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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. On what scale does Hawking think time travel occurs?

2. What famous quote is attributed to physicist John Wheeler?

3. How can one find black holes?

4. What is one hundred thousand times faster than evolution?

5. In what kind of theory does matter behave according to quantum theory?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does much of the possibility of time travel depend upon?

2. How does Hawking begin Chapter Four?

3. What are three of the things Hawking declares have increased exponentially, doubling every forty years of less?

4. How do cosmic strings relate to space-time?

5. What does Hawking claim might happen if children could gestate outside the womb?

6. What will happen as brains increase in size?

7. What is the grandfather paradox?

8. What does Hawking think about the possible technological level of extraterrestrials?

9. What did Strominger and Vafa postulate in 1996?

10. What might happen if we do not destroy ourselves?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Hawking uses the word "deterministic" quite a bit in Chapter Four. Identify what determinism means in this context, and how it relates to the universe. Then, summarize and analyze the controversy over whether or not the universe is deterministic and what this might entail.

Essay Topic 2

Describe the ether theory. Explain why this theory fell apart and what Einstein's role was in its deconstruction. Be sure to include at least two reasons the ether theory became redundant and unnecessary.

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the interpretation of General Relativity according to Penrose and Hawking and how this differed from Lifshitz and Khalatnikov. Cite two examples from Chapter Two that expound on Penrose and Hawking's dissimilar interpretation.

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