The Cosmological Principle
Classical Mechanics
Level
2
Which of the following statements accurately summarizes the cosmological principle?
The Big Bang was the origin of the universe
The universe looks the same in all directions from any vantage point
The universe is expanding at an accelerating rate
The Earth occupies a special spot at the center of the universe
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1 solution
Relevant wiki: Cosmology
The Earth certainly does not occupy a special spot at the center of the universe; this is contrary to everything physics has been telling us for centuries -- after all, the Earth revolves around the sun, not vice versa, which orbits the center of the Milky Way (we are far out in a spiral arm), which is one galaxy among many others, not necessarily at the center.
Indeed, the cosmological principle says the opposite -- that no particular location in the universe is special (the universe is homogeneous), and that the universe looks the same in every direction (the universe is isotropic), on large enough scales (where all the galaxy clusters are so small they are mere specks in a soup of galaxy clusters).
It is true that the universe is believed to be expanding at an accelerating rate currently due to the effects of vacuum energy, but this is not the cosmological principle. Similarly, the big bang may be the beginning of the universe (although there is certainly no consensus as to whether or not this is the case), but this is not the statement of the principle.