Time dilation

High school (ages 12+)
Science & Technology

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Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/time-dilation

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the velocity time dilation formula?Δt' = γΔt, where γ = 1 / sqrt(1 - v²/c²)
2. What is the gravitational time dilation?Time passes slower in stronger gravitational fields
3. Why does a moving clock run slower?When something moves very fast, close to the speed of light, its clock ticks slower compared to a clock that stays still. This happens because of the Lorentz factor from Einstein’s special relativity.
4. How does gravity make time slower?Near a big mass, like Earth, gravity bends space and makes time go slower. Clocks that are closer to the mass tick a little slower than clocks that are farther away.

Frame of Reference: A coordinate system used to describe the position and motion of objects.
Spacetime: A unified four-dimensional continuum combining three dimensions of space and one of time.
Lorentz Factor: A factor in special relativity that quantifies how measurements of time and length change when an object moves at relativistic speeds.