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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

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

2. How many dimensions are necessitated by M-theory?
(a) Eleven.
(b) Nine.
(c) Eight.
(d) Ten.

3. Which of the following most accurately describes the state of the universe?
(a) It is collapsing.
(b) It is expanding.
(c) It is about to begin contracting.
(d) It is mostly static.

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

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following is one of the difficulties in observing super particles?

2. What does the second law of thermodynamics state about entropy for a closed system?

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

4. Which of the following best describes the fate of Kaluza-Klein theory?

5. What shape allows for the vibrational patterns that we observe in our universe?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the horizon problem in cosmology? How was it resolved?

2. Greene suggests that black holes are very similar to, and might in fact be, elementary particles. What evidence supports this suggestion?

3. Describe the state of the universe's expansion, including what its ultimate fate might be.

4. What is a virtual string pair, and how is it formed?

5. Describe the history of space-time tears in physics.

6. What did Morrison and Greene discover together, and why is it important?

7. What is the major difference between the big bang with and without string theory?

8. Are the extra-dimensions demanded by string theory, space or time dimensions? How are those dimensions experienced in everyday life?

9. How is the shape of the Calabi-Yau space is determined?

10. How are strings affected by extra dimensions?

(see the answer keys)

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