NCERT Solutions For Class 9

English
Chapter 4- A Truly Beautiful Mind

Before you read

1. Who do you think of when you hear the word ‘genius’? Who is a genius —
what qualities do you think a genius has?
Ans: The word genius makes me think of a person who has high academic
achievements. They introduce humanity to new discoveries and inventions that help
to make our lives easier. A genius person is one, who thinks out of the box and brings
innovative ideas to the table. They are unconventional and often find it difficult to
mix up with the general masses. Their ideas clash with the mainstream views and it
forces masses to outgrow their thinking patterns.

Thinking about the Text

1. Here are some headings for paragraphs in the text. Write the number(s) of
the paragraph(s) for each title against the heading. The first one is done for you.
(i) Einstein’s equation
Ans: 9

(ii) Einstein meets his future wife

Ans: 7

(iii) The making of a violinist

Ans: 3

(iv) Mileva and Einstein's mother

Ans: 10

(v) A letter that launched the arms race

Ans: 15

(vi) A desk drawer full of ideas

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Ans: 8

(vii) Marriage and divorce

Ans: 11

2. Who had these opinions about Einstein?

(i) He was boring.
Ans: In school days, when Einstein was young, his playmates thought that he was
boring.

(ii) He was stupid and would never succeed in life.

Ans: Since Einstein's way of thinking clashed with the methodologies of teaching.
His headmaster concluded that he was stupid and would never succeed at anything.

(iii) He was a freak.

Ans: Similar to the outlook of people in social circles, his mother also thought that
he was a freak.

3. Explain what the reasons for the following are:

(i) Einstein leaving the school in Munich for good.
Ans: After having frequent arguments with the teacher and him feeling left out,
Einstein left the school for good. He felt his ideas and thinking were not of the same
frequency as the people around him.

(ii) Einstein wanting to study in Switzerland rather than in Munich.

Ans: Compared to Munich, Switzerland was a more liberal and advanced city. He
believed that his ideas would find acceptance and space there and he would grow as
a person because of that.

(iii) Einstein seeing in Mileva an ally.

Ans: Mileva shared the same ideas and opinions as Einstein. She disapproved of the
idea of “philistines” or the individuals who did not appreciate literature and music.
After so long he found someone who shared the same ideologies as him. Hence, he
found an ally in her.

(iv) What do these tell you about Einstein?

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Ans: Einstein was a man who had different views than the masses. He valued his
freedom and expression above everything, which often ended him up in conflicts.
He loved literature, culture and music, something the people did not take interest in,
and he felt left out.

4. What did Einstein call his desk drawer at the patent office? Why?
Ans: Einstein kept all his secretly developed ideas in his desk drawer at the patent's
office. These were ideas that came to him, and he wanted to develop them further.
He called the desk drawer the “bureau of theoretical physics.”

5. Why did Einstein write a letter to Franklin Roosevelt?

Ans: After the Nazis came to power in Germany many people had to flee away from
Germany. Einstein too left Germany and emigrated to the United States. After
nuclear fission was discovered in Berlin, nuclear weapons came into the picture.
These were extremely destructive weapons and were a great threat to humanity.
Everyone was scared about the consequences its use would bear. Consequently,
Einstein wrote a letter to Franklin Roosevelt and warned him about the implications
of the use of the atomic bomb and its explosion.

6. How did Einstein react to the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki?

Ans: The bombing disturbed Einstein deeply. Seeing science to be so destructive
and how mankind is using it for ulterior motives, he requested the United Nations to
create a world government that would keep a check on the use of atomic weapons
by the countries.

7. Why does the world remember Einstein as a “world citizen”?

Ans: Einstein always focused on universal peace and brotherhood when he was in
politics. Being a scientist, he was concerned not only about the environmental
implications of it but also politics. He proposed the United Nations to form a world
government that would regulate the use of nuclear weapons across the countries in
the world. He was not only concerned about his country but also about humanity
across the world.

8. Here are some facts from Einstein’s life. Arrange them in chronological
order.
[ ] Einstein publishes his special theory of relativity.

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Ans: 7

[ ] He is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics.

Ans: 9

[ ] Einstein writes a letter to U.S. President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, and warns

against Germany’s building of an atomic bomb.
Ans: 11

[ ] Einstein attends a high school in Munich.

Ans: 2

[ ] Einstein’s family moves to Milan.

Ans: 3

[ ] Einstein was born in the German city of Ulm.

Ans: 1

[ ] Einstein joins a university in Zurich, where he meets Mileva.

Ans: 5

[ ] Einstein dies.
Ans: 12

[ ] He provides a new interpretation of gravity.

Ans: 8

[ ] Tired of the school’s regimentation, Einstein withdraws from school.

Ans: 4

[ ] He works in a patent office as a technical expert.

Ans: 6

[ ] When Hitler comes to power, Einstein leaves Germany for the United States.
Ans: 10

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Thinking about Language

I. Here are some sentences from the story. Choose the word from the brackets
which can be substituted for the italicised words in the sentences.
(i) A few years later, the marriage faltered. (failed, broke, became weak)
Ans: Faltered means to lose strength. So, the correct word is ‘became weak.’

(ii) Einstein was constantly at odds with people at the university. (on bad terms,
in disagreement, unhappy)
Ans: At odds means to not be on the same page with someone. So, the correct option
is ‘in disagreement.’

(iii) The newspapers proclaimed his work as “a scientific revolution.” (declared,

praised, showed)
Ans: Proclaimed means to identify and give recognition. So, the correct option is
‘declared.’

(iv) Einstein got ever more involved in politics, agitating for an end to the arms
build-up. (campaigning, fighting, supporting)
Ans: Agitating means to voice your opinion. So, option ‘campaigning’ is correct.

(v) At the age of 15, Einstein felt so stifled that he left the school for good,
(permanently, for his benefit, for a short time)
Ans: For good means for the benefit. So, option ‘for his benefit’ is the correct one.

(vi) Five years later, the discovery of nuclear fission in Berlin had American
physicists in an uproar. (in a state of commotion, full of criticism, in a desperate
state)
Ans: In an uproar means during a protest. So, the correct option is ‘in a state of
commotion.’

(vii) Science was not the only thing that appealed to the dashing young man
with the walrus moustache. (interested, challenged, worried)
Ans: ‘Appealed’ means to suit one’s taste. So, the correct option is ‘interested.’

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II. Complete the sentences below by filling in the blanks with suitable
participial clauses. The information that has to be used in the phrases is
provided as a sentence in brackets.
1. ___________ the fire fighters finally put out the fire. (They worked round the
clock.)
Ans: Working round the clock

2. She watched the sunset above the mountain, __________.(She noticed the
colours blending softly into one another.)
Ans: noticing the colours blending softly into one another.

3. The excited horse pawed the ground rapidly, _____________. (While it

neighed continually.)
Ans: neighing continuously

4. __________, I found myself in Bangalore, instead of Benaras. (I had taken

the wrong train.)
Ans: Having taken the wrong train,

5. __________, I was desperate to get to the bathroom. (I had not bathed for
two days)
Ans: Having not bathed for two days

6. The stone steps, _____________ needed to be replaced. (They were worn

down).
Ans: being worn down.

7. The actor received hundreds of letters from his fans, ____________. (They
asked him to send them his photograph.)
Ans: asking him to send them his photograph

Writing Newspaper Reports

Here are some notes which you could use to write a report.
21 August 2005 — original handwritten manuscript of Albert Einstein
unearthed — by student Rowdy Boeynik in the University of the Netherlands
— Boeynik researching papers — papers belonging to an old friend of Einstein

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— fingerprints of Einstein on these papers — 16-page document dated 1924 —
Einstein’s work on this last theory — behaviour of atoms at low temperature
— now known as the Bose-Einstein condensation — the manuscript to be kept
at Leyden University where Einstein got the Nobel Prize.
Write a report which has four paragraphs, one each on:
• What was unearthed.
• Who unearthed it and when.
• What the document contained.
• Where it will be kept.

Your report could begin like this:

Student Unearths Einstein Manuscript
21 AUGUST 2005. An original handwritten Albert Einstein manuscript has
been unearthed at a university in the Netherlands...
Ans: Student Unearths Einstein Manuscript
21 August 2005: An original handwritten Albert Einstein manuscript has been
unearthed at the university in the Netherlands. It was discovered by a student named
Rowdy Boeynik in the University of the Netherlands. He was a student of the
archaeological department. The papers belonged to an old friend of Einstein and
further research on them the forensic department found fingerprints of Einstein on
these papers. It is a 16-page document, dated as late as 1924. Einstein worked on the
behaviour of atoms at low temperature during his last theory research. It was known
as Bose-Einstein condensation. The manuscript is planned to be kept as Leyden
University.

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