Question 19M.3.SL.TZ1.e
| Date | May 2019 | Marks available | [Maximum mark: 2] | Reference code | 19M.3.SL.TZ1.e |
| Level | SL | Paper | 3 | Time zone | TZ1 |
| Command term | Determine | Question number | e | Adapted from | N/A |
The diagram shows space and time axes and ct for an observer at rest with respect to a galaxy. A spacecraft moving through the galaxy has space and time axes ′ and ct′.
A rocket is launched towards the right from the spacecraft when it is at the origin of the axes. This is labelled event 1 on the spacetime diagram. Event 2 is an asteroid exploding at = 100 ly and ct = 20 ly.
Determine, using the diagram, the speed of the spacecraft relative to the galaxy.
[2]
use of tan θ = with the angle between the time axes ✔
to get (0.70 ± 0.02)c ✔
Many candidates determined the speed using the spacetime diagram. However, some experienced difficulties reading accurately from the graph, and though their approach was correct, they failed to gain a result within the accepted range of values.
