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16.5: Wrapping It Up 16 - Timeline of the Early Universe

  • Page ID
    31449
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    Learning Objectives
    • You will use a timeline to pull together their understanding of conditions and transitions in the early Universe. Transitions occur due to temperature, which corresponds to energy, and which decreases over time.

    In this chapter you learned about transitions the Universe goes through in a short time as its temperature changes. In this activity, you will use an interactive timeline to answer questions about these transitions and the resulting conditions the early Universe. The timeline is divided into three time periods, including the early Universe. To learn more about an event in the early Universe, first click the “Early Universe” tab, then click the tab for the event.

    Play Activity

    I. Transitions in the Early Universe

    A. Force transitions

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    B. Matter and antimatter produce photons

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    C. Building structures

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    D. Other events

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    II. Cosmological Eras

    In the opening video of this chapter you saw a timeline of the early Universe divided into different eras. The names of the eras reflect the dominant particles and forces at different times in the history of the Universe. The transitions that we have discussed mark the boundaries of these eras.

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    After several billion years, a mysterious thing called dark energy began to dominate the matter-energy density of the Universe, starting the dark energy era that continues today.


    This page titled 16.5: Wrapping It Up 16 - Timeline of the Early Universe is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Kim Coble, Kevin McLin, & Lynn Cominsky.