UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — The DAILY QUIZ
Q1. Einstein's 1905 paper setting out the special theory of relativity, 'On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies', was first published in which scientific journal?
- A. Annalen der Physik
- B. Nature
- C. Philosophical Magazine
- D. Zeitschrift für Physik
Q2. The 1887 Michelson-Morley experiment depended principally on which one of the following optical instruments?
- A. Interferometer
- B. Spectroscope
- C. Diffraction grating
- D. Photometer
Q3. In the Michelson-Morley interferometer, the split light beams were recombined after travelling along how many mutually perpendicular directions?
- A. Two
- B. Three
- C. Four
- D. Six
Q4. During his 'annus mirabilis' of 1905, how many landmark research papers did Albert Einstein publish in the journal Annalen der Physik?
- A. Three
- B. Four
- C. Five
- D. Six
Q5. Einstein's paper introducing the principle of mass-energy equivalence, 'Does the inertia of a body depend upon its energy content?', was published in which year?
- A. 1905
- B. 1887
- C. 1915
- D. 1921
Q6. The designation of 2005 as the 'World Year of Physics' (International Year of Physics) by the United Nations and UNESCO primarily commemorated which one of the following?
- A. The centenary of Einstein's 1905 'annus mirabilis' papers
- B. The centenary of the Michelson-Morley experiment
- C. The tercentenary of Newton's laws of motion
- D. The centenary of Maxwell's electromagnetic theory
Q7. Which of the following are correctly identified as features of the special theory of relativity (as distinct from the general theory)?
- It is restricted to inertial (non-accelerating) reference frames.
- It was first published in 1905.
- It explains gravity as the curvature of spacetime.
- It is founded on the equivalence principle of gravitation and acceleration.
- A. 1 and 2
- B. 2 and 4
- C. 1, 2 and 3
- D. 3 and 4