Investigation Driving Question

How would you describe the Universe to someone?

Storylines

The storyline process is intended to be student-driven and connect lessons within the unit. The Observable Universe investigation, including this phenomenon, would fit best into unit storylines geared toward understanding the structure and evolution of the Universe.

Possible storylines include:

• How are galaxies arranged in space?
• How big is the Universe?
• How can we view the Universe at different times in its history?
• How has the structure of the Universe changed over time?

Instructions for Introducing Phenomenon

1. Before class starts, arrange a Driving Question Board (DQB) so it is visible to all students. This can be created using sticky notes or in a digital format (see other resources here). The DQB should include the investigation driving question, “What can expansion reveal about the Universe?” Students will be revisiting this DQB throughout the lesson. If you have a driving question for the unit or already created a DQB board, this investigation driving question can be used as a sub-question.
2. Have students read and think about the driving question before doing the activity. (3 minutes)
3. Begin by saying: “Today we are going to watch some computer simulations of what the structure of the Universe looks like on a large scale. As you watch this, take note of what structures or patterns you see.”
4. Then play this video: https://youtu.be/5i7z9lgqSq0
5. Students should record their questions and share them with the whole class. These questions should be displayed on the DQB for all students to refer to. (5 minutes)
6. As a whole class, facilitate a discussion about the questions. Begin by identifying and grouping common questions into categories. (10 minutes). The list of Leading Questions below, may be used to facilitate a discussion:

Leading Questions

• What patterns do you observe in the structure of matter in the Universe?

• Does the structure of the Universe seem to be different on small scales (when you are zoomed into a cluster of galaxies) than on large scales?

• Why do you think we don't see the large-scale structure of the Universe when we look at a single image taken by large telescopes, such as the Hubble Space Telescope or Rubin Observatory?

• What do you think caused changes in the large-scale structure over the lifetime of the Universe?

• How does the structure of the Universe change over time?

  
  7. Revisit the investigation driving question and tell students they will be completing an investigation that will help them answer this driving question and their generated questions about the Universe.

  8. Begin the Observable Universe Investigation.
  

  
  

  Additional notes: The colors in the first fly-through simulation sequence represent matter in galaxies (yellow) and dark matter (purple). Pink shows areas of overlap. The “z” numbers that show up in some of the simulations are redshift values. Redshift numbers will also be used in the investigation. Higher numbers illustrate views from further distances and therefore earlier times in the history of the Universe. Lower numbers show how the Universe looks in more recent times.
  

After the Investigation - Making Sense of the Phenomenon

Here are some questions that may be used for a follow up discussion:

• What caused the large-scale structure of the Universe to form?

• What changes happen to the voids over time? Explain why this happens.

• Predict what the large scale structure of the Universe will look like 10 billion years from now.