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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. According to the author in Chapter 7, “Absolute Zeros,” Max Planck came up with a new equation that solved the ultraviolet catastrophe but implied that energy was released in discrete packets that have come to be called what?
(a) Derivatives.
(b) Photons.
(c) Strings.
(d) Quanta.

2. What principle states that no two electrons can occupy the same quantum state?
(a) The Pythagorean theorem.
(b) Quantum gravity.
(c) The Planck constant.
(d) The Pauli exclusion principle.

3. The Rayleigh–Jeans law revealed an important error in physics theory of its time. The law predicted an energy output that diverges towards infinity as wavelength approaches what?
(a) Zero.
(b) One.
(c) Pi.
(d) The sun.

4. When was Bernhard Riemann born?
(a) 1629.
(b) 1896.
(c) 1779.
(d) 1826.

5. What kind of stars did the Hubble space telescope use to measure the size of the universe?
(a) White dwarfs.
(b) RR Lyrae stars.
(c) Hypergiant stars.
(d) Cepheid stars.

6. In what year did Albert Einstein publish a paper that explained experimental data from the photoelectric effect, leading to the quantum revolution?
(a) 1926.
(b) 1905.
(c) 1942.
(d) 1918.

7. In the middle of the 20th Century, Hendrik Casmir and what other Dutch physicist proposed the existence of a force between two polarizable atoms?
(a) Peter Mitchell.
(b) Dirk Polder.
(c) James Washington.
(d) Andrew Miller.

8. What refers to the geometric theory of gravitation published by Albert Einstein in 1916 and the current description of gravitation in modern physics?
(a) Special relativity.
(b) Microquasar theory.
(c) Gravitational theory.
(d) General relativity.

9. How is the Planck relation expressed?
(a) E=xy.
(b) E=hv.
(c) E=mvi.
(d) E=mc⅍.

10. Georg Cantor is best known as the inventor of what fundamental theory in mathematics?
(a) M-Theory.
(b) String theory.
(c) Set theory.
(d) Quantum theory.

11. What term in geometry refers to a straight line that just touches a plane curve at a given point?
(a) A divergent.
(b) A tangent.
(c) A gravitational pull.
(d) A hyperbole.

12. During what years did Georg Cantor live?
(a) 1777-1836.
(b) 1845-1918.
(c) 1811-1878.
(d) 1689-1759.

13. The author notes in Chapter 6, “Infinity's Twin” that multiplying zero or infinity by itself equals what?
(a) One.
(b) Itself.
(c) Its inverse.
(d) Its negative.

14. What mathematical term refers to a function giving an exact pairing of the elements of two sets?
(a) Bijection.
(b) Injection.
(c) Derivation.
(d) Infinity.

15. What refers to an optical telescope that uses a single or combination of curved mirrors that reflect light and form an image?
(a) A chromatic telescope.
(b) A reflecting telescope.
(c) A refracting telescope.
(d) An Alhazen’s telescope.

Short Answer Questions

1. What rule in calculus uses derivatives to help evaluate limits involving indeterminate forms?

2. The Rayleigh–Jeans law agrees with experimental results at large wavelengths but strongly disagrees at short wavelengths. What is this inconsistency known as?

3. According to the author in Chapter 5, “Infinite Zeros and Infidel Mathematicians,” Jean le Rond d'Alembert had satisfied the mathematician's need for what?

4. In the photoelectric effect, electrons are emitted from solids, liquids or gases when they do what?

5. In physics or chemistry, what term refers to particles that are smaller than an atom?

(see the answer keys)

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