Student Name: ____________________________________________________________

PHYSICS 2017
Unit 3
Key Topic Test 6 – Einstein’s theory of special relativity

Recommended writing time*: 45 minutes

Total number of marks available: 45 marks

QUESTION BOOK

* The recommended writing time is a guide to the time students should take to complete this
test. Teachers may wish to alter this time and can do so at their own discretion.

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Conditions and restrictions

• Students are permitted to bring into the room for this test: pens, pencils, highlighters,
erasers, sharpeners, ruler and an approved scientific calculator.
• Students may bring to the test an A4 sheet of notes. The A4 sheet may be annotated on both
sides.
• Students are NOT permitted to bring into the room for this test: blank sheets of paper and/or
white out liquid/tape.
Materials supplied
• Question and answer book of 13 pages.
• Formula and Data sheet.
Instructions
• Print your name in the space provided on the top of the front page.
• All written responses must be in English.

Students are NOT permitted to bring mobile phones and/or any other unauthorised
electronic communication devices into the room for this test.

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SECTION A – Multiple-choice questions

Instructions for Section A

Section A consists of 8 multiple-choice questions. Choose the response that is correct or
that best answers the question. Write the letter corresponding to your chosen answer in the
box at the end of each question.
• A correct answer is worth 2 marks, an incorrect answer scores 0.
• Marks will not be deducted for incorrect answers.
• No marks will be given if more than one answer is given for any question.

Question 1

Which one of the following situations would NOT be suitable for confirming Newton’s Laws of
Motion?

A. Travelling through deep space at a constant speed of 0.95c.

B. At rest in a craft in deep space.
C. Inside the shell of a rotating craft in deep space (radius of 100 m, period of rotation of 4 sec.)
D. In space travelling at a constant speed of 0.1c.

(2 marks)

Question 2

Which one of the following best describes the term proper time?

A. The time as measured by an atomic clock.

B. The time measured by any observer at the same location as an event.
C. The time measured at rest relative to an event.
D. The time measured whilst moving at a constant speed away from an event.

(2 marks)

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Question 3

An observer approaching a field of dimensions 400 x 400 m from the north with a  value of 1.2
would observe the field to be closest to which one of the following dimensions? Use the figure
below to aid your decision.

b
a

A. a = 333 m, b = 333 m
B. a = 400 m, b = 333 m
C. a = 400 m, b = 400 m
D. a = 400 m, b = 480 m

(2 marks)

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The following information applies to Questions 4 to 7.

Two asteroids (Xenon and Yammer) are moving towards an observer on Planet Zephod, as
shown in the following figure. Xenon is moving at 0.6c and Yammer 0.4c, both relative to
Zephod. At a pre-determined time, when both asteroids are exactly 2.6 light years from Zephod,
they emit a burst of electromagnetic radiation as a warning signal to the observer on Zephod.

Zephod

0.4c
0.6c
Both 2.6 light years
from Zephod.
Xenon
Not to scale Yammer

Question 4

From the point of view of the observer, which one of the following statements is correct?

A. The warning messages would arrive at the same time.

B. The warning message from Xenon would arrive first.
C. The warning message from Yammer would arrive first.
D. Both asteroids would beat the warning message to Planet Zephod.

(2 marks)
Question 5

From the point of view of a Zephod observer. Which one of the following is closest to the time
taken for the signal from Xenon to arrive at Zephod?

A. 1.25 years
B. 2.08 years
C. 2.60 years
D. 3.25 years

(2 marks)

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Question 6

According to a hitchhiker taking measurements aboard asteroid Xenon, what is the distance from
Xenon to Zephod?

A. 1.25 light years

B. 2.08 light years
C. 2.60 light years
D. 3.25 light years

(2 marks)

Question 7

According to a hitchhiker taking measurements aboard asteroid Xenon, what is the time elapsed
from the point shown in the Figure to its arrival at Zephod?

A. 3.47 years
B. 2.08 years
C. 2.60 years
D. 4.33 years

(2 marks)
Question 8

Which one of the following statements was particularly inconsistent with Einstein’s second
postulate?

A. A net force on an object produces an acceleration.

B. There is no frame of reference in which there is an absolute zero of velocity.
C. The principle of relativity said that the speed of light should be independent on the frequency
of the light.
D. The principle of relativity said that the speed of light should depend on the speed of the
observer.

(2 marks)

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SECTION B – Short-answer questions

Instructions for Section B

Section B consists of 3 questions. Answer all questions in the spaces provided.
• Your answers should be expressed correctly using appropriate physics terms.
• Numerical answers should be calculated fully and expressed with the appropriate
number of significant figures.
• Where an answer box has a unit printed in it, give your answer in that unit.
• In questions where more than one mark is available, appropriate working should be
shown.

Question 1 (15 marks)

As shown below, there is a light clock which has a height of L = 5 m, between the mirror and
sensor. Relative to a “stationary” observer, Peter, on the ground on earth, a super train is
travelling at 95% of the speed of light ( ). Lisa and the light clock are on a
super train. One tick is the time for light to go from the source to the mirror and then back to the
sensor.

a. How far does the light flash travel in Lisa’s frame of reference in one tick?

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m
1 mark

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b. What is the tick time, , for the clock in Lisa’s frame? Give your answer correct to three
significant figures.

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s
2 marks

Because the light takes a zig-zag path in Peter’s frame, he sees the clock ticking at a slower rate.
The path Peter sees is shown below where is the tick time for the clock in Peter’s frame.

c. In terms of c, L and , what is the length of the zig path that the flash travels in one tick
in Peter’s frame?

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4 marks

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d. Because the height of the light clock is 5 m, find the value of , the tick time of the
clock in Peter’s frame. Give your answer correct to three significant figures.

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s
4 marks

e. Find the ratio of .

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:
2 marks

f. Find the value of the Lorentz factor for this situation.

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2 marks

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Question 2 (5 marks)

A space shuttle travels at m s-1. Imagine that as it travels north-south, it is to take a

photograph of Australia, which is close to 3900 km long (North to South) and 4100 km wide.
Because of its speed, the space camera will see everything on Earth slightly contracted.

a. About how much less than 3900 km long will Australia appear to be in this photograph?

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km
3 marks

b. Will the east-south dimension of Australia be smaller as well? Explain.

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2 marks

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Question 3 (9 marks)

A space migrant travels from Mars to the star Melga at 99% of the speed of light. An observer on
Mars sees the migrant’s clock slow down by a factor of .

a. Find the value of the factor . Give your answer correct to three significant figures.

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2 marks

b. Will the migrant see his clock slowing down too? Explain.

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2 marks

c. Melga is about 16 light-years from Mars, so in the observer’s frame of reference it takes
light from Melga 16 years to reach Mars. According to the observer, how long will it take
the migrant to reach Melga, in years? Give your answer correct to two decimal places.

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years
2 marks

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d. How long will the migrant find that it takes to travel to Melga? Give your answer correct
to two decimal places.

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years
3 marks

END OF KEY TOPIC TEST

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Physics Unit 3 – Formula and Data Sheet

1 velocity

2 Lorentz factor
√

3 time dilation

4 length contraction

5 speed of light

Prefixes/Units
p = pico = 10-12
n = nano = 10-9
µ = micro = 10-6
m = milli = 10-3
k = kilo = 103
M = mega = 106
G = giga = 109
t = tonne = 103 kg

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