Department of Education

Region VIII
Schools Division of Tacloban City
District Learning Center IV
LEYTE NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Tacloban City

GROUP ACTIVITY IN GENERAL

PHYSICS II
(WRITTEN REPORT)

Submitted by:
David, Angelika Marie D.
Mañas, Godwin M.
Ogsimer, Neña Grace A.
Caalim, Bon Joshua C.
Ifurong, Vergel S.
San Miguel, Wilma A.
Abrematea, Andy Jork B.
GROUP 3
Grade 12- L. Belardo

Submitted to:
Sir Emmanuel S. Colete
 GROUP ACTIVITY: Video Presentation (8-10 minutes)
WRITTEN REPORT

A. Differentiate inertial and non-inertial reference frames.

A reference frame, also called a frame of reference, is a framework that is used for
the observation and mathematical description of physical phenomena and the formulation
of physical laws, usually consisting of an observer, a coordinate system, and a clock or
clocks assigning times at positions with respect to the coordinate system. There are two
types of reference frames: the inertial reference frame and the non-inertial reference
frame.
Inertial reference frames are reference frames that follow Isaac Newton’s first law
of motion, the Law of Inertia, which states that, “An object will remain at rest or in uniform
motion in a straight line unless acted upon by an external force.” They are either at rest or
moving with a constant or uniform velocity, such as a train moving at constant velocity.
On the other hand, non-inertial reference frames are those that do not obey the
Law of Inertia. They are accelerated or are moving with continually increasing velocity,
either linearly or due to rotation, such as a rotating merry-go-round. Fictitious forces, or
forces that are imagined, arise in this type of reference frame, such as when one feels
pushed into the seat as a car accelerates forward.

B. Discuss the Michelson-Morley experiment.

The Michelson-Morley experiment was an attempt to detect the velocity of the
Earth with respect to the hypothetical luminiferous ether, a medium in space proposed to
carry light waves. It was first performed in Berlin in 1881 by the physicist Albert Michelson
(1852-1931), and was later refined in 1887 by Albert Michelson and Edward Morley
(1838-1923) in the United States.
Michelson and Morley built a Michelson interferometer, a sensitive optical device
that compares the optical path lengths for light moving in two mutually perpendicular
directions, which essentially consists of a light source, a half-silvered glass plate, two
mirrors, and a telescope. The mirrors are placed at right angles to each other and at equal
distance from the glass plate, which is obliquely oriented at an angle of 45° relative to the
two mirrors. In the original device, the mirrors were mounted on a rigid base that rotates
freely on a basin filled with liquid mercury in order to reduce friction.
 Figure 1. Michelson interferometer
Prevailing theories held that ether formed an absolute reference frame with respect
to which the rest of the universe was stationary. It would therefore follow that it should
appear to be moving from the perspective of an observer on the sun-orbiting Earth. As a
result, light would sometimes travel in the same direction of the ether, and others times in
the opposite direction. Thus, the idea was to measure the speed of light in different
directions in order to measure speed of the ether relative to Earth, thus establishing its
existence.
Michelson and Morley were able to measure the speed of light by looking for
interference fringes between the light which had passed through the two perpendicular
arms of their apparatus. These would occur since the light would travel faster along an arm
if oriented in the "same" direction as the ether was moving, and slower if oriented in the
opposite direction. Since the two arms were perpendicular, the only way that light would
travel at the same speed in both arms and therefore arrive simultaneous at the telescope
would be if the instrument were motionless with respect to the ether. If not, the crests and
troughs of the light waves in the two arms would arrive and interfere slightly out of
synchronization, producing a diminution of intensity. The same effect would be achieved
if the arms of the interferometer were not of the same length, but these could be adjusted
accurately by looking for the intensity peak as one arm was moved. Changing the
orientation of the instrument should then show fringes.
Although Michelson and Morley were expecting measuring different speeds of light
in each direction, they found no discernible fringes indicating a different speed in any
orientation or at any position of the Earth in its annual orbit around the Sun.
In 1895, Lorentz concluded that the "null" result obtained by Michelson and Morley
was caused by an effect of contraction made by the ether on their apparatus and introduced

the length contraction equation, , where L is the contracted length, is

the rest length, v is the velocity of the frame of reference, and c is the speed of light.
Although the main interpretation of Lorentz for this equation was rejected later, the
equation is still correct and was the first of a sequence of new equations developed
by Poincaré, Lorentz, and others, resulting in a new branch of physics ultimately brought
to fruition by Albert Einstein on special relativity in 1905. Einstein's idea of space-time
contraction replaced Lorentz's interpretation of the contraction equation, and once and for
all relegated ether to the history books.

C. State the postulates of special relativity.

The theory of special relativity was developed by Albert Einstein in 1905. It
explains how space and time are linked for objects that are moving at a consistent speed in
a straight line. It has two postulates.
The first postulate, referred to as the principle of relativity, states that, “The laws
of physics are same in all inertial frames.” This postulate is related to reference frames,
wherein all velocities are measured relative to some frame of reference. For example, a
car’s motion is measured relative to its starting point or the road it is moving over, a
projectile’s motion is measured relative to the surface it was launched from, and a planet’s
orbit is measured relative to the star it is orbiting around. The simplest frames of reference
are those that are not accelerated and are not rotating. Newton’s first law, the law of inertia,
holds exactly in such a frame.
The second postulate, referred to as the principle of constant of speed of light, states
that, “The speed of light in vacuum is constant and same as observed from all inertial
frames.” This postulate deals with the speed of light. Late in the 19th century, the major
tenets of classical physics were well established. Two of the most important were the laws
of electricity and magnetism and Newton’s laws. In particular, the laws of electricity and
magnetism predict that light travels at c = 3.00 × 108 m/s in a vacuum, but they do not
specify the frame of reference in which light has this speed. Light in a vacuum must always
travel at speed c relative to any observer.

D. Discuss the concepts of the dilation, length contraction, and mass increase.
Time dilation is a phenomenon or two phenomena described by the theory of
relativity. It can be illustrated by supposing that two observers are in motion relative to
each other, and/or differently situated with regard to nearby gravitational masses. The
equation for calculating time dilation is as follows:
t = t0/(1-v2/c2)1/2
where: t = time observed in the other reference frame
t0 = time in observers own frame of reference (rest time)
v = the speed of the moving object
c = the speed of light in a vacuum
Length contraction, according to Hendrik Lorentz, is the physical phenomenon of
a decrease in length detected by an observer in objects that travel at any non-zero velocity
relative to that observer. This contraction, more formally called Lorentz contraction or
Lorentz-Fitzgerald contraction, is usually only noticeable, however, at a substantial
fraction of the speed of light; and the contraction is only in the direction parallel to the
direction in which the observed body is travelling. The equation for calculating the length
as seen by an outside observer is as follows:
L = L0((1 - v2/c2))1/2
where: L = the length measured by the "other" observer
L0 = the length measured by the observers on reference frame
v = the speed of the object
c = the speed of light in a vacuum
Mass increase is associated with speed of light, c, the speed limit of the universe.
This increased effective mass is evident in cyclotrons and other accelerators where the
speed approaches c. The equation for calculating the mass as seen by an outside observer
is as follows:
m = m0/((1 - v2/c2))1/2
where: m0 = the mass measured at rest relative to an observer traveling with the same
velocity as the mass, the "rest mass"
m = the mass measured by the observers on the other reference frame.
v = the speed of the object
c = the speed of light in a vacuum
E. State some consequences of the special theory of relativity.
We observe that in the development of special theory of relativity, frames of
reference in relative motion with a constant speed V have been used. If the
speed V becomes large enough to approach the velocity of light C, then the Galilean's
transformations are found to be noticeably wrong. To correct the state of affairs it will be
necessary to introduce a factor called 'Lorentz Factor' or 'Relativistic factor'. Lorentz Factor

is equal to:

This factor is in fact a measure of departure of Galilean's transformation. If is

much smaller than as it is in our common situations,then is so small that the relativistic
factor is essentially equal to unity. Under these conditions the classical and the relativistic
physics predict nearly identical results. However when V approaches c (e.g.: V = C/5),
Then the Galilean transformation will be incorrect.
Based on these considerations, if we interpret the result of special theory of relativity
we end up in some very interesting consequences. Without going to make actual
mathematical calculation, We may summarize the important consequences of the theory of
special relativity which are as under:
MASS VARIATION
According to the special theory of relativity, the mass of an object in a frame of reference
at rest is called its rest mass mo. if this mass is measured by an observation moving with a
constant speed V relative to the object, then it will not remain constant if the speed V is
comparable to C. The mass m in the moving frame will very according to the mass variation
given by:

This mass variation formula shows that mass changes with the velocity and not in general
a constant nor the same for all observes but it is quantity that:
(a) depend upon the reference frame from which the body is being observed.
(b) is greater than or equal to the rest mass mo when the body is at rest in the frame of
reference from which the body is being observed.
LENGTH CONTRACTION
In the theory of special relativity, it has been found that the measurement of length of a rod
in a stationary frame of reference is not the same when the rod is measured by the observer
in the moving frame of reference with the velocity relative to the rod, provided the
measurement is made along the direction of motion.
Hence, if Lo is the length of rod in the frame at rest, and L is the length of same rod in the
moving frame, then:

Since v/c is less then unity, the length L is less then Lo i.e. there is a contraction in length
along the direction of motion. This is called the Lorentz-Fitzgerald contraction.
above equation tells us that an observer past whom a system is moving with a
speed v measures object in the moving system to be shortened in length along the direction
of motion by a factor:

It is important to note that only the dimension along the line of motion is changed and
there is no change in the other two perpendicular directions.
With the development of special theory of relativity it became apparent that there is no
physical contraction of the moving objects. There is, however, an apparent contraction of
body for an observer where there is a relative motion of the object and the observer. In the
natural sense the observer in moving frame cannot detect the contraction because in this
frame it does not exist; where is in the rest frame, it does exist, but the measuring rod in
the moving system has shrunk too further we must note that for moderate velocities
(v/c<<1) of the objects the contraction in length is negligible as observed in our everyday
observation.
TIME DILATION

Time is regarded as an absolute quantity in classical mechanics whereas in the special

theory of relativity it is considered to be a relative entity based on the measurement of time
in frame of references in relative motion.
The time interval between two events taking place at the same point in space as timed with
a clock at rest with respect to that point is called the proper time interval and is
denoted Dto=To.Time measured with a clock in motion with respect to the events is known
as relativistic time it is represented by Dt=T. Both of the time intervals To & T refer to the
time elapsed between the same pair of events occurring in the two frames moving with a
relative speed v. then, according to special relativity the two times are related by the
formula:

Above equation represents what we call as the time dilation phenomena. According to the
time dilation formula we mean that from the point of view of an observer at rest, the time
of the observer in motion is dilated i.e. the clocks in moving frame run slowly and the

Lorentz factor Gives us the ratio of the rates of clocks for normal speeds,
this factor is so close to unity (1.00) that we are quite unable to detect time dilation effect,
but for speed comparable to the speed of light c the time dilation effect is quite significant.
We can now conclude that for every observer his own clock in his frame of reference run
faster than do any other clocks which are moving relative to him. We may also note that
every observer may consider himself to be at rest and consider all that moves as moving
relative to him. This is actually an outcome of the principle of special relativity stated
earlier: Every observer is equivalent to every other observer.
MASS-ENERGY RELATION
We cannot reach speeds greater than the speed of light by the relativistic addition of
velocities. The equation is how to reconcile with this result of special relativity with
Newton's second law, F=ma? It would be seen that any constant force, no matter how small,
applied for a considerably very long time, should continuously accelerate any mass 'm' at
a rate a=f/m until the speed was arbitrarily very large. Einstein, concluded that energy has
inertia i.e. the more energy a body possess, the more inertia that body will display. Since,
inertia is a property of matter, which is associated with mass. Thus from Einstein's
argument mass is simply a property attributed to the total energy of the body and only the
total energy is required, to know the total mass of the body.Thus, in special theory of
relativity total energy and mass are related by the famous Einstein's equation.
E=mc2
From this relation between mass and energy it has been predicted that any process that
changed the mass by a detectable amount would involve huge amounts of energy. For
example, a mass change of 1.00 gram is equal to an energy change of 9 x 1013 joules.

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