Exploring Our Universe:
From the Classroom to Outer Space

I. Spectroscopy
Student Activity #1-part 2

Is There a Googol of Anything in the Universe?

Could there be a googol of anything in the universe? As you can imagine, trying to figure out exactly how much matter exists in the universe would be an extremely complicated task! Still, we can make a very rough estimate by doing some simple calculations. First we need to know the number of galaxies in the entire universe, according to the latest count by astronomers (using the Hubble Space Telescope). Then we can make a guess of the typical number of stars in a galaxy (like our Milky Way). Next we will assume that a typical star has a mass equal to our Sun (even though we know there are many different types of stars). Finally, to count how many particles of matter in a star like our Sun, we need to know the number of atoms in a kilogram of hydrogen (the most abundant element in the universe). As you can see below, we are working with some pretty big numbers! But will they give us a googol?

# of galaxies in the universe = 40 billion!

# of stars in a typical galaxy = 100 billion!

mass of a typical star = 2 x 10^30 kg

# of hydrogen atoms in a kg: 2 x 10^26

Use the above data to determine whether there might be a googol of hydrogen atoms in the universe. (Hint: don't forget, when you multiply powers of ten, just add the exponents.)






Your Answer (# of hydrogen atoms in the universe) =______________

Is there a googol of atoms? ______