Choose the BEST answer to the following:At very high

What Einstein discovered about space and time is that they (a) are separate entities. (b) are parts of one whole. (c) follow an inverse-square law. (d) are special to space travelers.

In his special theory of relativity, Einstein stated that the laws of physics are (a) different in different situations. (b) common sense applied to microscopic and macroscopic things. (c) the same in all frames of reference. (d) the same in all uniformly moving frames of reference.

Einstein’s second postulate tells us that the speed of light (a) depends on one’s frame of reference. (b) is a constant in all frames of reference. (c) provides accurate clocks. (d) slows in a transparent medium.

If you travel at high speed, then compared with your friends who “stay at home,” you are (a) older. (b) younger. (c) neither younger nor older. (d) longer.

Choose the best answer to each of the following: When we speak of time dilation, we mean that time (a) compresses with speed. (b) stretches with speed. (c) is a constant at all speeds. (d) is related to space.

Clocks on a fast-moving spaceship whizzing past Earth appear to run slow when viewed from (a) inside the spaceship. (b) Earth. (c) Both of these. (d) Neither of these.

Choose the best answer to each of the following: If you were to travel at a speed close to the speed of light, you could notice that your own (a) mass changes. (b) pulse decreases. (c) Both of these. (d) Neither of these.

As a blinking light source approaching you gains speed, you see the frequency of flashes (a) increase. (b) decrease. (c) remain unchanged. (d) None of these.

Choose the best answer to each of the following: At very high speeds, an object appears to an observer at rest to be (a) shorter in the direction of travel. (b) shrunken in all directions. (c) shorter in the direction perpendicular to travel. (d) longer in all directions.

Compared with the Newtonian momentum \(p=m v\), the momentum of an object traveling at high speed is (a) greater. (b) less. (c) the same. (d) dependent on rest mass.

Relativity equations for time, length, and momentum hold true for (a) everyday low speeds. (b) relativistic speeds. (c) Both of these. (d) Neither of these.

Choose the best answer to each of the following: To say that \(E=m c^{2}\) is to say that energy (a) increases as the speed of light squared. (b) is twice as great as the speed of light. (c) and mass are equivalent. (d) equals mass traveling at the speed of light squared.

According to the correspondence principle, (a) new theory must agree with old theory where they overlap. (b) Newton’s mechanics is as valid as Einstein’s mechanics. (c) relativity equations apply to high speeds while Newton’s equations apply to low speeds. (d) special relativity and general relativity are two sides of the same coin.

Things that are equivalent according to the equivalence principle are (a) space and time. (b) a traveling twin and a stay-at-home twin. (c) gravity and acceleration. (d) mass and energy.

Choose the best answer to each of the following: According to general relativity, (a) mass distorts spacetime. (b) gravity affects clocks. (c) light can’t escape from a black hole. (d) All of these.

Choose the best answer to each of the following: According to four-dimensional geometry, the angles of a triangle add to \(180^{\circ}\) (a) always. (b) sometimes. (c) never. (d) on planet Earth only.

General relativity predicts that (a) light leaving the Sun is slowed by gravity. (b) light passing the Sun is deflected. (c) a clock on the Sun’s surface runs faster than on Earth. (d) All of these.

If a star that is 20 light-years from Earth explodes, gravitational waves from the explosion would reach Earth in (a) less than 20 years. (b) 20 years. (c) more than 20 years. (d) None of these.