Assignment 6 - Due 4/16/2002

Put your name on your paper!  Please answer in complete sentences!  Please staple or paper clip your
work together!

 
Read the article entitled "The future of the universe" and answer the following questions:

1. How old is the universe now?  How would you express that in scientific notation, in years?

2. For this unit, we will be dealing with very, very large numbers.  To get a handle on what "millions"
and "billions" mean, find the following numbers:

About how many people live in the greater Cleveland area?
About how many people live in the United States?
About how many people live in the world right now?

Give me the source of your data.  Do not just guess an answer!

3. Can you find an example from normal life of "trillions"?

4. Explain to me the number called Omega-naught.  Why is it important?

5. Which cosmological decade do we live in right now?  How long will it be before we reach
the next cosomological decade?

6. What is nucleosynthesis?  What nucleosynthesis occurred during the Big Bang?  What
nucleosynthesis occurred later?

7. Look at the graph running along the bottom of this article.  About when did the first stars
form?  When did the first galaxies form?