Chapter 22
The Cosmic Perspective, 7e (Bennett et al.)
Chapter 22 The Birth of the Universe
22.1 Multiple-Choice Questions
1) To date, physicists have investigated the behavior of matter and energy at temperatures as high as those that existed in the universe as far back as ________ after the Big Bang.
A) 1 million years
B) 300,000 years
C) 300 years
D) 3 minutes
E) 10-10 second
Answer: E
2) How long after the Big Bang was the Planck time, before which our current theories are completely unable to describe conditions in the universe?
A) 10-10 second
B) 10-35 second
C) 10-43 second
D) 3 minutes
E) 300,000 years
Answer: C
3) The Planck era refers to the time period
A) before the Big Bang.
B) before the Planck time.
C) after the Planck time.
D) after inflation.
E) after the GUT era.
Answer: B
4) Why can't current theories describe what happened during the Planck era?
A) We do not yet have a theory that links quantum mechanics and general relativity.
B) We do not understand the properties of antimatter.
C) We do not know how much energy existed during that time.
D) It was a time period from which we cannot receive radiation.
E) The Planck era was the time before the Big Bang, and we cannot describe what happened before that instant.
Answer: A
5) A GUT (grand unified theory) refers to theories that
A) unify all four forces.
B) unify gravity and the electromagnetic and weak forces.
C) unify gravity and the strong and weak forces.
D) unify the strong force and the electromagnetic and weak forces.
E) unify the electromagnetic and weak forces.
Answer: D
6) When we say that the electromagnetic and weak forces "freeze out" from the electroweak force at 10-10 seconds after the Big Bang, we mean that
A) these forces are important only at temperatures below the freezing point of water–a temperature that the universe reached at an age of about 10-10 second.
B) "freezing out" was a term coined by particle physicists who think that the Big Bang
Chapter 22 The Birth of the Universe
22.1 Multiple-Choice Questions
1) To date, physicists have investigated the behavior of matter and energy at temperatures as high as those that existed in the universe as far back as ________ after the Big Bang.
A) 1 million years
B) 300,000 years
C) 300 years
D) 3 minutes
E) 10-10 second
Answer: E
2) How long after the Big Bang was the Planck time, before which our current theories are completely unable to describe conditions in the universe?
A) 10-10 second
B) 10-35 second
C) 10-43 second
D) 3 minutes
E) 300,000 years
Answer: C
3) The Planck era refers to the time period
A) before the Big Bang.
B) before the Planck time.
C) after the Planck time.
D) after inflation.
E) after the GUT era.
Answer: B
4) Why can't current theories describe what happened during the Planck era?
A) We do not yet have a theory that links quantum mechanics and general relativity.
B) We do not understand the properties of antimatter.
C) We do not know how much energy existed during that time.
D) It was a time period from which we cannot receive radiation.
E) The Planck era was the time before the Big Bang, and we cannot describe what happened before that instant.
Answer: A
5) A GUT (grand unified theory) refers to theories that
A) unify all four forces.
B) unify gravity and the electromagnetic and weak forces.
C) unify gravity and the strong and weak forces.
D) unify the strong force and the electromagnetic and weak forces.
E) unify the electromagnetic and weak forces.
Answer: D
6) When we say that the electromagnetic and weak forces "freeze out" from the electroweak force at 10-10 seconds after the Big Bang, we mean that
A) these forces are important only at temperatures below the freezing point of water–a temperature that the universe reached at an age of about 10-10 second.
B) "freezing out" was a term coined by particle physicists who think that the Big Bang