Question 1

Refer to this scenario for the following questions:
Lost in Spacetime.Just when you thought it was safe to take final exams ...a vindictive multi-dimensional being reaches down (up? over? through?)to Earth and pulls you out of the universe.You are thrown back into the universe at a place of this being's choosing,and she permits you to leave only after you have identified your surroundings.You are subject to several tests.
Through a scientifically unexplainable miracle,you are able to survive in every one of the places you are tested.(Lest you become too comfortable,however,you certainly are able to feel any associated pain due to high temperature,pressure,gravity,etc. )In each case described below,identify your surroundings.In some cases,the surroundings described may exist only during eras of the universe (past or future)other than our own time;in those cases,you should identify both the place and the time where you are located.
-It sure is bright everywhere;you've been able to travel around a bit,and it's clear that you are not in a star.Yet it is as bright as looking directly at the Sun.In your extensive travels through your current surroundings,you cannot find a single neutral atom anywhere,nor can you find a nucleus besides hydrogen or helium.And,while it is hot (a few thousand degrees Kelvin),it is nowhere near the temperature needed for nuclear fusion.Where are you?

Accepted Answer

A) You are in the universe during its first 300,000 years. 
B) You are in the universe more than 10¹⁰⁰ years in the future. 
C) You are in an accretion disk around a supermassive black hole. 
D) You are in the central regions of a quasar. 
E) You are where the Sun should be located,but about 5 billion years from now.

Question 2

The fact that the sky is dark at night shows that the observable universe cannot extend forever.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 3

In principle,if we could see all the way to the cosmological horizon we could see the Big Bang taking place.However,our view is blocked for times prior to about 380,000 years after the Big Bang.Why?

Accepted Answer

A) Before that time,the universe was too crowded with stars. 
B) Before that time,the gas in the universe was dense and ionized and therefore did not allow light to travel freely. 
C) Before that time,the universe was dark so there was no light to illuminate anything. 
D) 380,000 years after the Big Bang marks the time when stars were first born,and thus began to shine the light by which we can see the universe.

Question 4

The Big Bang theory seems to explain how elements were formed during the first few minutes after the Big Bang.Which hypothetical observation below (these are not real observations)would call our current theory into question?

Accepted Answer

A) the discovery of a star-like object made entirely of carbon and oxygen 
B) the discovery of a planet that with no helium in its atmosphere 
C) the discovery of a galaxy with a helium abundance of only 10% by mass 
D) the discovery of a galaxy with 27% helium rather than the 25% that theory tells us was produced in the Big Bang

Question 5

Refer to this scenario for the following questions:
Lost in Spacetime.Just when you thought it was safe to take final exams ...a vindictive multi-dimensional being reaches down (up? over? through?)to Earth and pulls you out of the universe.You are thrown back into the universe at a place of this being's choosing,and she permits you to leave only after you have identified your surroundings.You are subject to several tests.
Through a scientifically unexplainable miracle,you are able to survive in every one of the places you are tested.(Lest you become too comfortable,however,you certainly are able to feel any associated pain due to high temperature,pressure,gravity,etc. )In each case described below,identify your surroundings.In some cases,the surroundings described may exist only during eras of the universe (past or future)other than our own time;in those cases,you should identify both the place and the time where you are located.
-You are once again in a hot,dense place.You are surrounded by protons and neutrons,some rapidly fusing into helium.You notice that your surroundings are cooling (good,because it's really hot!)and rapidly dropping in density.Within about 3 minutes,the fusion reactions stop.Where are you?

Accepted Answer

A) You are in the center of a star very much like our Sun. 
B) You are in the early universe during the era of nucleosynthesis. 
C) You are inside a nuclear power plant on Earth. 
D) You are in the center of a star much smaller than the Sun. 
E) You are in the center of a massive star near the end of its life.

Question 6

According to the Big Bang theory,how many forces-and which ones-operated in the universe during the GUT era?

Accepted Answer

A) 1 force that represented the unification of all four forces that operate today 
B) 3 forces: gravity,the strong force,and the electroweak force 
C) 2 forces: the strong force and the electroweak force 
D) 2 forces: gravity and a single force that later became the strong,weak,and electromagnetic forces

Question 7

Based on the results from Planck,the overall composition of the universe is

Accepted Answer

A) 100% ordinary (baryonic)matter. 
B) 15% ordinary (baryonic)matter,85% nonbaryonic dark matter. 
C) 1% ordinary (baryonic)matter,99% nonbaryonic dark matter. 
D) 4% ordinary (baryonic)matter,23% nonbaryonic dark matter,73% dark energy.

Question 8

Which forces have physicists shown to be the same force under conditions of very high temperature or energy,as confirmed by experiments in particle accelerators?

Accepted Answer

A) gravity and the weak force 
B) gravity and the strong force 
C) the strong and weak forces 
D) the strong and electromagnetic forces 
E) the electromagnetic and weak forces

Question 9

Briefly explain how Hubble's discovery of a relationship between galactic distance and redshift led to the idea of the Big Bang.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Briefly explain how Hubble's discovery of a...

Question 10

Evidence that the cosmic background radiation really is the remnant of a Big Bang comes from predicting characteristics of remnant radiation from the Big Bang and comparing these predictions with observations.Four of the five statements below are real.Which one is fictitious?

Accepted Answer

A) The cosmic background radiation is expected to have a temperature just a few degrees above absolute zero,and its actual temperature turns out to be about 3 K (actually 2.7 K). 
B) The cosmic background radiation is expected to have a perfect thermal spectrum,and observations from the COBE spacecraft verify this prediction. 
C) The cosmic background radiation is expected to contain spectral lines of hydrogen and helium,and it does. 
D) The cosmic background radiation is expected to look essentially the same in all directions,and it does. 
E) The cosmic background radiation is expected to have tiny temperature fluctuations at the level of about 1 part in 100,000.Such fluctuations were found in the COBE data.

Question 11

The theory that inflation occurred in the early universe is incompatible with the theory of relativity.

Accepted Answer