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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In particle physics, what refers to a proposed symmetry of nature relating two basic classes of elementary particles: bosons and fermions?
(a) A black hole.
(b) Verisimilitude.
(c) A limit.
(d) Supersymmetry.

2. What term refers to the production of nuclei other than those of the lightest isotope of hydrogen during the early phases of the universe?
(a) Big Bang nucleosynthesis.
(b) Quantum gravity.
(c) String theory.
(d) M-Theory.

3. Where was Carl Gauss from?
(a) Spain.
(b) France.
(c) Belgium.
(d) Germany.

4. According to the author in Chapter 6, “Infinity’s Twin,” geometry shows that mathematically the north and south poles of spheres do what?
(a) Turn into one another.
(b) Repel one another.
(c) Pull away from one another.
(d) Repeat one another.

5. The mass of an electron is represented by what fraction in comparison with the mass of a proton?
(a) 1/360.
(b) 2/4569.
(c) 1/594.
(d) 1/1836.

Short Answer Questions

1. The name “electron” was introduced in 1891 by what Irish physicist?

2. Jean le Rond d'Alembert came up with what idea that solved the zero problem in calculus?

3. What term refers to a region of spacetime from which gravity prevents anything, including light, from escaping?

4. Lord Kelvin is well known for determining the correct value of absolute zero. Absolute zero is approximately what temperature Celsius?

5. According to the author in Chapter 7, “Absolute Zeros,” Max Planck came up with a new equation that solved the ultraviolet catastrophe but implied that energy was released in discrete packets that have come to be called what?

Short Essay Questions

1. What problems were encountered in calculus with zero? How did zero apply to the physical world, according to the author in Chapter 5, “Infinite Zeros and Infidel Mathematicians”?

2. How did Max Planck address the problem of the ultraviolet catastrophe?

3. What was discovered by Albert Einstein’s solution to the photoelectric effect?

4. What are differential equations? Who first developed differential equations?

5. Who created calculus? How did calculus differ from the other mathematical fields, according to the author in Chapter 5, “Infinite Zeros and Infidel Mathematicians”?

6. How does the elimination of zero help general relativity theory, according to the author in Chapter 8, “Zero Hour at Ground Zero”?

7. What problem do black holes present in physics, according to the author in Chapter 8, “Zero Hour at Ground Zero”?

8. How did the discovery of imaginary numbers affect the study of algebra?

9. How did l’Hopital address the problem of zero, according to the author in Chapter 5, “Infinite Zeros and Infidel Mathematicians”?

10. What does the author say thermodynamics has taught us in Chapter 7, “Absolute Zeros”?

(see the answer keys)

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