SPECIAL RELATIVITY WORKSHEET

1. A spaceship travels at v=0.95 c approaching a space station with a light beacon. The station
activates the light beacon when the ship is still a long way away, as shown in the diagram
below.

v=0.95 c

What velocity of the light beam will be measured by the observer in the spaceship? Defend
your answer.

2. An observer on Earth calculates the distance to the star Sirius to be 8.9 Ly. What is the
distance between Earth and Sirius as measured by an observer on a spaceship moving at
0.7c?

3. What is the momentum of an electron traveling at a speed 0.958c? The rest mass of the
electron is 9.11 x 10-31 kg.