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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What materials were formed during the period of the big bang known as the "primordial nucleosynthesis"?
(a) Neutrons.
(b) Up, down, top, and bottom quarks.
(c) Hydrogen and helium nuclei.
(d) Anti-matter particles.

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

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

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

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

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

7. According to modern physics, which of the following may cease to exist at the center of a black hole?
(a) Strings.
(b) Energy.
(c) Space.
(d) Time.

8. According to the standard model of the big bang, which of the following is true of the four fundamental forces during the first moments of the universe?
(a) They were all melded together.
(b) They were "evaporated" in the high temperature, and didn't interact with space-time.
(c) They were not uniform throughout space.
(d) They were divided into eight unidentified forces.

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

10. The extra dimension or dimensions in M-theory are needed in order to incorporate _____.
(a) Unwound Calabi-Yau spaces.
(b) Electromagnetism.
(c) Electroweak duality.
(d) Supergravity.

11. String theory claims that super particles _____.
(a) Come in pairs.
(b) Are massless.
(c) Are the only non-string particles.
(d) Do not exist.

12. 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 solve the perturbation theory.
(c) Those that have no time-dimensions.
(d) Those that meet the vibration requirements and have an appropriate number of dimensions.

13. What is a string's winding number?
(a) The number of times it is wrapped around a circular dimension.
(b) The number of other strings it is threaded with.
(c) The number of dimensions it vibrations through.
(d) The ratio of its Planck tension to its tension at rest.

14. Which of the following is true regarding the amount of visible matter in the universe compared to the amount of matter required to cause collapse of the universe?
(a) There is much more of it than is needed to cause collapse.
(b) It makes up a very small percentage of the mass needed.
(c) It makes up about half the mass needed.
(d) It almost exactly equals the mass needed.

15. Which of the following is true regarding the tearing of space-time according to general relativity?
(a) It cannot tear.
(b) It is not known if space-time can tear.
(c) A tear would destroy the universe.
(d) It can tear under special circumstances.

Short Answer Questions

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

2. What prevents the potentially dangerous effects of an exposed tear in space-time?

3. About how old is the universe?

4. Kaluza-Klein theory units which two fundamental forces?

5. Regarding mirror-symmetry, Greene's work proved that _____.

(see the answer keys)

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