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This quiz consists of 5 multiple choice and 5 short answer questions through Chapter 5, The Need for a New Theory, General Relativity vs. Quantum Mechanics.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When the distance between two objects is doubled, what happens to the strength of the gravitational pull between them?
(a) It diminishes to one-fourth its original value.
(b) It diminishes to one-half its original value.
(c) It quadruples.
(d) It is unchanged.

2. According to Einstein's theory of general relativity, if two objects have a gravitational pull on one another, and one changes its mass or distance from the other, how quickly does the effect of this change travel to the other object?
(a) Near the speed of light, faster for lighter objects.
(b) Near the speed of light, faster for more massive objects.
(c) Instantaneously.
(d) At exactly the speed of light.

3. Which of the following is closest to the Planck length?
(a) A thousandth of a centimeter.
(b) A millionth of a billionth of a billionth of a billionth of a centimeter.
(c) A billionth of a billionth of a centimeter.
(d) A millionth of a centimeter.

4. What is the quantum, or messenger particle, of the weak force?
(a) The up quark.
(b) The neutrino.
(c) The weak gauge boson.
(d) The Higgs boson.

5. In Einstein's famous equation, E=mc^2, what does "c" represent?
(a) The object's density.
(b) The speed of the object.
(c) The speed of light.
(d) The frequency of light.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Newton's theory of gravity, if two objects have a gravitational pull on one another, and one changes its mass or distance from the other, how quickly does the effect of this change travel to the other object?

2. If a clock were accelerated to nearly the speed of light for a year's time, which of the following would be true of its reading at the end of that time?

3. Which physicist is credited with discovering that light is composed of particles?

4. What property of electromagnetic waves did Max Planck solve the thermodynamic problem of the oven by discovering?

5. In quantum mechanics, what is symmetry breaking?

(see the answer key)

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