periods and numerous satellites
made up mostly of gases (primarily hydrogen & helium)
move quickly in space
have rings and many moons

Earth
Eight major planets (Pluto isn't considered "major" any more)
Water - Comes from asteroids and icy comets with water
aurora borealis (Northern lights); aurora australis (Southern lights)
Mars
Frozen wasteland
Small size - Heat goes away faster, no convection of core, no magnetic field, little atmosphere
Spirit and Opportunity - Found ripples of water evidence in the surface of Mars
 Water on mars; Evidences -> Ripples of waters
Venus
Superhot
Saturn
Cassini Probe - Investigated rings ; Took pics of aurora's
Ice and Rock and dust - Makes up the rings (Gravity tears apart)
Formation of Rings - Comet crashed, torn apart, remnants spin around
Jupiter
Galileo - Probe dropped; detected storms for 58 mins.
Core - Frozen core of dust and ice; Hydrogen to metallic hydrogen becomes solid due to pressure and heat
Magnetic field - So huge; Makes own auroras
Moon : Io - Most volcanic

More Terms
Gas and Dust - Stuff made planets
Depend on clouds - Kinds of planets.
Accretion - Formation of planets
Vesta asteroid - 500 miles across to be round and enough gravity
Gravity - separates lighter and heavy material (Differentiation)
Black hole - Center of Milky Way
Exoplanets - Term for outer planets
Gravity and heat - Forces that make planets
Oort Cloud Jan Oort cosmographical boundary of the solar system source of long period comets
Kuiper Belt Gerald Kuiper hosts short-period comets

Models of Solar System

Geocentric model (Ptolemy) the Earth is the center of the SS
Heliocentric model (Copernicus) the sun is the center of the SS - True

Early Theories of the birth of Solar System

VORTEX THEORY (Rene Descartes) - Whirlpool
BUFFONS COLLISION (George Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon) Sun collision with a giant comet
Collision results = release of material from the sun
TIDAL THEORY (Sir James Hopwood Jeans Harold Jeffreys) Planets torn out from the Sun as another star
passed through
SOLAR NEBULAR THEORY Great cloud of gas and dust (Nebula) Spinning cloud (Immanuel Kant & Pierre Simon
Laplace)
Collapse High temp gas ball collapse then heat up and then become disk shape
Spinning Disk spins faster and faster and temp decreased
Flattening Disk become sphere due to rotation, because of fast rotation, some of the fog escape
Condensation Some fog formed the core of the largest mass in the middle, while small part formed around
Accretion Cores of smaller mass turns into planets, while most remain in a high-temp flare

Angular Momentum
Condensation of Gas and Dust
Explosion of a star (Supernova) caused the collapse
 Accretion- creation of planetisimals
Colliding planetisimals created protoplanets

Sun
The suns energy comes from nuclear/hydrogen fusion (where hydrogen is converted to helium) within its core.
Solar Winds - This energy is released from the sun in the form of heat and light
Remember: Stars produce light. Planets reflect light.
A stars temperature determines its color. The coldest stars are red. The hottest stars are blue
No sun no photosynthesis no life

Planet Factoids
Planets are orbiting in the same plane.
Orbits are nearly circular.
Orbits of planets are in the same plane as the rotation of the Sun.
Planets revolve around the sun in counter-clockwise direction.
Planets and satellites contains rotational motion
Elliptical orbit due to gravity + Tendency of a planet to remain in straightline motion
Earths forward motion and its falling motion that defines its orbit

Other Bodies (Leftovers from the formation of the universe)

ASTEROIDS: Leftover Planetesimals
More rock less ice
Leftover debris, 4.6 billion years old, 2,000 Earth-crossing asteroids
Giuseppe Piazzi of Italy discovered the very first asteroid (Ceres) in 1801.
Chicxulub crater (Mexico); Shiva crater (India)
Astroid collisions will occur again. Statistics show that collisions with bodies larger than 1 kilometer should be
expected every few hundred thousand years. Collisions with bodies larger than 6 kilometers, resulting in mass
extinctions, are anticipated every 100 million years.
Asteroid Belt - Mars and Jupiter
NEAR - Shoemaker (Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous Shoemaker) - renamed after Eugene Shoemaker -
monitors near-Earth asteroids
Asteroid are larger than meteoroid

METEOROIDS: Visitors of Earth

interplanetary debris left from the formation of the solar system
material that is continually being ejected from the asteroid belt
Meteoroids object floating around in outer space, asteroid or comet origin
Meteors space object burning up in the atmosphere ("shooting star")
Meteorites space object that made impact with the surface of another place remains of meteoroids,
when found on Earth
Meteor Showers swarm of meteoroids traveling in the same direction at nearly the same speed as Earth

COMETS: Dirty snowballs

collections of rocky material, dust, water ice and frozen gases (Methane, carbon dioxide, ammonia)
Kinds:
Long Period - hundreds of thousands of years to complete a single orbit around the Sun,
Short Period - orbital periods of less than 200 years Halleys Comet (76 years), Enckes Comet (3 years)
DWARF PLANETS
Smaller Worlds
celestial bodies that orbit the Sun
essentially spherical due to their own gravity
but are not large enough to sweep their orbits clear of other debris
cleared the neighborhood
Pluto not a planet due to finding of Eris, size and location in space.

Earths History
4.6 B years old
Past of Earth can be inferred by analyzing rocks

Terms
Uniformitarianism
Events (Deposition, weathering, erosion, volcanism) in the past occur also today
Geologic Dating
Absolute (Dates) radiometric
Radioactive Decay Weak force unstable isotopes breakdown to form new ones
Carbon 14 date biological remains
Carbon incorporated in cells which decay
Uranium 238 date rocks
Relative (Order of events)
 Principles of Relative Age Dating
Original Horizontality
Folding is younger than youngest deformed rock unit
Superposition
Undisturbed rocks layers
Lowest is oldest, Top is youngest
Cross cutting relationships
(Fault or dike) Intrusion is younger than youngest rock that is cut
Inclusion
Fossils Remains
Classifed based on formation
True fossils
Mold fossils
Cast fossils
Trace fossils/ Ichnofossils
Form in sedimentary rocks
Heat or melting or metamorphomism would destroy

Geologic Time Scale

Based on fossil records
Largest division to smallest division: Eon, Era, Period, Epoch (EEPE)
The longest era: Precambrian

Geologic Time Scale major divisions

Precambrian
88%
Devoid of fossils due to erosion
Marine life flourished
Early atmosphere made up of water vapor, carbon, dioxide, nitrogen. No Oxygen
Primary plants (Cynobacteria) used photosynthesis to release oxygen
Stromatolites: Most common fossils; material deposited by algae preserved in chert (Hard dense
chemical sedimentary rock)
Hadean -
Archean Mostly methane, little oxygen. Earth was covered with ocean. Continents formed
Proterozoic Longest eon

Phanerozoic
Paleozoic Era
8.5%
Invertebrates, fishes, amphibians (First animal to succeed in breathing air),
land plants
 First reptiles
Gondwana Vast southern continent (Early)
Laurasia Northern portion of Pangea (Late)
By the end Pangea has formed
Climate helped in diversifying species
Paleozoic extinction was the greatest of the five mass extinctions
Mesozoic Era
3.5%
Dinosaurs, birds, mammals
Dinosaurs (Ancestors of birds)
Reptiles (First true terrestrial vertebrates)
Break up of Pangea
Gymnosperms seed-baring plants dominated Mesozoic era
Cenozoic
1.4%
Humanoids 0.04%
Tertiary and Quarternary period
Plate interaction volcanism (volcanic activity), earthquakes
Angiosperm flower bearing dominated Cenozoic Era
Ice age Adaptations such as warm blood helped mammals dominate the lands

Earths Subsystems
Interconnected and interact to form a complex system
Interdependant; continuously changing whole, function as a whole

Atmosphere
Terms
Ozone absorbs Ultraviolet radiation
Karman Line Boundary of atmosphere and space Theodore von Karman; Thin atmosphere
Ozone hole Region in Antarctica
Montreal Protocol CFC
Kyoto Protocol Greenhouse
Weathering and Erosion Water plus gasses make weak acids that cause these
Ozone Depletion Increase amount of UV rays contribute to; Ozone (O3) depletion does not cause global warming
Pollutant: Carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur oxide, volatile organics

Systems
Isolated
Closed System Energy exchange [Earths System Solar energy and long wave energy (heat) is sent to and
returned fro. Earth]
Open System Matter and energy exchange [Earths Subsystems interactions]

Composition
70% Nitrogen Essential to organism; 21% Oxygen Combustible; Other gasses 0.1%
Layers
Layers Troposphere Stratosphere Mesosphere Thermosphere Exosphere
Temperature Indirect Direct Indirect
and altitude
relationship
Distinctive Weather Ozonosphere Coldest Warmest Outermost
features 75% of Mass Hot Exobase Molecules and
Short wave, high atoms no longer
energy solar behave like gas
radiation by
oxygen and
nitrogen
Practical crap Meteorology Jets Hot air balloons Satelites
study of the
atmosphere,
atmospheric
phenomena, and
atmospheric
effects on our
weather

Ozone and Ozone Depletion

Carbon Cycle (Oxygen, carbon, nitrogen)

Greenhouse Effect
Earth absorbs short waves, emits long waves.
Carbon/ Greenhouse gasses absorb the emitted long waves and send it back to Earth which results in Global
Warming and climate change
Gases: Sulfur, water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone
Global warming began in the Industrial revolution
Hydrosphere
Terms
Transpiration Plants lose water by stomata)
Surface Water By process of Collection
Groundwater Aquifers; Soil filters water by Infiktration
Precipitation So much condensed water that air cannot hold anymore; Form of water that falls to earths
Surface
Water contamination Industrial, landfills
Submarine rivers Flow under ocean surface
Ocean currents
Landfills Water contamination
The worlds ocean is crucial to heating the planet. While land areas and the atmosphere absorb some sunlight, the majority of the suns radiation is absorbed by the
ocean. Particularly in the tropical waters around the equator, the ocean acts a as massive, heat-retaining solar panel. Earths atmosphere also plays a part in this
process, helping to retain heat that would otherwise quickly radiate into space after sunset.
The ocean doesn't just store solar radiation; it also helps to distribute heat around the globe. When water molecules are heated, they exchange freely with the air
in a process called evaporation. Ocean water is constantly evaporating, increasing the temperature and humidity of the surrounding air to form rain and storms that
are then carried by trade winds, often vast distances. In fact, almost all rain that falls on land starts off in the ocean. The tropics are particularly rainy because
heat absorption, and thus ocean evaporation, is highest in this area.
Outside of Earths equatorial areas, weather patterns are driven largely by ocean currents. Currents are movements of ocean water in a continuous flow, created
largely by surface winds but also partly by temperature and salinity gradients, Earths rotation, and tides (the gravitational effects of the sun and moon). Major
current systems typically flow clockwise in the northern hemisphere and counterclockwise in the southern hemisphere, in circular patterns that often trace the
coastlines.
Ocean currents act much like a conveyer belt, transporting warm water and precipitation from the equator toward the poles and cold water from the poles back to
the tropics. Thus, currents regulate global climate, helping to counteract the uneven distribution of solar radiation reaching Earths surface.
Processes

Process Melting Freezing Evaporation Condensation Sublimation Deposition

Energy/Heat Present Absence Present Absence Absence
status
Description Solid to Liquid to Liquid to gas Gas to liquid Solid to gas Gas to solid
liquid Solid Gives them Vapor release White frost
motion to energy=Evaporation
escape liquid absorption
Example Fog and clouds Dry ice Grass dew
Water dropletson
glass

Water features
Only substance that can be solid, liquid, gas
Molecule arrangement/movement is key
As old as the Earth (Ice from asteroid and comet)
96.5% Salt; 3.5% Fresh -> 70% Glaciers and Ice caps; 3% Freshwater
It is a renewable resource which can be replenished over time by some natural process
Water/Hydrologic Cycle

Geosphere
Terms
Differentiation dense material sink into center; light materials rise
Water Primary agent in weathering
Sinkholes - limestone, salt deposits or carbonate rock are most susceptible to erosion and the formation of
such holes.
Tsunami Generated by underwater earthquakes
Winds cause erosion and not weathering because
Mineral resources are found here
Lehmann Dis.
Gutenberg
Minerals Natural occurring, unique chemical
Rocks are made of minerals, mineral are made of elements
Inorganic

Layers and Composition of Earth

Continental crust Thicker, less dense, made of granite, 95% igneous rocks
Oceanic crust Thinner, more dense, made of basalt
Core Iron and nickel
Inner Solid, Iron
Outer Liquid, Iron, nickel, silicon
Mantle
Mesosphere Fe, Mg, Al, Si, O
Asthenosphere brittle solid
Crust
Lithosphere silica and light metallic elements
Type of Rocks

Rock Igneous Sedimentary Rocks Metamorphic

Description Molten lava cools down Mineral, organic matter When igneous and
and solidifies compressed by weathering sedimentary exposed to
and deposited high temp. and pressure
Found in ocean, rocky Called Metamorphism
surfaces Transforms to denser and
more compact rocks
Type Intrusive Magma cools
down inside earth surface
Extrusive Lava cools
down and solidifies
outside
Sandstone, coal Slate and marbles

Geomorphic/Rock cycle Processes

Create, modify landforms
Exogenous (outside)
Weathering involves two processes that often work in concert to decompose rocks. Both processes occur in place. No movement is
involved in weathering. Chemical weathering involves a chemical change in at least some of the minerals within a rock. Mechanical
weathering involves physically breaking rocks into fragments without changing the chemical make-up of the minerals within it. It's
important to keep in mind that weathering is a surface or near-surface process. As you know, metamorphism also produces chemical
changes in rocks, but metamorphic chemical changes occur at depth where either the temperature and/or pressure are significantly
higher than conditions found on the Earth's surface.
As soon as a rock particle (loosened by one of the two weathering processes) moves, we call it erosion (Degradation) or mass wasting. Mass
wasting is simply movement down slope due to gravity. Rock falls, slumps, and debris flows are all examples of mass wasting. We call it erosion if
the rock particle is moved by some flowing agent such as air, water or ice.
So, here it is: if a particle is loosened, chemically or mechanically, but stays put, call it weathering. Once the particle starts moving, call it
erosion.
Deposition Sediments From water and wind, to new location Aggradation
Endogenous (In)
Volcanism -> Igneous cooled down lava from volcanic activity; focused edges of plates because that is where
faults are therefore magma rise up their vents and create activity
Folding Convergent
Faulting
Rifts; Footwall vs Hanging wall
Faulting lead to earthquake
Epicenter above Focus
Types Normal, Reverse, Transform
Plate Tectonics
Kinds of Plate Boundaries

Seismic Waves
Energy waves that travel result of earthquake and volcanism
Kinds
INTERACTIONS

ROLES