what type of evidence does cosmic background radiation provide about the origins of the universe?
a. it proves that the universe is expanding
b. it pinpoints the size of the original universe
c. it supports predictions of the composition of the early universe
d. it verifies that the early universe was once extremely hot
d. it verifies that the early universe was once extremely hot
d. it verifies that the early universe was once extremely hot
The correct answer is d. It verifies that the early universe was once extremely hot.
Cosmic background radiation is radiation that is uniformly spread throughout the universe and is a remnant of the Big Bang. This radiation was discovered in 1964 by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson, who were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for this discovery.
The existence of cosmic background radiation provides strong evidence for the Big Bang theory and supports the idea that the early universe was once extremely hot. According to the Big Bang theory, the universe originated from a hot and dense state about 13.8 billion years ago. As the universe expanded and cooled down over time, the energy left over from the initial intense heat was stretched out and transformed into microwave radiation, which is what we observe as cosmic background radiation today.
This discovery of cosmic background radiation helped scientists to validate and refine the Big Bang theory as the leading explanation for the origins of the universe. Its existence provides strong evidence that the universe had a hot and dense beginning, and the characteristics of the radiation support predictions made about the early universe's conditions.
Therefore, option d is the correct answer as cosmic background radiation verifies that the early universe was once extremely hot.