Question

the poetry of physics
pre - test complete
1 2 3
read the excerpt from death by black hole.
albert einstein’s general theory of relativity, published in 1916, provides the insight to understand the bizarre structure of space and time in a high - gravity environment. later research by the american physicist john a. wheeler, and others, helped to formulate a vocabulary as well as the mathematical tools to describe and predict what a black hole will do to its surroundings.
read the excerpt from “man listening to disc.”
and i bow deeply to thelonious monk
for figuring out a way
to motorize—or whatever—his huge piano
so he could be with us today.
the central idea that both texts share is
connections between math and music
references to musicians the narrators admire
predictions about the future of mankind
credit to people who have inspired the authors

Explanation:

To determine the shared central idea, analyze each text: The first text credits Einstein and Wheeler for their work on black holes. The second credits Thelonious Monk for his piano innovation. Now evaluate options:

• "connections between math and music": The first text is about physics/math, the second about music—no direct math - music connection.
• "references to musicians the narrators admire": The first text has no musician references.
• "predictions about the future of mankind": Neither text focuses on future predictions.
• "credit to people who have inspired the authors": Both texts give credit to individuals (Einstein, Wheeler, Monk) who inspired the authors’ subjects (black hole theory, music innovation).

Answer:

credit to people who have inspired the authors