Please define in your own words what you understand as "modern physics."



What is the main idea behind classical relativity?
  1. The laws of physics depend on the choice of origin.
  2. The laws of physics depend on the coordinate system.
  3. The laws of physics don't depend on the coordinate system or choice of origin.



An airplane is flying at 500 km/hr in the x-direction (in the frame of reference of the air) in a cross wind blowing in the y-direction at 100 km/hr (relative to the ground). What is the speed of the plane measured in the frame of reference of the ground?
  1. 500 km/hr
  2. 510 km/hr
  3. 600 km/hr
  4. 400 km/hr
  5. none of these



Using the results of classical relativity, consider the speed of a light pulse emitted from a space ship passing the earth at 1/2 the speed of light (1.5 x 108 m/s). If both the ship and the pulse are travelling towards the Earth, how fast would the light beam be predicted to travel relative to the Earth?
  1. 1.5 x 108 m/s
  2. 3.0 x 108 m/s
  3. 4.5 x 108 m/s
  4. 0
  5. none of these



An elevator is rising at a rate of 4.9 m/s. What is the acceleration of someone sitting in the elevator relative to the ground?
  1. 0
  2. 4.9 m/s2
  3. 9.8 m/s2
  4. -4.9 m/s2
  5. -9.8 m/s2



What is the shape of a sphere moving past you in the horizontal direction at close to the speed of light?
  1. the same shape, but larger
  2. the same shape, but smaller
  3. squished vertically
  4. squished horizontally
  5. squished randomly



Imagine Michelson and Morley had set up their apparatus on a space ship travelling towards the earth at half the speed of light (1.5 x 108 m/s). What would be the difference in the speed of light in the direction of the motion of the space ship and perpendicular to that direction?
  1. 0
  2. 1.5 x 108m/s
  3. 3.0 x 108m/s
  4. 4.5 x 108m/s
  5. none of these



In a historically significant particle physics experiment (which we'll talk about later), neutral particles called kaons are observed to fall into two classifications, one set with a short liftime of 9 x 10-11 seconds at rest and another with a much longer lifetime of 5 x 10-8 seconds at rest (500 times as long!). In one experiment, these kaons were created in a reaction where they were travelling close enough to the speed of light so that γ=1000. What was the lifetime of the long-lived kaon as measured in the laboratory?
  1. 5 x 10-5 sec
  2. 0.5 sec
  3. 5 x 10-9 sec
  4. 5 x 10-11 sec
  5. none of the above



Jennie is late for work so she jumps into her new ultra-fast cruiser capable of going at 99% of the speed of light and quickly accelerates up to full speed. Just then, she realizes, to her horror, that she forgot to put her makeup on that morning. Work is 4 x 1011 meters away (as measured in her spaceship frame), but she's worried that the effects of Special Relativity will hinder her ability to look her best. Can she still apply the makeup okay?
  1. Sure. She is in an inertial frame and the laws of physics won't change there.
  2. Nope! Her face will be so length-contracted she won't have a chance.
  3. Nope! The time inside the space ship will be so dilated that she won't have any time to get ready.
  4. Easily! The clocks outside her space ship will be running so slow that she will have all the time in the world to get ready.
  5. I'm not sure. I'd have to try it to find out.