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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. In string theory, how do strings interact?
(a) By colliding and tangling.
(b) By resonating with each other.
(c) By threading.
(d) By joining and splitting.

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

3. How many total dimensions are required by string theory?
(a) Five.
(b) Ten.
(c) Eight.
(d) Seven.

4. What is one possible way that the three dimensions we observe could have been "stretched out"?
(a) Quantum fluctuations.
(b) A false vacuum event.
(c) The big bang.
(d) Vacuum energy.

5. What prevents the potentially dangerous effects of an exposed tear in space-time?
(a) Tears only widen to about the Planck length.
(b) Tears are quickly mended by the force of gravity.
(c) Tears are shielded by strings.
(d) Tears occur in curled-up dimensions.

6. What property does an external black hole have?
(a) The maximum possible mass for its charge and spin.
(b) The maximum possible internal temperature.
(c) The minimum possible radiation.
(d) The minimum possible mass for its charge and spin.

7. There are many possible Calabi-Yau spaces, but only shapes with which of the following characteristics are considered real possibilities?
(a) Those that unify the four forces and have no extended dimensions.
(b) Those that have no time-dimensions.
(c) Those that meet the vibration requirements and have an appropriate number of dimensions.
(d) Those that solve the perturbation theory.

8. By what factor is the minimum mass of a wrapped string in determined?
(a) The string's winding number.
(b) The string's Planck tension.
(c) The size of the circular dimension it is wrapped around.
(d) The vacuum energy of the dimension it is wrapped around.

9. What is the scientific state of the "multiverse" theory?
(a) It is on the fringes of physics.
(b) It is accepted by almost all young physicists, but almost no older ones.
(c) It is well accepted by the physics community.
(d) It was discarded years ago.

10. What is strong-weak duality?
(a) The coupling of strong and weak forces in M-theory.
(b) A relationship between the strong and weak coupling constants in two different string theories.
(c) The relationship between bosonic-strong string theories and bosonic-weak theories.
(d) The union of the strong and weak forces at high energies.

11. Which of the following is true about the background microwave radiation of the universe?
(a) It is almost uniform, about 2.7 degrees Kelvin on average.
(b) It varies across the universe, and is no more than 2.7 degrees Kelvin anywhere.
(c) It is almost uniform, and no more than 0.2 degrees Kelvin anywhere.
(d) It varies across the universe, and is no more than 12 degrees Kelvin anywhere.

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

13. Kaluza's theory suggested that electromagnetism was carried by ripples in _____.
(a) The "curled up" dimensions.
(b) All dimensions of both space and time.
(c) The time-dimension only.
(d) The three normal space dimensions.

14. What is the collapse and reformation of a Calabi-Yau shape called?
(a) A conifold transition.
(b) A space-tearing flop transition.
(c) A binary transition.
(d) A manifold transition.

15. Riemannian geometry describes the following objects: _____.
(a) Curved spaces.
(b) Finite, unbounded spaces.
(c) Six-dimensional manifolds.
(d) N-dimensional spheres.

Short Answer Questions

1. The discovery of the tearing of space-time came from cooperation between experts in physics and _____.

2. About how long after the big bang were stars formed?

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

4. The number of family groups corresponds to a feature of the Calabi-Yau shape. What is this feature?

5. Which of the following is true regarding the tearing of space-time according to string theory?

(see the answer keys)

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