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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which of the following is true regarding the force of gravity in string theory?

2. What is a string's winding number?

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

4. How does the number of extra "curled up" dimensions affect the vibration of strings?

5. String theory claims that super particles _____.

Short Essay Questions

1. Why are superparticles important to string theory, and how has research into these particles affected the field of string theory?

2. How does a black hole's entropy change?

3. In the context of the big bang, what is symmetry breaking?

4. What is the string-coupling constant, and why is it important?

5. What is the origin of M-theory, and what are its basic characteristics?

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

7. What is the relative composition of matter in the universe?

8. Describe the difficulties in studying the entropy of a black hole.

9. What is the strong-weak duality?

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Black Holes

Black holes are the most massive objects in our universe. They contain deep mysteries and relatively little is known about them. They are incredibly powerful, able to out-muscle light itself, piece the fabric of space-time, and perhaps even create new universes.

Part 1) Describe the history of our knowledge of black holes: How and why they were first theorized about, and how they were first discovered by observation.

Part 2) How is a black hole formed? Explain the dominant theories about the formation of black holes, being sure to address features such as the event horizon. Explain some of the more esoteric possibilities as well.

Part 3) Black holes have driven forward theory and discovery for a long time. Explain some of the ways that black holes have inspired scientists to push forward our knowledge of the universe.

Essay Topic 2

Symmetry Through the Universe

The "super" in "superstring theory" comes from the theory of supersymmetry, which itself derives from the easily intelligible principle of symmetry, which is ubiquitous in science. A physical law has symmetry if it is applied equally to any point in space or time. Supersymmetry is an expansion of that principle, and it provides string theory with a unique capability.

Part 1) Describe the nature of symmetry in the scientific field, and give some examples of laws which obey symmetry. Provide imaginary counter-examples that demonstrate the chaotic and unpredictable nature of laws that do not have symmetry.

Part 2) Describe supersymmetry, and explain the property of "spin" associated with elementary particles, and how it applies to the theory. Describe attempts to prove supersymmetry experimentally.

Part 3) What is the advantage when supersymmetry is incorporated into string theory? Describe the predictive and explanatory power that string theory gains through this in detail.

Essay Topic 3

Inflation

Inflation theory is a very unusual theory about the first moments of the universe's existence. It predicts that an unimaginably massive expansion took place in a mind-bogglingly short period. However, the theory has been more or less definitively confirmed, and is an important part of modern cosmology.

Part 1) Describe the nature of the microwave cosmic background radiation and the horizon problem. Fully explain how these things relate to the expansion of the universe and the classic model of the big bang.

Part 2) Explain the development of inflation theory. How does it solve the horizon problem?

Part 3) How is the inflation theory affected by string theory?

Part 4) Explain some of the effects of the inflationary period on the universe that we observe today.

(see the answer keys)

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