St. Andrews Scots Sr. Sec.

School
9th Avenue, I.P. Extension, Patparganj, Delhi – 110092
Session: 2023-2024 - Notes

Class:IX Subject:English Topic: Beehive: A Truly Beautiful Mind

Answer these questions-

Q1) What did Einstein call his desk drawer at the patent office? Why?

Ans. Einstein worked as a technical expert in the patent office in Bern. He called his desk drawer
at the patent office the, “bureau of theoretical physics!” He called it so because while he was
assessing other people’s inventions, he was simultaneously developing own ideas in secret.

Q2) How did Einstein react to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

Ans. Einstein was shocked, grieved, and shaken by the bombing of Japan, and the extent of
destruction. The letter to Roosevelt had the undesired effect of America bombing the cities of
Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. He therefore, urged the United Nations to make a
world government. This did not have any impact. But over the decade, he travelled worldwide,
campaigning for peace and democracy and an end to the arms race.

Q3) How did Einstein’s private life unfold after he completed his studies?

Ans. Einstein met Mileva at a university in Zurich. He wanted to marry her but his mother was
against the idea. She did not like the alliance because Mileva was three years senior and found
her too intelligent to be a housewife. They however, married in 1903 and had two sons. After a
few years, their marriage faltered. They were finally divorced in 1919 and the same year, he
married his cousin Elsa.

Q4) What is Einstein’s special theory of relativity?

Ans. According to Einstein’s special theory of relativity, time and distance are not absolute.
From this, followed the world’s most famous formula which describes the relationship between
mass and energy. E = mc2

Q5) What was Einstein’s contribution to the knowledge of science? Which values in his
character made him a ‘global citizen’?

Ans. Albert Einstein worked on his ideas about relativity and in 1905, he published his ‘Special
Theory of Relativity’, according to which time and distance are not absolute. His theory about
the relationship between mass and energy was developed into the famous formula E = mc², and
this equation made him a renowned scientist.

Einstein earned international acclaim with the publication of his General Theory of Relativity
which enabled him to calculate in advance the extent of the reflection of light from fixed stars
as it passed through the gravitational field of the sun. The Theory was declared as ‘a scientific
revolution’ by the newspapers. For his contribution to the development of science, Einstein was
awarded the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921.

After this, a number of honours were bestowed upon him. He was against arms build- up. He
advocated peace and democracy in the world. He did not want that his invention should be
misused. He thought of humanity, of world peace and democracy. All these values in his
character made him a global citizen.