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2006 LSU-PHYSICS IQ TEST
More than one answer might be correct, or none . . . Circle the correct answer(s).

Name:

 

(1) Nicholson Hall has long declared the number of planets [above an entryway in an alcove on the middle of the south wall]. How many planets are there by this criterion?

  1. 5
  2. 7
  3. 8
  4. 9
  5. 12

(2) Large-scale arrays and large-scale computing are all the rage for accomplishing hugh tasks otherwise impossible. Which of the following proposals are likely to be accepted by NSF?

  1. Thomas Kutter proposes to attach photomultiplier tubes to all swimming pools covered for the winter to make a huge-volume neutrino detector.
  2. Amy Campbell proposes to hook up all the satellite dishes from Texas to Florida to create a vast phased-array radio telescope for studying fine structures of quasars.
  3. Joe Giaime proposes to connect all Mac computers (with internal acceleration sensors) to make a phased-array gravity wave detector pointing to the Andromeda galaxy.
  4. Ed Seidel proposes to invite a million people in the public to perform distributed computing calculations on Black Hole collisions over wide arrays of initials conditions.
  5. John Wefel and Roger McNeil propose to distribute weather balloons and simple Geiger counters to all high schools in Louisiana to monitor cosmic rays above the GZK limit.

(3) Who in our Department has been married the most recently?

  1. Oleg Korobkin (2nd year graduate student) & Mitsuko Murakami (just got her Ph.D.!)
  2. Christina Fannin (worked with Dr. Cherry) & Chris Welch (2nd year graduate student)
  3. Aravind Chiruvelli (2nd year graduate student) & Madhavi Minnamreddy
  4. Melissa Miller (Shanan Schatzle's daughter) & Jordan Smithee
  5. Carrie Whittington (senior undergraduate physics major) & Trevor Cormier

(4) If on Earth it took roughly 1 second for a brick to drop 5 meters, then how long will it take the brick to drop 5 meters if you were on the surface of the Moon (with 1/6 times the gravitational acceleration)?

  1. 1/6 second
  2. 1 second
  3. 2.45 seconds
  4. 6 seconds
  5. 36 seconds

(5) Evaluate (cosΘ + i sinΘ)6 for Θ=15°

  1. Undefined
  2. 1
  3. e-Π/2
  4. i
  5. -iΠ

(6) Phonetically, how do you pronounce the name of Professor Ed Zganjar?

  1. Ed Scan-char
  2. Aid Zee-guy-nar
  3. Ed Sky-nar
  4. Ed Zee-gan-har
  5. Hay Ewe

(7) The 'Hafnium Bomb' is constructed from the metastable (31 year half-life) nuclear isomer of 178Hf, which relaxes to the stable nuclear ground state by releasing a 2.45 MeV gamma-ray cascade. Which statement(s) below about the Hafnium Bomb are correct?

  1. The energy release is roughly equal (gram-for-gram) with nuclear fission
  2. Ed Zganjar has had substantial research support for his study of this bomb
  3. The Pentagon has already plowed over $37,000,000 dollars into this project (and were set to spend billions more) despite (A) the original experiment being found to be flawed in many ways, (B) many experimenters not being able to duplicate the claims from the fringe, and (C) having many blue-ribbon panels proving it to be junk science.
  4. Hafnium isomers are now being created at the rate of roughly 100 kilograms per year with irradiation of tantalum beam stops at the LAMPF accelerator in Los Alamos
  5. Fundamentalist preachers are using the Hafnium isomer to prove 'intelligent design'.

(8) The last Tour de France has highlighted how technology can help get the win. LSU Physics might be able to generate substantial grant moneys by applying our expertise. Which of the following proposals is likely to succeed?

  1. A proposal to DOE to use CAMD to irradiate spiders so their bite will provide very strong athletes for the Tour.
  2. A proposal to NASA to develop the astrology of pulsars, so that it can be forecast to the nearest second the most propitious time to make the breakaway from the peleton.
  3. A proposal to DOD to use CAMD to expose cyclists to gamma-radiation so that their muscles will be as strong as the Hulk's (but only when they're angry).
  4. A proposal to Oak Ridge to generate kryptonite, for use on the other super cyclists.
  5. A proposal to NIH for the medical physics group to create isotopically correct testosterone that can be injected and yet pass the tests as being of bodily origin.

(9) Who is the youngest student to have entered the Ph.D. program (i.e., passed their qualifier)?

  1. Limin Xiao
  2. Oleg Korobkin
  3. Ravi Kopparapu
  4. Phil Sprunger
  5. Joel Tohline

(10) Who won last year's ping-pong tournament?

  1. Horst Bayer & Xiaomeng Peng
  2. Dmitri Uskov & Peter Diener
  3. Pavel Lougovski & Dmitri Uskov
  4. Juhan Frank & Peter Diener
  5. Vayu Gokhale [it was amazing how the Director won all his games!]

 

Updated: Fri, 25-May-2007 9:44 AM