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The  Big  Bang  Activity  

PART  1:  The  Timeline  

For  this  activity,  you  will  need  a  piece  of  paper  (this  can  be  several  pieces  of  paper  taped  together)  that  
is  at  least  14  meters  long.  You  will  be  making  a  scale  timeline  of  the  history  of  the  universe  starting  from  
the  big  bang.  Each  of  the  events  below  was  an  important  event  in  the  history  of  the  universe.  It  will  be  
your  job  to  put  them  in  order  and  figure  out  where  on  the  timeline  they  should  be  marked.  For  a  scale,  
use  the  following:  1  billion  years  =  1  meter.  Using  this  scale,  10  cm  =  100  million  years  and  1  mm  =  1  
million  years.  

IMPORTANT  EVENTS:  

• The  Big  Bang  (Time  =  0  years)  

• Now  (Time  =  13.8  billion  years)  
• Primordial  nucleosynthesis  occurs  (Time  start  =  3  min;  Time  end  =  15  min)  
• Radiation  Era  (Time  start  =  0  years;  Time  end  =  47,000  years)  
• Matter  Era  (Time  start  =  47,000  years;  Time  end  =  9.8  billion  years)  
• Dark  Energy  Era  (Time  start  =  9.8  billion  years  ;  Time  end  =  current)  
• Inflationary  Epoch  (Time  start  =  10–36  sec;  Time  end  =  10–34  sec)  
• Gravitational  force  separates  from  other  three  forces  (Time  =  10–43  sec)  
• Strong  force  separates  from  electroweak  force  (Time  =  10–36  sec)  
• Weak  force  and  Electromagnetic  forces  separate  (Time  =  10–12  sec)  
• Cosmic  microwave  background  is  released  (Time  =  3  x  105  years)  
• First  generation  of  stars  form  (Time  start  =  150  million  years;  Time  end  =  1  billion  years)  
• First  galaxies  form  (Time  =  500  million  years)  
• Our  sun  begins  to  form  (Time  =  9.2  billion  years)  
• Earth  is  formed  (Time  =  9.3  billion  years)  
• Life  begins  on  Earth  (Time  =  9.9  billion  years)  
• Elementary  particles,  including  quarks,  have  formed  (Time  =  10–34  sec)  
• Quarks  bind  together  into  protons  and  neutrons  (Time  =  10–5  sec)  
• Recombination  occurs  (Time  =  3  x  105  years)  

Extension  –  Future  Events:  

• Earth  no  longer  sustains  life  plant  or  animal  life  (Time  =  14.4  billion  years)  
• Sun  becomes  a  red  giant  star  (Time  =  20  billion  years)  
• Milky  Way  Galaxy  and  Andromeda  Galaxy  start  to  collide  (Time  =  17.6  years)  

 
PART  2:     Arrows                                      Important  Event  
0  (years)        
That  First      
50,000          
Millimeter      
100,000        
You  will  have  a  
   
number  of  events    
150,000      
in  part  1  that  will    
fall  within  the   200,000      
first  1  millimeter    
of  your  time  line   250,000      
(representing  1    
million  years).    In   300,000      
 
this  section,  take  
350,000      
that  set  of  items    
and  expand  the   400,000      
timeline  for  that    
first  short  period   450,000      
after  the  big    
bang.    Fill  in  the   500,000      
lines  to  the  right    
550,000      
in  the  important  
 
event  column  and   600,000      
draw  arrows  to    
the  points  on  the   650,000      
expanded    
timeline  where   700,000      
they  would    
750,000      
appear.  
 
    800,000      
 
  850,000      
 
  900,000      
 
  950,000      
 
  1,000,000      
 
 

 
PART  3:  Follow-­‐up  Questions  
1. Qualitatively  compare  the  lengths  of  the  radiation,  matter  and  dark  energy  eras.  

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2. What  do  you  notice  about  the  first  second  of  the  universe?  

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3. Were  there  any  events  that  happened  at  the  same  time?    If  so,  what  is  the  significance  of  this?  

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