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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What question is among the unanswerable questions children ask, according to the Introduction?

2. Who discovered the theory of gravity?

3. Scientists start their understanding of the universe with what?

4. How many quarks make up a proton or neutron?

5. What is another name for a neutron star?

Short Essay Questions

1. Light behaves in which two manners?

2. What model of the atom persisted until the 1960's?

3. The mathematical formulas that result from a scientific model of the universe must do what?

4. What determines whether a star can become a black hole?

5. When looking at the sky on a clear night what do you see and how far away is it?

6. What is the difference between the Aristotelian approach to science and Galileo's approach?

7. What happens at the event horizon of a black hole?

8. Why might our present day ways of thinking about the universe seem ridiculous in the future?

9. What are the six varieties of quarks?

10. How did Einstein observe Brownian motion?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss how science has evolved to lead us to the point we are today. What were some of the most influential concepts and ideas? What outside forces molded these ideas? Use the book to cite examples for your answer.

Essay Topic 2

Using the book to support your answer, answer the following question: Was there a beginning of time and will there be an end?

Essay Topic 3

Hawking simplifies many concepts in his book. Using the text to support your answer, what is the purpose of simplifying these ideas? How does Hawking accomplish this simplification of complex scientific ideas?

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This section contains 465 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample