GRE Physics Domain 7: Special Relativity Welcome to your GRE Physics Domain 7: Special Relativity 1. GRE Physics: Special Relativity What happens to the mass of a particle as it approaches the speed of light? A. It remains constant. B. It approaches zero. C. It increases indefinitely. D. It decreases to half its rest mass. None 2. GRE Physics: Special Relativity What is time dilation in special relativity? A. The decrease in the rate of time as observed in a moving frame of reference. B. The increase in the rate of time as observed in a moving frame of reference. C. The unchanging rate of time regardless of the frame of reference. D. The relative perception of time in different gravitational fields. None 3. GRE Physics: Special Relativity Which of the following best describes the principle of relativity? A. The laws of physics are the same in all inertial frames. B. The speed of light is constant in all frames of reference. C. The laws of physics vary with gravitational fields. D. The speed of light changes with the observer's motion. None 4. GRE Physics: Special Relativity How does the length of an object change as it approaches the speed of light? A. It remains constant. B. It increases. C. It decreases along the direction of motion. D. It decreases perpendicular to the direction of motion. None 5. GRE Physics: Special Relativity What is the relativistic effect observed when an object is moving at a significant fraction of the speed of light? A. Time dilation and mass reduction. B. Time dilation and length contraction. C. Speed increase and mass increase. D. Speed increase and time acceleration. None 6. GRE Physics: Special Relativity In the twin paradox of special relativity, what is the primary reason for the age difference observed between the twins? A. The gravitational time dilation effect. B. The acceleration and deceleration of the traveling twin. C. The constant speed of light in all reference frames. D. The difference in mass between the twins. None 7. GRE Physics: Special Relativity Which of the following scenarios accurately illustrates length contraction? A. A spaceship traveling at near-light speed appears shorter to a stationary observer. B. A stationary object appears longer to a moving observer. C. An object's length increases as its speed decreases. D. Length contraction occurs only at speeds close to the speed of sound. None 8. GRE Physics: Special Relativity How does the relativistic Doppler effect differ from the classical Doppler effect? A. It only applies to light waves, not sound waves. B. It includes both the velocity of the source and the observer. C. It accounts for the time dilation effect. D. It occurs only when the source and observer are moving towards each other. None 9. GRE Physics: Special Relativity What is the significance of the invariant interval in special relativity? A. It is the distance that remains constant between two events in space-time. B. It refers to the constant speed of light in vacuum. C. It is the period during which the laws of physics are invariant. D. It indicates the energy required to accelerate an object to the speed of light. None 10. GRE Physics: Special Relativity In the context of special relativity, what happens to the observed frequency of light from a source moving away from the observer at a significant fraction of the speed of light? A. The frequency increases (blueshift). B. The frequency remains unchanged. C. The frequency decreases (redshift). D. The frequency alternates between increasing and decreasing. None 1 out of 10 Time is Up! Time's up
