Max Born — Questions and answers

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Who was a very important physicist at the University of Göttingen who helped create quantum mechanics?

Choices

  1. Isaac Newton
  2. Max Born ✓
  3. Albert Einstein
  4. Erwin Schrödinger

Answer: Max Born

From page 2

What did Max Born realize the square of the wave function (Ψ 2) could tell us?

Choices

  1. The exact speed of a particle.
  2. The probability (or chance) of finding a particle in a certain place. ✓
  3. That electrons are only waves and never particles.
  4. The color of the electron.

Answer: The probability (or chance) of finding a particle in a certain place.

From page 3

What important role did Max Born play when other scientists had different ways of thinking about quantum theory?

Choices

  1. He made everyone pick his way of thinking only.
  2. He added more confusion to the different ideas.
  3. He helped connect their different ideas and make them work together. ✓
  4. He told them to stop working on quantum theory.

Answer: He helped connect their different ideas and make them work together.

From page 4

According to the 'Born Rule,' what can we figure out about a quantum event, even if we can't know the exact result?

Choices

  1. The exact time it will happen.
  2. How likely different things are to happen. ✓
  3. What the weather will be like next week.
  4. How to change the rules of the universe.

Answer: How likely different things are to happen.

From page 5

What did Max Born believe about randomness at the very tiny, quantum level?

Choices

  1. He thought it meant scientists just didn't know enough yet.
  2. He believed it was a basic and real part of nature itself. ✓
  3. He wanted to hide it so no one would find out.
  4. He thought it was a mistake in the experiments.

Answer: He believed it was a basic and real part of nature itself.

From page 7

How did Max Born's ideas about probability in physics eventually become accepted by many scientists?

Choices

  1. He wrote a very long and convincing letter.
  2. More and more experiments showed that his ideas were correct. ✓
  3. He convinced Albert Einstein to change his mind.
  4. He became a very famous rock star.

Answer: More and more experiments showed that his ideas were correct.

From page 8

When did Max Born receive the Nobel Prize for his important work in quantum mechanics?

Choices

  1. In the 1920s, when he first did the work.
  2. In 1954, many years after his initial discoveries. ✓
  3. At the very beginning of the 20th century.
  4. He never received a Nobel Prize.

Answer: In 1954, many years after his initial discoveries.

From page 9

What big idea did Max Born help people understand about reality at its very deepest level?

Choices

  1. That everything in reality is completely predictable and set in stone.
  2. That reality is mostly made of tiny, hard billiard balls.
  3. That reality is not always fixed, but often statistical or based on chance. ✓
  4. That the universe is just a game of dice with no rules at all.

Answer: That reality is not always fixed, but often statistical or based on chance.

From page 10