Flexi Says: The solar system began as a rotating cloud of stardust. “Dust, rocks, and gas” may not sound inspiring, but this cloud contained the elements which somehow combine to form every corner – living and nonliving – of Earth. Initially, the Big Bang (14 billion years ago) gave rise to the building blocks of matter – the quarks and electrons of which we are all made. Quarks aggregated producing protons and neutrons which combined into nuclei, ultimately forming the first atoms which were mainly hydrogen and helium. Earth formed about 4.5 to 4.6 billion years ago. At first, Earth was molten and lacked an atmosphere and oceans. Gradually, the atmosphere formed, followed by the oceans.
