Understand the "Theory of Relativity" as proposed by Albert Einstein.

Apply the "Theory of Relativity" to help understand the properties of black holes.

Explain current theories on what quasars are, their relationship to black holes and why quasars give evidence for the Big Bang Theory.

One major difficulty students have is that Einstein's concept of relativity does not mean that everything is relative, but more that the speed of light is absolute, meaning that physical laws needed to be reformulated to be valid for all observers.

Common student misconceptions about black holes are that black holes exist only in theory, that they are giant cosmic vacuum cleaners that swallow up everything around them, that they can be detected visually, and that our Sun will eventually become a black hole.

Treat a study of relativity historically, to help avoid the mathematical details and to help students see that Einstein went beyond Newton's world view by including it as a limiting case within his theory.