Multiple Choice Questions

1. The theory of special relativity

(a) is based on a complex mathematical analysis (b) has not been verified by experiment
(c) does not agree with Newtonian mechanics (d) does not agree with electromagnetic theory
2. An object moves in a direction parallel to its length with a velocity that approaches the velocity of light. The
width of this object, as measured by a stationary observer
(a) approaches infinity (b) approaches zero
(c) increases slightly (d) does not change
3. As the speed of a particle approaches the speed of light, the mass of the particle
(a) increases (b) decreases (c) remains the same (d) approaches zero
4. As the speed of a particle approaches the speed of light, the momentum of the particle
(a) increases (b) decreases (c) remains the same (d) approaches zero
5. A spear is thrown by you at a very high speed. As it passes, you measure its length at one-half its normal length.
From this measurement, you conclude that the moving spear's mass must be
(a) one-half its rest mass (b) twice its rest mass
(c) four times its rest mass (d) none of the given answers
6. Consider a particle of mass m and rest mass m o. Which of the following is the correct expression for the kinetic
energy of such a particle?

(a) (b) (c) (d)

7. Which of the following depends on the observer's frame of reference?
(a) the mass of the proton (b) the length of a meter stick
(c) the half-life of a muon (d) all of the given answers
8. A boat can travel 4.0 m/s in still water. With what speed, relative to the shore, does it move in a river that is
flowing at 1.0 m/s if the boat is heading upstream?
(a) 3.0 m/s (b) 4.1 m/s (c) 4.8 m/s (d) 5.0 m/s
9. A boat can travel 4.0 m/s in still water. With what speed, relative to the shore, does it move in a river that is
flowing at 1.0 m/s if the boat is heading downstream?
(a) 3.0 m/s (b) 4.1 m/s (c) 4.8 m/s (d) 5.0 m/s
10. A boat can travel 4.0 m/s in still water. With what speed, relative to the shore, does it move in a river that is
flowing at 1.0 m/s if the boat is heading straight across the river?
(a) 3.0 m/s (b) 4.1 m/s (c) 4.8 m/s (d) 5.0 m/s
11. How fast should a moving clock travel if it is to be observed by a stationary observer as running at one-half its
normal rate?
(a) 0.50c (b) 0.65c (c) 0.78c (d) 0.87c
12. A spaceship takes a nonstop journey to a planet and returns in 10 hours according to a clock on the spaceship. If
the speed of the spaceship is 0.80c, how much time has elapsed on the Earth?
(a) 3.2 h (b) 7.0 h (c) 15 h (d) 17 h
13. A meter stick is moving toward you with a speed of 0.80c. What is its length?
(a) zero (b) 0.40 m (c) 0.60 m (d) 1.0 m
14. How fast would a rocket ship have to move to contract to half of its proper length (as observed by a stationary
object)?
(a) 0.50c (b) 0.65c (c) 0.78c (d) 0.87c
15. The length of a spaceship is 10 m when it is at rest. If the spaceship travels by you with a speed of 0.70c, what
length does it appear to you?
(a) 5.5 m (b) 7.1 m (c) 12 m (d) 18 m
16. An electron is traveling at 0.85c. What is its mass? (The rest mass is 9.11 x 10-31 kg.)
(a) 1.4 x 10-29 kg (b) 7.2 x 10-30 kg (c) 1.7 x 10-30 kg (d) 2.4 x 10-30 kg
17. What is the speed of a proton if its mass is twice its rest mass?
(a) 0.50c (b) 0.68c (c) 0.73c (d) 0.87c
18. If the velocity of your spaceship goes from 0.3 c to 0.6 c, then your mass will increase by
(a) 19% (b) 38% (c) 100% (d) 200%
19. What is the momentum in kg.m/s of a proton when it is moving with a speed of 0.60c?
(a) 1.2 x 10-19 kg.m/s (b) 1.5 x 10-19 kg.m/s (c) 3.0 x 10-19 kg.m/s (d) 3.8 x 10-19 kg.m/s
20. During a reaction, an element loses 4.8 x 10 kg of mass. How much energy (in Joules) is released?
-28
(a) 4.3 x 10-11 J (b) 1.4 x 10-19 J (c) 1.6 x 10-36 J (d) 5.3 x 10-45 J
21. During a reaction, 1.7 x 10 J of energy is released. What change of mass would cause this?
-4

(a) 5.1 x 10-4 kg (b) 1.5 x 10-13 kg (c) 4.8 x 10-18 kg (d) 1.9 x 10-21 kg
22. How much energy would be released if 2.0 kg of material was lost during a reaction?
(a) 1.8 x 1017 J (b) 1.5 x 1016 J (c) 6.0 x 108 J (d) 4.7 x 10-8 J
23. The amount of energy equivalent to two kilograms of mass at rest is
(a) 18 x 1016 J (b) 3.0 x 108 J (c) 9.0 x 1016 J (d) none of these
24. The kinetic energy of a proton is 80% of its total energy. What is the speed of the proton?
(a) 0.02c (b) 0.87c (c) 0.98c (d) 1.0c
25. The kinetic energy of a proton is 80% of its total energy. What is the momentum in kg.m/s of
the proton?
(a) 5.0 x 10-19 kg.m/s (b) 2.5 x 10-19 kg.m/s (c) 5.0 x 10-18 kg.m/s (d) 2.5 x 10-18 kg.m/s
26. What energy is released (in MeV) during a reaction in which 1.67 x 10-25 kg of material is converted to energy?
(a) 5.0 x 10-14 MeV (b) 4.1 x 10-7 MeV (c) 3.1 x 10-4 MeV (d) 9.4 x 104 MeV
27. How much mass is lost during a reaction in which 1.7 x 10 MeV of energy is released?
8

(a) 1.8 x 10-8 kg (b) 5.7 x 10-9 kg (c) 1.9 x 10-17 kg (d) 3.0 x 10-22 kg
28. What is the total energy of an electron moving with a speed of 0.95c?
(a) 2.6 x 10-13 J (b) 8.2 x 10-14 J (c) 1.1 x 10-13 J (d) 1.2 x 10-14 J
29. How many joules of energy are required to accelerate one kilogram of mass from rest to a velocity of 0.866 c?
(a) 1.8 x 1017 J (b) 9.0 x 1016 J (c) 3.0 x 103 J (d) none of these
30. In a nuclear plant, 10 J of energy is available from mass conversion. How much mass was lost?
17

(a) 0.1 kg (b) 1 kg (c) 10 kg (d) 100 kg

31. An electron is accelerated through 100 kV. By what factor has its mass increased with respect to its rest mass?
(a) 1.20 (b) 1.55 (c) 4.25 (d) 8.00
32. You are in a rocket traveling away from the Sun at 0.95c. You measure the speed of light from the Sun to be
(a) 0.05c (b) 0.95c (c) 1.0c
(d) cannot be determined without knowing the frequency of the light
33. A fast spaceship is traveling with a speed of 0.80c. How fast would light travel from the headlights of the ship
relative to a stationary observer?
(a) 0.20c (b) 0.80c (c) 1.0c (d) 1.8c
34. The experiment that dispelled the idea that light travels in the ether is called the:
(a) Michelson-Morley experiment (b) Hafele and Keating experiment
(c) Fitzgerald-Kennedy experiment (d) twin paradox
35. The Michelson-Morley experiment was designed to make use of ________ to find the motion of the Earth
relative to the luminiferous ether.
(a) sound waves (b) interference fringes
(c) electromagnetic wind (d) none of the above
36. The speed of light is equal to:
(a) 5.28 x 107 miles per hour (b) one meter per nanosecond
(c) one light-year per year (d) none of the above
37. The observed relativistic length of a super rocket moving by the observer at 0.70 c will be what factor times that
of the measured rocket length if it were at rest?
(a) 0.45 (b) 0.71 (c) 0.82 (d) 1.4
38. The period of a pendulum is 2.0 s in a stationary inertial frame. What is its period when measured by an
observer moving at a speed of 0.60 c with respect to the inertial frame?
(a) 1.2 s (b) 1.6 s (c) 2.5 s (d) 3.3 s
39. A space probe has an 18.0-m length when measured at rest. What length does an observer at rest measure when
the probe is going by at a speed of 0.700 c?
(a) 25.2 m (b) 12.9 m (c) 12.6 m (d) 9.18 m
40. The astronaut whose heart rate on Earth is 60 beats/min increases his velocity to v = 0.80 c. Now what is his
heart rate as measured by an Earth observer?
(a) 36 beats/min (b) 48 beats/min (c) 75 beats/min (d) 100 beats/min
41. A knight on horseback holds a 10-m lance. The horse can run at 0.70 c. (It wins most of its races!) How long
will the lance appear to a person that is standing still on the ground as the horse runs past?
(a) 7.1 m (b) 10 m (c) 14 m (d) 15 m
42. At what speed would a clock have to be moving in order to run at a rate that is one-third the rate of a clock at
rest?
(a) 0.79 c (b) 0.89 c (c) 0.94 c (d) 0.97 c
43. A muon formed high in Earth’s atmosphere travels at a speed 0.990 0 c for a distance (as we see it) of 4600 m
before it decays. How far does the muon travel as measure in its frame?
(a) 4554 m (b) 2596 m (c) 1298 m (d) 649 m
44. A spaceship of triangular shape, having a length twice its width, is capable of relativistic speeds. How fast
would it have to move so that to a stationary observer its length would equal its width?
(a) 0.500 c (b) 0.750 c (c) 0.866 c (d) Not possible
45. An electron of mass 9.11 x 10-31 kg moves with a speed of 0.600 c. What is its momentum?
(a) 1.34 x 10-22 kg×m/s (b) 2.05 x 10-22 kg×m/s
(c) 4.12 x 10 kg×m/s
-22
(d) 6.03 x 10-22 kg×m/s
46. Including relativistic effects, doubling the speed of an object:
(a) doubles its momentum (b) more than doubles its momentum
(c) less than doubles its momentum (d) has no effect on its momentum
47. At what speed is the momentum of an object double that found classically?
(a) c/2 (b) 3c/4 (c) 0.866c (d) 2c
48. An object moves by an observer at 0.500 c (1/2 the speed of light). The total energy of the object will be what
factor times that of the rest energy?
(a) 0.600 (b) 0.970 (c) 1.15 (d) 1.67
49. What is the total energy of a proton moving at a speed of 2.00 x 108 m/s?
(a) 1.11 x 10-27 J (b) 2.24 x 10-27 J (c) 2.02 x 10-10 J (d) 2.70 x 10-10 J
50. What is the relativistic kinetic energy of an electron moving at a speed of 1.50 x 108 m/s
(a) 1.27 x 10-14 J (b) 7.10 x 10-14 J (c) 9.47 x 10-14 J (d) 11.6 x 10-14 J
51. A nuclear reaction, which gives off a total of 1.0 x 10 J of energy, expends how much mass in the process?
17

(a) 11 kg (b) 1.1 kg (c) 0.11 kg (d) 90 kg

52. A proton with mass 1.67 x 10-27 kg moves with a speed of 0.600 c in an accelerator. What is its kinetic energy?
(a) 7.52 x 10-11 J (b) 9.02 x 10-11 J (c) 3.76 x 10-11 J (d) 1.88 x 10-10 J
53. A proton with mass 1.67 x 10 kg moves in an accelerator with speed of 0.850 c. What is its kinetic energy?
-27

(a) 1.00 x 10-10 J (b) 1.35 x 10-10 J (c) 2.51 x 10-10 J (d) 3.70 x 10-10 J
54. An electron of mass 9.11 x 10-31 kg moves with a speed of 0.600 c. What is its total energy?
(a) 4.80 x 10-14 J (b) 7.30 x 10-14 J (c) 9.20 x 10-14 J (d) 10.2 x 10-14 J
55. An electron of mass 9.11 x 10 kg moves with a speed of 0.600 c. What is its kinetic energy?
-31

(a) 2.05 x 10-14 J (b) 3.90 x 10-14 J (c) 4.74 x 10-14 J (d) 6.22 x 10-14 J
56. At what speed must an object be moving so that it has a kinetic energy 1.5 times rest energy
(a) 1.91 x 108 m/s (b) 2.52 x 108 m/s (c) 2.75 x 108 m/s (d) 2.90 x 108 m/s
57. Suppose an object whose mass is m is moving with a speed of 0.8 c. Which is the correct expression for its
kinetic energy?
(a) K = mv2/2 (b) K = gmc2 (c) K = (g - 1)mc2 (d) Answers a and c are both
correct.
58. The mass of a proton at rest is m. If the proton is moving so fast that its total energy is three times its rest
energy, then what is the kinetic energy of the proton?
(a) mc2 (b) 2mc2 (c) 3mc2 (d) 4mc2
59. A spaceship of mass 10 kg is to be accelerated to 0.80 c. How much energy does this require?
6

(a) 2.5 x 1023 J (b) 1.5 x 1023 J (c) 7.2 x 1022 J (d) 6.0 x 1022 J
60. A satellite is powered by a small nuclear generator that puts out 15 W. How much matter is converted into
energy over the 10 year life span of the generator?
(a) 53 μg (b) 53 g (c) 16 g (d) 16 kg
61. Two events occur 100m apart with an intervening time interval of 0.60 μs. The speed of a reference frame in
which they occur at the same coordinate is:
(a) 0 (b) 0.25c (c) 0.56c (d) 1.1c
62. Light from some stars shows an apparent change in frequency because of:
(a) interference (b) refraction by layers of air
(c) diffraction (d) relative motion
63. A source at rest emits light of wavelength 500 nm. When it is moving at 0.90c toward an observer, the observer
detects light of wavelength:
(a) 26nm (b) 115nm (c) 500nm (d) 2200nm
64. A particle with rest mass m moves with speed 0.6c. Its kinetic energy is:
(a) 0.18mc2 (b) 0.22mc2 (c) 0.25mc2 (d) mc2
65. If the mass of a particle is zero its speed must be:
(a) c (b) infinite (c) 0 (d) any speed less than c
66. According to relativity theory a particle of mass m with a momentum of 2mc has a speed of:
(a) 2c (b) 4c (c) c (d) 0.89c
__________________________ Answer Key _________________________
1. (c) 2. (d) 3. (a) 4. (a) 5. (b) 6. (c) 7. (d) 8. (a) 9. (d) 10. (b)
11. (d) 12. (d) 13. (c) 14. (d) 15. (b) 16. (c) 17. (d) 18. (a) 19. (d) 20. (a)
21. (d) 22. (a) 23. (a) 24. (c) 25. (d) 26. (d) 27. (d) 28. (a) 29. (b) 30. (a)
31. (a) 32. (c) 33. (c) 34. (a) 35. (b) 36. (c) 37. (b) 38. (c) 39. (b) 40. (a)
41. (a) 42. (c) 43. (d) 44. (c) 45. (b) 46. (b) 47. (c) 48. (c) 49. (c) 50. (a)
51. (b) 52. (c) 53. (b) 54. (d) 55. (a) 56. (c) 57. (c) 58. (b) 59. (d) 60. (a)
61. (c) 62. (d) 63. (b) 64. (c) 65. (a) (66). (d)