Theme A: Space, time and motion

IB Physics A.5 Galilean and special relativity: practice questions and video explanations

Reference frames, the postulates of special relativity and their consequences: Lorentz transformations, time dilation, length contraction and spacetime diagrams.

HL onlyFree to practise

What you need to know for A.5 Galilean and special relativity

  • Apply Galilean transformations and explain why they fail at high speed
  • State the two postulates of special relativity
  • Use Lorentz transformations, time dilation and length contraction
  • Explain the relativity of simultaneity and the invariant spacetime interval
  • Draw and interpret spacetime (Minkowski) diagrams, including muon decay evidence

A.5 Galilean and special relativity questions in the question bank

Exam-style questions
25
Multiple choice (Paper 1A style)
21
Structured (Paper 1B and 2 style)
4
Free to try
19

Every question has a mark scheme. Multiple-choice answers are marked instantly, and for structured questions you open the mark scheme part by part and award yourself the marks you earned. Most questions also have a step-by-step video explanation presented by an IB teacher or a former IB student.

Practise A.5 (HL)

More from theme A: Space, time and motion

Full practice papers

When you have practised by topic, sit a full SL or HL mock exam with Paper 1A, Paper 1B and Paper 2, or see every IB Physics topic.