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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. What does general relativity combine time with space to form?

2. What theories of relativity did Einstein advance?

3. What did Penrose and Hawking demonstrate concerning General Relativity?

4. According to Popper, what happens if positivism is true?

5. What were Fat Man and Little Boy dropped on in 1945?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is a p = 1 brane and a p = 2 brane?

2. What does Hawking believe the possibility of intelligent beings' existence depends on?

3. What is considered to be expanding in our universe, and why does Hawking think this is beneficial?

4. Describe imaginary time.

5. What new sort of symmetry was discovered in the 1970s?

6. What was the bedrock of relativity theory, and what did it imply?

7. Who worked on quantum mechanics in the 1920s, and what discovery was made?

8. Why does the theory of general relativity break down when discussing the Big Bang?

9. What was the "ether" theory?

10. What is Hawking's view about mathematical models?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Define and describe supersymmetry and its implications on space-time. Cite two examples from Chapter Two that identify important players in the idea's inception or in its repercussions and consequences on modern scientific thought.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay that answers the following questions: What is M-theory? What is its relationship to various string models? What does Hawking believe about M-theory? The essay must include at least two supporting evidences from the book, and one example from an outside text.

Essay Topic 3

Hawking's formulation of the Chronology Projection Conjecture is an important topic in Chapter Five. Write an essay that summarizes what the Chronology Projection Conjecture is, how it was formulated, and what its function is now.

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