On Tue, 9 May 2000 jrg197@ecs.soton.ac.uk wrote:
> Are there any example questions for the exam?
>
> thanks
>
> James
Hi James,
There are no sample questions, as this is the first year of the course.
However, the outline of the exam is as follows:
There are 8 questions. Each asks you a general question about the themes
that have runthrough the course (you know what they are).
You are asked to reply to TWO of the eight questions.
However, within your answer to these to questions, you can reply to
the other questions as well. They are like memory-aids, to cue you into
explaining the things oyu have learned, and they are all inter-related.
The only thing you are asked not to do is to have duplication between
the two questions themselves: They may cross-refer to one another, but
don't give me the same information twice.
So, in principle, you could answer four of the questions under your
answer to the first question, and you could answer the other four
questions under your answer to the second question.
I will now give you a sample of this, but in a completely different
area (semi-nonsensical questions about the foundations of quantum
mechanics, but expressed in exactly the same grammatical form as your
actual exam questions):
-----------
Answer any two of the questions. They overlap, so you may wrap several
of the questions into one reply, but minimize the overlap between your
two replies.
1. What is wave-packet collapse? Give examples of what is and is not
wave-packet collapse, and why.
2. What are the Hidden-Variable and non-Hidden-Variable versions of
quantum phenomena? On what evidence are they based, and what do you
think is true?
3. What are quantum phenomena and classical phenomena? What evidence
supports them and what do you think?
4. What is the puzzle of Schrodinger's Cat? Can it be resolved, and if
so, what might be some ways to resolve it? If not, what are the
alternatives?
5. What are superposed systems? What role might they play in small-scale
and large-scale phenomena?
6. Are geiger counters quantum systems? If so, how? If not, how not?
7. What are the various different forms of Hidden-Variable Experiment?
Which (if any) is the right one, and why (or why not)?
8. What is the "Wigner's Friend" Thought-Experiment? What does it and
does it not demonstrate?
---Cheers,
Stevan
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