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  4. Exploring the Observable Universe
  5. Teacher Guide - Observable Universe
  6. Next Generation Science Standards

Exploring the Observable Universe

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Teacher Guide - Observable Universe

  1. Introduction
  2. Where This Fits in Your Teaching
  3. Next Generation Science Standards
  4. Background and Notes
  5. Student Ideas and Questions
  6. Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Next Generation Science Standards

Science literacy and critical thinking skills

  • Analyzing and interpreting data

  • Constructing explanations

    -Engaging in argument using evidence

Three dimensional lesson summary:

Students explore the relationships between galaxy properties and distances by analyzing images and scatter plots. Students then compare concentration maps to observe the changing patterns in galaxy distributions over various times in the history of the Universe. Then they construct an explanation for the observed changes using their understanding of gravitational interactions and conservation of energy and matter.

Building towards:

HS-ESS1-2 Construct an explanation of the Big Bang theory based on astronomical evidence of light spectra, motion of distant galaxies, and composition of matter in the universe.

Science and Engineering Practices

Analyzing and Interpreting Data

  • Analyze data using tools, technologies, and/or models (e.g., computational, mathematical) in order to make valid and reliable scientific claims.
  • Consider limitations of data analysis (e.g., sample selection) when analyzing and interpreting data.


  • Students analyze images and plots to examine relationships between galaxy size, brightness, color, and distance, then use concentration maps of galaxies at different redshifts to develop a claim about how the structure of the Universe has changed over time.
  • Students work first with small data sets, then large sets, to verify that the Universe appears the same in all directions (is homogeneous).
  • Students explore the idea that new telescopes with more light gathering power will not increase the time or distance that we can observe from the early Universe.

Constructing Explanations

  • Apply scientific ideas, principles, and/or evidence to provide an explanation of phenomena, taking into account possible unanticipated effects.
  • Apply scientific reasoning, theory, and/or models to link evidence to the claims to assess the extent to which the reasoning and data support the explanation or conclusion.

  • Students examine galaxy distances from redshift data and learn that the Universe is much larger than expected based on light travel times. They apply their knowledge of the expansion of the Universe to explain the discrepancy.
  • Students apply their knowledge of gravitational forces and interactions to construct an explanation for the growth in clumping of matter over time.

Disciplinary Core Idea

HS-ESS1.A: The Universe and Its Stars

  • The study of stars’ light spectra and brightness is used to identify their movements, and their distances from Earth.
  • The Big Bang theory is supported by observations of distant galaxies receding from our own.

Students work with galaxy redshift data to determine a minimum size for the observable Universe, and examine galaxy concentration maps at different redshifts to interpret how the structure of the Universe has changed over time.

Related Disciplinary Core Idea


HS-PS2.B: Types of Interactions

Forces at a distance are explained by gravitational fields permeating space that can transfer energy through space.

Students explain how gravitational forces have shaped the large-scale structure of the Universe, accounting for the observed structure changes over time in the history of the Universe.

HS-PS4.B: Electromagnetic Radiation

Electromagnetic radiation (e.g., radio, microwaves, light) can be modeled as a wave of changing electric and magnetic fields. The wave model is useful for explaining many features of electromagnetic radiation.


  • Students use the wave model to understand how filters can transmit some forms of electromagnetic energy while blocking others.
  • Students explore how certain wavelengths of energy are used to estimate star temperatures, star-forming regions, and distant galaxies.
  • Students apply a wavelength-dependent chromatic ordering process to create images that use color to properly visualize data or answer a science question.

Crosscutting Concepts

Scale, Proportion, and Quantity

  • Some systems can only be studied indirectly as they are too small, too large, too fast, or too slow to observe directly.
  • Patterns observable at one scale may not be observable or exist at other scales.

Students use galaxy redshift data as a proxy for galaxy distances and ages in the Universe. As they examine the structure of the Universe at different times in its history, they observe that patterns in the distribution of matter in the Universe change at different distances from Earth and at different times in the history of the Universe.

Energy and Matter

The total amount of energy and matter in closed systems is conserved.

Students operate on the premise that the Universe is a closed system containing all matter and energy. They use this as a starting point to explain the role of gravity in the large scale clumping of matter as the Universe evolves.

Stability and Change

  • Much of science deals with constructing explanations of how things change and how they remain stable.
  • Change and rates of change can be quantified and modeled over very short or very long periods of time.

Students explain how gravitational forces have shaped the large-scale structure of the Universe, accounting for the observed structure changes over time in the history of the Universe.

Physics - Earth-Space Science Correlation Table

Are you working on integrating Earth-Space Science standards into your Physics class? Click on the link below and make of a copy of this Google Sheet to search by Performance Expectation (PE), Disciplinary Core Idea (DCI), or Rubin Observatory investigation.

Physics - Earth-Space Science Correlation Table
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