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General relativity - Quiz
Contributed by: Bryan
  • 1. What is the result of combining Newtonian gravity's geometric description with special relativity?
A) A unified theory of electromagnetism
B) The total abandonment of Euclidean geometry
C) A disproof of Newton's second law
D) A heuristic derivation of general relativity
  • 2. According to Newton's second law, what is the net force equal to?
A) Position squared
B) Gravitational constant divided by distance
C) Inertial mass multiplied by acceleration
D) Velocity multiplied by time
  • 3. In classical mechanics, what are the paths of objects in free motion called?
A) Hyperbolic trajectories
B) Geodesics
C) Parabolic curves
D) Random paths
  • 4. What is another name for the universality of free fall?
A) The Newton-Cartan theory
B) The weak equivalence principle
C) The inertial law of motion
D) The strong gravitation principle
  • 5. The Eötvös experiment verified the universal equality of what two properties?
A) Inertial and passive-gravitational mass
B) Space and time
C) Velocity and acceleration
D) Force and energy
  • 6. What does Einstein's elevator experiment demonstrate?
A) The existence of a stationary frame
B) The indistinguishability between gravity and acceleration
C) The curvature of Euclidean space
D) The variation of mass in a vacuum
  • 7. What implies that there is no observable distinction between inertial motion and motion under gravity?
A) The integration of Newtonian connections
B) The friction of external forces
C) The universality of free fall
D) The rigidity of Euclidean space
  • 8. In the geometric construction of Newtonian gravity, what happens to space geometry?
A) It becomes curved
B) It remains ordinary Euclidean geometry
C) It turns into four-dimensional spacetime
D) It becomes non-existent
  • 9. Why is spacetime considered curved in the Newton-Cartan theory?
A) Space itself is non-Euclidean
B) The gravitational potential is zero
C) Mass is distributed uniformly
D) The Newtonian connection is not integrable
  • 10. In the geometric description of gravity, what is related to the derivative of the connection?
A) The speed of light
B) Inertial mass
C) Electrostatic forces
D) Tidal effects
  • 11. What is the Newton–Cartan theory?
A) A theory of quantum mechanics
B) The study of friction in classical mechanics
C) A geometric formulation of Newtonian gravity
D) A relativistic theory of electromagnetism
  • 12. In what year was Einstein's theory of general relativity published?
A) 1905
B) 1922
C) 1915
D) 1916
  • 13. Who summarized general relativity as: "Space-time tells matter how to move; matter tells space-time how to curve."
A) John Archibald Wheeler
B) Albert Einstein
C) Henri Poincaré
D) Isaac Newton
  • 14. The Einstein field equations are what type of mathematical equations?
A) Second-order partial differential equations
B) Third-order ordinary differential equations
C) First-order algebraic equations
D) Linear integral equations
  • 15. What is the primary obstacle to a unified theory of physics involving general relativity?
A) Lack of experimental data
B) Reconciliation with quantum physics
C) The curvature of spacetime
D) The existence of black holes
  • 16. Which collaboration directly observed gravitational waves?
A) LIGO
B) The Prussian Academy
C) The Hubble Institute
D) NASA
  • 17. Who found the first non-trivial exact solution to the Einstein field equations?
A) Marcel Grossmann
B) Georges Lemaître
C) Alexander Friedmann
D) Karl Schwarzschild
  • 18. What did Einstein later declare to be the "biggest blunder of his life"?
A) The rejection of quantum mechanics
B) The Schwarzschild metric
C) The theory of general relativity
D) The cosmological constant
  • 19. Which planet's perihelion advance provided early confirmation of general relativity?
A) Jupiter
B) Mercury
C) Venus
D) Mars
  • 20. Which mathematician pointed out the utility of Riemannian geometry to Einstein?
A) Henri Poincaré
B) Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
C) Karl Schwarzschild
D) Marcel Grossmann
  • 21. According to the text, what are black holes?
A) Formations made of pure radiation
B) Regions of infinite density and zero time
C) The end-state for massive stars
D) The centers of expanding galaxies
  • 22. In what year did Einstein begin his eight-year search for a relativistic theory of gravity?
A) 1905
B) 1913
C) 1907
D) 1919
  • 23. What is the Reissner–Nordström solution associated with?
A) Rotating stellar masses
B) Gravitational lensing
C) Electrically charged black holes
D) The expansion of the universe
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