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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. The first version of string theory did not include any particles of _____.
(a) Bosons.
(b) Gravitons.
(c) Messenger particles.
(d) Fermions.

2. 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) Time would pass slowly compared to an observer at rest.
(b) Time would pass very quickly compared to an observer at rest.
(c) No time would pass at all.
(d) The passage of time could not be predicted.

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

4. General relativity is incompatible with _____.
(a) The big bang theory.
(b) Quantum mechanics.
(c) The photoelectric effect.
(d) State theory.

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

6. Edwin Hubble used Einstein's theories to show that the fabric of the universe _____.
(a) Has a finite boundary.
(b) Is not static, it must either be shrinking or expanding.
(c) Is uniform in all places and times.
(d) Is not flat, it is curved, either inwards or outwards.

7. Which of the follow is true of objects with which string theory is concerned?
(a) They are all really Calabi-Yau shapes.
(b) It concerns one-dimensional strings and nothing else.
(c) They include strings and other objects as well.
(d) The objects are purely imaginary.

8. 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 more massive objects.
(b) At exactly the speed of light.
(c) Instantaneously.
(d) Near the speed of light, faster for lighter objects.

9. How are the amplitude of a string's vibration and the mass of the particle it represents related?
(a) Amplitude and mass are not related.
(b) If there is a non-zero amplitude, the particle is massless.
(c) The higher the amplitude, the more massive the particle.
(d) The higher the amplitude, the less massive the particle.

10. What is quantum foam?
(a) The faint material ejected by black holes.
(b) The mixture of short-lived particles observed after a matter and anti-matter collision.
(c) The rapidly changing spatial distortions at the Planck length.
(d) Particles that are scattered from their normal positions by quantum interference.

11. 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?
(a) Instantaneously.
(b) Near the speed of light, faster for lighter objects.
(c) Near the speed of light, faster for more massive objects.
(d) At exactly the speed of light.

12. Which of the follow best describes a boson?
(a) A particle of matter.
(b) The supersymmetric version of a proton.
(c) A particle of energy, a messenger particle for a force.
(d) The super-partner of a proton.

13. 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 is unchanged.
(d) It quadruples.

14. According to general relativity, which of the following is said to warp or bend space-time?
(a) Accelerated motion and orbital motion.
(b) Gravity and electromagnetic fields.
(c) Constant, relativistic speed motion.
(d) Accelerated motion and gravity.

15. What is the fundamental particle, the smallest possible bundle of energy, for the electromagnetic force?
(a) The electron.
(b) The photon.
(c) The gluon.
(d) The neutrino.

Short Answer Questions

1. What type of motion cannot be felt or sensed by the moving observer?

2. According to general relativity, all objects that have mass have what effect on space-time?

3. What are the characteristics of a wave?

4. Which of the following is true regarding the mass and spin of a pair of superpartners?

5. What type of a wave is light?

(see the answer keys)

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