Republic of the Philippines

Laguna State Polytechnic University

Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited

Name: Banayo, Royeth D. Date Submitted: March 25, 2023

Section: BSEd. SCIENCE III-A Subject: Modern Physics

Performance Task

Representations include analogies and their allies, particularly metaphors. According to

Glynn (1991), an analogy is a process for identifying similarities between different concepts; the
familiar concept is called the analog and the unfamiliar one the target. The famous seventeenth-
century astronomer Johannes Kepler (cited in Polya, 1954) once wrote: “And I cherish more than
anything else the Analogies, my most trustworthy masters. They know all the secrets of Nature,
and they ought to be least neglected in Geometry” (p. 12). Given the historical importance of
analogical reasoning in scientific discovery, insights, and explanations, analogies have been used
by textbook authors and classroom teachers to explain science concepts to students. Furthermore,
learning science is the reconstruction of the products of modeling (Justi & Gilbert, 2002), and
analogies are at the heart of modeling.
Teachers’ use of analogies, in one or several forms of representation, has been an
important line of research into teaching and learning of abstract science concepts, and reasoning
and problem solving, and for conceptual change (Dagher, 1995). Analogies and metaphors have
been used in science education as instructional strategies to engender interest, motivation, and
understanding (Harrison & Treagust, 1994; Martins & Ogborn, 1997; Venville &Treagust,
1996).

Create Your Own Analogy

Create your own analogy of special relativity and explain its analogous characteristics to
the concept of relativity. The following are to be submitted:
1. A hand-drawn illustration of the Analogy ( p. 1)
2. 500-word essay explaining the analogy (p. 2 onwards)

Guide questions:
1. How did you come up with the idea of your analogy?
2. How does the concept of special relativity manifested on your analogy? What are the
similar characteristics that can be observed?
3. What is the weakness of your analogy? What makes it inappropriate analogy to special
relativity?
 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited
 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited

Module 1: Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity

Module number one (1) in modern physics class discusses the concept of Einstein's
Special Theory of Relativity. It is subdivided into four parts: The Postulates of Special
Relativity, Consequences of Travelling Approaching the Speed of Light, Concepts/Problems in
Relativistic Velocity, and Concepts and Problems in Relativistic Momentum and Energy.
Specifically, it aims to demonstrate an understanding of basic concepts, theorems, and principles
in modern physics and to solve problems involving physical phenomena following the rules and
laws of modern physics, such as Einstein's special relativity.
Albert Einstein's 1905 theory of special relativity is one of the most influential papers in
the history of physics. Special relativity describes how speed affects matter, time, and space.
Small amounts of mass (m) can be interchanged with vast amounts of energy (E), as defined by
the famous equation E=mc2. In line with this, it helps us understand time and space more.
Furthermore, this theory describes how two observers view each other's motion in situations
where gravity (general theory of relativity) does not play an important role.
The special theory of relativity differs from the general theory of relativity. As mentioned
above, in special relativity, First, there is no "absolute" frame of reference. Every measurement
of an object's velocity, momentum, or time experience always references something else.
Second, the speed of light remains constant regardless of who measures it or how fast the person
measuring it is traveling. Third, nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. Consequently,
general relativity is the primary building block of modern physics. It explains gravity based on
how space can 'curve,' or, to put it more accurately, it associates the force of gravity with the
changing geometry of space-time.
One of the numerous implications of Einstein's theory of special relativity is that time
moves relative to the observer. When an object is in motion, time dilation occurs, meaning it
experiences time more slowly than at rest. For example, imagine a 15-year-old leaves her high
school traveling at 99.5% of the speed of light for five years (from the teenage astronaut's
perspective). When the 15-year-old returned to Earth, she would have aged those five (5) years
she spent traveling. Her classmates, however, would be sixty-five (65) years old-50 years would
have passed on to the much slower-moving planet. 
On the other hand, according to Einstein, we will never know what it is like to travel at
the speed of light since it is impossible to go that fast. However, if an object ever achieved the
speed of light, its mass would become infinite. Similarly, if someone were traveling at that
speed, they would notice a slowing of time. Time would pass more slowly for someone who is
not moving. Their field of vision would be drastically altered, and the world would appear
through a tunnel-shaped window in front of the aircraft they were traveling in. Their sense of
touch is gone, all perception is slow, and they cannot hear anything except the particles near
them because light travels faster than any organism and sounds.
 Republic of the Philippines
Laguna State Polytechnic University
Province of Laguna
ISO 9001:2015 Certified
Level I Institutionally Accredited

Since general theory relativity is concerned with gravity, it opposes the concept of special
relativity, which applies to all physical phenomena in the absence of gravity. 
GUIDE QUESTIONS:
1. How did you come up with the idea of your analogy?
In conducting this activity, I have difficulty constructing an analogy tantamount to the
theory of special relativity. But then, since general relativity and special relativity by Albert
Einstein are used interchangeably, I used to differentiate these concepts in terms of their purpose
and application. In the same manner, for the reader to understand the idea behind special
relativity, I used the concept of time dilation as an example.

2. How does the concept of special relativity manifested on your analogy? What are the
similar characteristics that can be observed?
The concept of special relativity has been manifested in my analogy through employing
the idea behind time dilation. One of the numerous implications of Einstein's theory of special
relativity is that time moves relative to the observer. Time dilation occurs when an object is in
motion, meaning it experiences time more slowly than at rest. It implies that Time dilation is the
stretching of the interval between two events for an observer in an inertial frame moving relative
to the events' rest frame (in which the events occur at the exact location).

3. What is the weakness of your analogy? What makes it inappropriate analogy to special
relativity?
Upon constructing this analogy, its weakness would be the lack of pieces of evidence and
concept concerning special relativity since I only included the time dilation as an example. Time
Dilation is accurate insofar as it tells us the rate at which things happen in one reference frame
relative to another. However, it is based on clock time, which is virtual (making it inappropriate
in relation to special relativity). Real time doesn't, and never will, vary. Things can still happen at
different rates in different reference frames measured in real-time.