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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the photoelectric effect?
(a) When light shines on metals, the metals emit electrons.
(b) Electrons and photons only interact if they have the same frequency.
(c) Photons can spontaneously decay into electrons in powerful magnetic fields.
(d) Electrons follow quantum paths made by photons.

2. Which of the following qualities must a physical law have in order to be considered symmetric?
(a) It is valid for both matter and anti-matter.
(b) It works regardless of the spin of the particles involved.
(c) It does not depend on where or when it is applied.
(d) It is valid for both matter and energy.

3. Which of the following was the first string theory?
(a) Hadron string theory.
(b) Fermionic string theory.
(c) Bosonic string theory.
(d) Lepton theory.

4. In which particle was spin first discovered?
(a) The electron.
(b) The neutron.
(c) The photon.
(d) The proton.

5. What is the result when a particle of matter and a particle of antimatter are brought into contact?
(a) Energy is released and both particles are destroyed.
(b) A theoretically unlimited amount of energy is released.
(c) A strange quark is formed.
(d) A black hole is formed.

6. In 1968 it was discovered that protons and neutrons are composed of which type of particle?
(a) Muons.
(b) Quarks.
(c) Baryons.
(d) Neutrinos.

7. Which of the following is true regarding experimental confirmation of string theory?
(a) It was confirmed in the 1980s.
(b) It can never be confirmed.
(c) It has not yet been experimentally confirmed.
(d) It has been experimentally confirmed, but the data are still being processed.

8. How are the wavelength of a string's vibration and the mass of the particle it represents related?
(a) Wavelength and mass are not related.
(b) The longer the wavelength, the less massive the particle.
(c) If there is a wavelength above the Planck length, the particle is massless.
(d) The longer the wavelength, the more massive the particle.

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

10. According to special relativity, which of the following is true about the passage of time for an observer moving near the speed of light?
(a) The passage of time could not be predicted.
(b) Time would pass slowly compared to an observer at rest.
(c) Time would pass very quickly compared to an observer at rest.
(d) No time would pass at all.

11. What is the quantum, or messenger particle, of gravity?
(a) The gravino.
(b) The Calabi-Yau particle.
(c) The graviton.
(d) The Einstein boson.

12. In the 1800s, James Clerk Maxwell used a new mathematical framework to unite _____.
(a) Electricity and magnetism.
(b) Magnetism and gravity.
(c) Nuclear forces and gravity.
(d) Magnetism and light.

13. Which of the following is correct about the speed at which light moves?
(a) It moves faster at higher energy levels.
(b) It moves at a constant speed for all observers.
(c) Its speed depends on the observer.
(d) It moves at a constant speed only near a gravitational field.

14. What would an outside observer notice about an object moving near the speed of light?
(a) It would appear to move slower near a gravitational field.
(b) It would appear vastly larger than it would at rest.
(c) It would be shorted in the direction of its movement.
(d) It would not be observable under any circumstances.

15. What is the Planck mass?
(a) The typical mass created by quantum foam over one nano-second.
(b) The average mass gained by a string when it changes to a higher-frequency pattern.
(c) The typical mass of a vibrating string.
(d) The typical energy of a quark.

Short Answer Questions

1. What discovery about string theory triggered the "superstring revolution"?

2. Which of the following theory was NOT developed in order to try to resolve the conflicts between quantum mechanics and general relativity?

3. Which of the follow best describes a boson?

4. What is the quantum, or messenger particle, of the weak force?

5. Which of the following is not true according to special relativity?

(see the answer keys)

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