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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. Under string theory, which of the following is true regarding extra dimensions?

2. What is the traditional method of testing theories in physics?

3. What is one possible way that the three dimensions we observe could have been "stretched out"?

4. Riemannian geometry describes the following objects: _____.

5. It is believed that early on, the universe experienced symmetry breaking, meaning that _____.

Short Essay Questions

1. Describe the state of the universe's expansion, including what its ultimate fate might be.

2. Describe Kaluza-Klein theory.

3. What is the strong-weak duality?

4. What is the major difference between the big bang with and without string theory?

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

6. What is the horizon problem in cosmology? How was it resolved?

7. What is a wormhole, and how is it formed?

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

9. How is the shape of the Calabi-Yau space is determined?

10. Greene suggests that black holes are very similar to, and might in fact be, elementary particles. What evidence supports this suggestion?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Strung Along

String theory is one of the most important physical theories of this century, and it has a mottled and unusual history. String theory has progressed in fits and starts since its strange inception, experiencing periods of boom and bust, but always moving forward. Part 1) Describe the early history of string theory, beginning with the accidental discovery by Gabriele Veneziano, up through the work of Schwarz and Scherk.

Part 2) Detail the history of the first and second "superstring revolutions". What set off these periods of intense study, what was achieved, and how did they end?

Part 3) Speculate why string theory has suffered periodic declines in the physics community. Use evidence from the book, or outside research to support your claims.

Essay Topic 2

Into the Unknowns

In the final chapter of the book, the author calls the readers attention to the major problems remaining in string theory, as well as to its most promising achievements. Confirmation of string theory is still far away, but the theory is so elegant and has so much potential that it cannot and should not be let go. This essay is about a final assessment of string theory's status and overall worth.

Part 1) Discuss the major shortcoming of string theory, especially the problems with experimental confirmation. Include a discussion of the perturbation method and its validity.

Part 2) Explain string theory's most important assets, including its incredible descriptive power, and its ability to unite quantum mechanics and general relativity. Be sure to discuss the promising new progress that Greene outlines in the later chapters.

Part 3) Using all of the information presented in the book, assess string theories status. How stable is its foundation? Is it likely to be the final theory of everything?

Essay Topic 3

Quantum Foam

It has been said that one who is not distressed by quantum mechanics has not understood what has been explained. One of the most strange and distressing components of quantum mechanics is the "quantum foam", the very strange behavior of time, space, and elementary particles at very small scales.

Part 1) Describe the nature of quantum foam. What is it, where, and at what scales does it occur? What sorts of events occur in the quantum foam, and why?

Part 2) Describe some of the effects of quantum foam on our universe, both at small and large scales.

Part 3) Imagine an observer shrinking from normal macroscopic scales down to the microscopic, and then all the way down to the scale at which quantum foam is observed. What would this observer see occurring around him, and what would the experience be like? Be creative, and use as much factual scientific information as possible.

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