08 May 2007

Finally Final Final

I've been working for approximately four days on the practice final for my last class. Some students would rant about this, saying that if we are expected to complete the final within three hours that the practice final should also only take three hours. However, given that the class in question is particle physics, here is a reasonable example of a final that I could finish in three hours:

1) Name all the particles you know.
2) Draw a Feynman diagram for an interaction between particles. Bonus points for being able to recount a non-science-related story about Richard Feynman.
3) Draw a particle accelerator.
4) Explain why you cannot just buy a bottle of muons to put in your particle accelerator.
5) Did you think of any more particles? Write them down.
6) Name the carriers of the four fundamental forces.
7) Give a totally off-the-wall explanation for some physical phenomena that involves the pseudoscientific use of particle physics.
8) What is the difference between a muon, a pion, and a proton?
9) Who discovered the electron? in what year? to what use has his research been put?
10) Give three examples of bad particle physics seen in comic books during the Golden and Silver ages.

I am attempting to finish this practice final while there is still light out so I can go out and enjoy those solar photons and neutrinos. However, my subconscious is complicating matters. When it's not clamoring for onion rings/french fries/alcohol/fast food, it's busy telling me as soon as I've stood up to "go look at that magazine on your bed!" when what I really need is my textbook. My subconscious is trying to tell me that I hate particle physics, which, thanks, subconscious, but I already knew that.

No comments: