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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of the following is true regarding tears in space time occurring in normal three-dimensional space?
(a) It is unknown whether or not they can occur.
(b) It has been proven that they can occur.
(c) They cannot occur.
(d) Such tears have been observed in particle accelerators.

2. Which of the following is NOT a property that is used to define both black holes and elementary particles?
(a) Spin.
(b) Half-life.
(c) Force charge.
(d) Mass.

3. Who posited the existence of M-theory?
(a) Greene.
(b) Witten.
(c) Brandenberger.
(d) Plesser.

4. The number of family groups corresponds to a feature of the Calabi-Yau shape. What is this feature?
(a) Its number of holes.
(b) Its number of extended dimensions.
(c) Its degree of internal divisions.
(d) Its number of folds.

5. The horizon problem is the contradiction that which of the following properties of the universe shouldn't be uniform, but is?
(a) The cosmological constant.
(b) The electroweak field depth.
(c) The gravitational constant.
(d) The cosmic background radiation.

6. Which of the following is true regarding our current knowledge of the Calabi-Yau space?
(a) Its shape is totally unknown.
(b) Its shape is completely known and defined.
(c) Its shape is not fully known.
(d) Physicists and mathematicians disagree about its shape.

7. Who first proposed the existence of extra dimensions?
(a) Hawking.
(b) Maxwell.
(c) Kaluza.
(d) Einstein.

8. What did Stephen Hawking prove regarding black holes?
(a) They are the most massive objects in the universe.
(b) Light cannot escape from them.
(c) They have electrical charge.
(d) The emit radiation.

9. When a Calabi-Yau space collapses, it comes back as a space. What distinction does it have?
(a) It has one fewer dimensions.
(b) It has mirror-symmetry with its old shape.
(c) It has no shielding against tears in space-time.
(d) It has one less hole.

10. When the universe is at its smallest possible size, which other property is also at its maximum?
(a) Its temperature.
(b) The cosmological constant.
(c) The string coupling constant.
(d) The Planck tension.

11. What does the second law of thermodynamics state about entropy for a closed system?
(a) It always decreases.
(b) It always increases.
(c) It varies with external temperature.
(d) It is conserved, and never changes.

12. Which of the following is true regarding the force of gravity in string theory?
(a) Gravity in string theory is stronger than what we actually observe.
(b) Gravity is not addressed in string theory.
(c) String theory predicts gravity.
(d) Gravity in string theory acts over much longer distances.

13. About how long did the "primordial synthesis" stage of the big bang last?
(a) One picosecond.
(b) Four seconds.
(c) Three minutes.
(d) Two years.

14. As a string becomes wrapped, which of its properties increases?
(a) Its spin.
(b) Its energy.
(c) Its amplitude.
(d) Its wavelength.

15. What metric best approximates the scales at which extra dimensions would have a major impact?
(a) The Kaluza length.
(b) One-billionth of a meter.
(c) The Planck length.
(d) The nanometer.

Short Answer Questions

1. How are black holes are widely believed to have originated?

2. The method of tearing space-time discovered by Greene and others is called _____.

3. How many family groups are the elementary particles divided into?

4. Which one of the following do physicists believe occurs at the central point of a black hole?

5. According to modern physics, which of the following may cease to exist at the center of a black hole?

(see the answer keys)

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