Cosmic Chemistry Tic Tac Toe Project
Our first project this year in STEM Chemistry with the online learning model was the Cosmic Chemistry Tic Tac Toe Project in which we were assigned groups with whom we were asked to choose three aspects of the project to complete, based on the Tic Tac Toe chart below.
Cosmic Chemistry Tic Tac Toe Choice Chart
We were told to choose three categories from the chart to do for our project. We were supposed to make them in a line or diagonal, but exceptions were made. I really wanted to do the musical category, but my group didn't want to. Instead we did history, artistic, and writing.
For each section, we focused on a different aspect of the topic. Our choices involved studying both our sun, and the Big Bang and how scientists came to discover it.
For the history portion, we recalled what we have learned about the Big Bang.
For the writing portion, we asked and answered our questions about the Big Bang.
For the artistic portion, we looked at nuclear fusion in the sun's core, as well as the lifespan of the sun.
Below is our work for this project
Writing:
Dear Mr. Georges Lemaître,
My name is Jeff Butt. I was wondering if you could answer a few questions I have about the Big Bang. First off, what first led you to think the universe was created by the big bang? What evidence did you find to support this? What exactly do you think happened during the Big Bang? How did you come to the conclusion that the expansion of the universe is accelerating? Exactly how old is the Universe? What is the redshift? If you could be so kind to answer these questions it would be really helpful.
Thank you, Jeff Butt
Dear Jeff Butt,
I am sorry about your unfortunate name. It would be my pleasure to answer these questions for you. The reason I believe the universe was created by the Big Bang is because in the past the universe was crammed together into a high dense and temperature thing, and when the Big Bang occured it caused an explosion that expanded and cooled the universe. When this happened the simplest elements were formed (helium, hydrogen, and lithium). Gravity eventually pulled matter together to form stars and galaxies. One second after the Big Bang the universe was filled with neutrons, protons, electrons, etc. I came to the conclusion that the expansion of the universe is accelerating due to the explosion of distant stars. Other lines of evidence include the afterglow of the Big Bang known as the cosmic microwave background which was discovered by a pair of radio astronomers in 1965. According to research the universe is 13.82 billion years old. Redshift occurs because everything is moving so far away that by the time the light reaches us, it’s wavelength has shifted to be more red and could go as far as becoming microwaves. Redshift of distant galaxies and cosmic background are only some of the confirmations that prove the Big Bang to be true. I hope I answered all of your questions and I was helpful.
Georges Lemaître
Explanations:
History
For the history portion of our project, we created a timeline that detailed the discovery of the Big Bang and the events involved. We created this timeline on the included Google Document, as well as on timetoast.com, where our timeline can also be found.
Writing
For our letter, we decided to write to Georges Lemaître as our group's character, Jeff Butt, with inquiries about his discovery of the Big Bang. We asked how he came to first theorize the Big Bang among other questions involving the universe's creation.
Artistic
We illustrated the sun's lifespan with an arguably cute depiction of an elderly star and his little grand"sun". We also explained visually the nuclear fusion that occurs in the sun's core and the elements that are created and released as a result.
Here are some of the main questions I answered in this unit:
How old is the universe?
Scientists thought that the universe was static and that things changed within it - balanced
What did Slipher find about spiral nebulae? What did this lead to?
He observed 25 of them and found that they were travelling away from us at incredible speeds (red shift)
This led to further theories
Georges Lemaitre theorized that the universe was constantly growing, expanding and contracting. He argued that this would fit the red shift findings of Slipher. This is why the galaxies appeared to be moving away
Alexander Friedmann came to the same conclusion
What was found as the distance to the galaxies was determined?
“When they compared distances to the redshifts Slipher observed, they found that the farther away the galaxy was, the faster it was moving away from us.”
All galaxies are moving away from us. This proves that the universe is growing
How was the Big Bang first theorized?
If you imagine time going backwards, you would observe all of these galaxies rushing toward us until they combine to form an “Über-dense thing”
This is called the Cosmic Egg
“It would’ve been unimaginably, hellishly hot. Then, for some reason, it suddenly expanded violently and started cooling.”
This is an explosion of the entire universe. It became called the Big Bang
What predictions could the Big Bang model of the universe make that we could observe today?
Due to the speed of light, it takes 8 minutes for light to travel from the sun to the Earth. This means we observe the sun as it was eight minutes ago
Similarly, Alpha Centauri is 4.3 light years away, so we see it as it was 4.3 years ago
This is called “Lookback Time”. The farther something is, the further in the past we see it
How is this relevant to the Big Bang Theory?
By observing a very distant object, we can look back to when the universe was young
Scientists have predicted that the universe became observable a couple thousand years after the Big Bang occurred
Redshifted light from the creation of the universe can still be picked up on radio telescopes. This proves the Big Bang Theory
What are the three key pieces of evidence found proving the Big Bang Theory?
Redshifted light on the radio
The fact that the universe is constantly expanding outward
The elements that were abundant at different times in the universe’s history and the elements that were created as a result
Summary:
The Big Bang Theory can be proven by observing the fact that every galaxy is moving away from ours. This is redshift, and evidence of it can be found, not only by observing the movement of other galaxies in space, but by listening to the radio waves left behind by the Big Bang. This lets us know that the universe is constantly expanding. Another way is by observing the elements that existed in abundance at certain times following the Big Bang. The changes in the universe as a result of the Big Bang allow circumstances for elements to form in just the pattern they did, which speaks to the truth of the Big Bang Theory.
Vocab:
Isotopes - Atoms of the same element (same # of protons, but different #s of neutrons)
Transmutation - Changing one element to another or one isotope to another
Radioactive Decay - Decomposition of a nucleus to form a different nucleus
Half-Life - The time it takes for exactly one-half of a radioactive sample to decay
Ionizing Radiation - The release of energy that allows an unstable nucleus to attain a more stable form
Excited State - Energy level of an electron that is higher and less stable than other levels
Ground State - Lowest, most stable energy level of an electron
Spontaneous Fission - When an atom breaks into two smaller atoms without any outside help
Reflection:
Two things that I think that I did a good job of in the project were collaborating and being a conscientious learner. Despite the limitations of online learning, I feel that my group and I did a great job of divvying the workload and staying on task during the allotted class time. We didn't need to do very much work outside of class, as we split it up in a manageable and fairly equal way. Along with this, I think that I personally did a good job of being a conscientious learner. I managed my work well and wasn't too distracted for the majority of the time we were given. I was actually impressed with myself for this, so I think that it is definitely one of the peaks of this project.
Two things that I think that I could have improved upon, and will work toward improving upon in future projects are communication and character. In the current situation, with at-home learning, it is more difficult than it typically would be to communicate with the group. It is important that I focus on making sure that everyone in the group is heard, and ensuring that everyone has a way to contact one another outside of class. This year will certainly be full of new experiences, and that is why it is ever-important to adapt. I could have done a better job at communicating with the entire group rather than just the people whose phone numbers I already had. I also think that it is difficult to demonstrate character in this model. The ways in which you may typically show respect or recognition to your teammates, such as verbal encouragement or physical cues, are far more limited now that school is online. I will make a better effort to show my teammates that I think they did a good job (if they deserve it) in the next project.
In the next group project we do, I want to make sure that I continue to manage my time well and fairly divide the work among my group. I would like to be more of a leader next time and guide our discussions. This will also allow me to set up a clear line of communication between participants so that we can all reach one another outside of class. Lastly, I would like to display better empathy and character in the next project so that my group feels supported even through the online platform.