1. A consequence of
a) All speeds must be relative
b) The speed of light is absolute
c) All lengths are relative
d) Simultaneity is relative
2. Superman is running at a speed close to c
observed by
a) He looks thinner and shorter than when he is at rest with respect to her
b) He looks stouter and taller than when he is at rest with respect to her
c) He looks stouter and shorter than when he is at rest with respect to her
d) He looks of the same height but thinner than when he is at rest with respect to her
3. A fast-train passenger sits in the middle of
a wagon, he sees two waiters simultaneously enter the wagon through the doors
at each end. Just as they enter he sees them slip and fall. According to an
observer on a platform
a) The waiters fell at the same time
b) The waiter at the back fell first
c) The waiter at the front fell first
d) The waiters did not fall
4. During an exam the instructor observes that
a student whispers the answer to a question to his neighbor who then writes it
down, and just as he does so, another student at the opposite end of the
classroom sneezes. As seen by Mary, who is moving with respect to the
classroom,
a) Mary sees first the whispering and then the writing down, but the time ordering of the sneezing and the writing depends on her state of motion
b) The time ordering of all these events depends on the state of motion Mary
c) Mary sees that the sneezing and the writing down occur simultaneously, but the time ordering of the whispering and the writing down depends on her direction of motion
d) Mary sees the same situation as the instructor, no matter how fast she moves
5. Isabel takes a trip to Alpha Centauri, a
near-by star which is 4.5 light-years away, travelling at a speed very close to
that of light. When she leaves she is 30 years old. Upon return she’ll be
a) Exactly 39 years old
b) Younger than 30
c) Older than 39.
d) Somewhat older than 30, but younger than 39
6. Imagine a laser pointer traveling eastward
at 290,000 km/s with respect to you; the lens of the pointer points westward
(so that the beam will move opposite to the direction of the pointer’s motion).
When it goes by you the laser pointer turns on. If you know light in the
laboratory travels at 300,000 km/s, what will be the speed of the beam of the
laser pointer with respect to you?
a) 10,000 km/s
b) 300,000 km/s
c) 590,000 km/s
d) The average of 290,000 km/s and 300,000 km/s, that is 295,000 km/s
7. How do nuclear reactors generate energy?
a) By burning coal
b) By transforming energy into mass
c) By tapping the energy released in the solar nuclear reactions
d) By transforming mass into energy
8. Q and James Bond are the same height (7
feet) when at rest with respect to each other. They lie close together and Bond
starts traveling at a speed close to c moving along his height. Q then observes
with satisfaction that Bond is now only 6 feet tall. According to James how
tall is Q?
a) 7 feet
b) Depends on the direction of motion, 8 feet in one direction 7 in the other
c) Just slightly taller than himself
d) 6 feet
9. Mort takes a fast spaceship from the space
station while Mindy remains on the space station. Mindy finds that Mort’s
clocks are slow with respect to hers, while Mort finds that Mindy’s clock
a) Remains synchronized with his
b) Is fast compared to his
c) Is first slow and then fast compared to his
d) Is slow with compared to his
10. A stick in its rest frame is tilted at a 45
degree angle (with respect to the horizontal direction). If this stick is
moving with respect to you in a horizontal direction you find that its angle
from this horizontal direction is
a) Also equal to 45 degrees
b) Less than 45 degrees
c) More than 45 degrees
d) More or less than 45 degrees depending on the direction of motion