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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. In particle physics, what refers to a proposed symmetry of nature relating two basic classes of elementary particles: bosons and fermions?
(a) A black hole.
(b) Supersymmetry.
(c) A limit.
(d) Verisimilitude.

2. What term refers to a region of spacetime from which gravity prevents anything, including light, from escaping?
(a) Black hole.
(b) Derivative.
(c) Limit.
(d) Omicron.

3. When was Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz born?
(a) 1711.
(b) 1611.
(c) 1559.
(d) 1646.

4. Newton's notation for differentiation uses what symbol placed over a function name to denote the time derivative of that function?
(a) An omicron.
(b) A dot.
(c) A line.
(d) An omega.

5. Who coined the term “fermion” in particle physics?
(a) James Wilson.
(b) Socrates.
(c) Filippo Brunelleschi.
(d) Paul Dirac.

Short Answer Questions

1. When was Jean le Rond d'Alembert born?

2. According to the author in Chapter 6, “Infinity's Twin,” “i” appears whenever one takes the square root of what?

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. What principle states that no two electrons can occupy the same quantum state?

5. What principle holds that there is an inverse relation between the fineness with which a particular's location can be determined and the fineness with which its velocity can be determined?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is string theory described by the author in Chapter 8, “Zero Hour at Ground Zero”?

2. How did Max Planck address the problem of the ultraviolet catastrophe?

3. The author states in Chapter 6, “Infinity’s Twin” that before imaginary numbers could be accepted, several developments had to occur. Which was the first?

4. How are electrons described in Chapter 8, “Zero Hour at Ground Zero”?

5. How old is the universe estimated to be by astronomers today? How did they calculate this age?

6. What does the author say thermodynamics has taught us in Chapter 7, “Absolute Zeros”?

7. How did the discovery of imaginary numbers affect the study of algebra?

8. What discovery did Georg Cantor make regarding different types of infinities? How are these types defined?

9. What problems were encountered in calculus with zero? How did zero apply to the physical world, according to the author in Chapter 5, “Infinite Zeros and Infidel Mathematicians”?

10. How did l’Hopital address the problem of zero, according to the author in Chapter 5, “Infinite Zeros and Infidel Mathematicians”?

(see the answer keys)

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