Special Relativity Worksheet

1. A spaceship is travelling at 0.7c on a trip to the Andromeda galaxy and back. The ship is gone for 25 Earth years. How many years have passed on the ship?

2. A 16 year old girl sends her 48 year-old parents on a vacation trip to the centre of the Universe. When they return, the parents have aged 10 years, and the girl is the same age as her parents. How fast was the ship going?

3. A spaceship passes you at 0.95c. You note its length to be 80.0 m. How long is it when at rest?

4. The starship Voyager at rest has a length of 120m and a mass of 1.3 x 106 kg. When it is travelling at 2.88 x 108 m/s

a. what is its length according to a stationary observer?

b. what is its mass according to a stationary observer?

5. In order to avoid detection by the Borg, the starship Enterprise must make itself appear to be less than 25m long. If the rest length of the Enterprise is 420m, how fast must it be travelling?

6. At what speed will a 2.0 kg object have a mass of 6.0 kg? 7. An astronaut travels at 0.93c. As one hour passes for her how much time passes for an observer on earth?

8. How much energy (in joules)would be generated if a physics student (mass = 62 kg) could be completely turned into energy? (E = mc2)

9. A nuclear power plant is fueled by 2500 kg of uranium. The plant produces 5GW of power for 25 years, and then the plant is shut down for refueling. How much uranium will be left?

10. If you were traveling at 0.5c away from the earth would you notice a change in your heartbeat? Would your height, mass, or waistline change? How would observers on earth describe your height, mass, and waistline?

11. Do mass increase, time dilation, and length contraction occur at normal speeds (~100 mph)? Explain. Assume a speed of 100 miles per hour and calculate the percent change in mass, time, and length.