Pop-quiz #21 Which of the following statements is TRUE? A.Black holes can emit particles and thereby lose mass — this is called Hawking radiation B.John Wheeler coined the theorem “A black hole has no hair” because he was bald and thought of himself as a black hole C.The concept of gravity trapping light is a direct consequence of the Special Theory of Relativity D.Most stars have supermassive black holes at their centers E.The so-called “dark energy” that is driving the acceleration of the Universe and the so-called “dark matter” that makes its presence felt through gravity are present in equal amounts in the energy budget of the Universe — i.e. they contribute equally to the overall  of the Universe

Pop-quiz #22 Which of the following statements is TRUE? A.Inflation is the astronomical term used to describe the transformation our bellies undergo at holiday time B.Gravity was the last of the four fundamental forces of Nature to “freeze” out C.The Universe was radiation dominated at early times, but has been matter dominated ever since it’s 300,000 th birthday D.Most of the elements in the periodic table were synthesized in the early Universe and this is known as Big Bang Nucleosynthesis E.The detection of the Cosmic Microwave Background Radiation proves that the Steady State Cosmology hypothesis is correct

Pop-quiz #23 Which of the following statements about the EPOCH OF CONFINEMENT is TRUE? A.At this instant, quarks became bound in sets of three to produce protons and neutrons, while matter and radiation continued to interact strongly B.The Universe was matter dominated at this epoch C.Protons and electrons formed stable hydrogen atoms for the first time at this epoch, and the matter in the Universe became mostly transparent to radiation D.This epoch was immediately followed by Inflation E.Ducks and aadvarks got together to produce quarks

Pop-quiz #24 Which of the following statements about INFLATION is FALSE? A.The Universe expands faster than the speed of light during Inflation B.The rapid expansion during Inflation is driven by a repulsive anti-gravity force whose mathematical properties are similar to that of Einstein’s Cosmological Constant Λ C.Inflation solves the CMBR horizon paradox/problem D.Inflation violates the principles of Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity E.Inflation naturally gives rise to the tiny quantum fluctuations in the early Universe that are the “seeds” from which galaxies and galaxy clusters “grow” under the influence of gravity