KNTV PHILOSOPHY

ALBERT EINSTEIN

ACTIVITIES

Before watching the programme

Establish what students already know about Einstein. They can research more about Einstein's life and ideas by using an encyclopaedia, text book, this website or other websites (see Find out more).

After watching the programme

Pupils can work through the student worksheet, which contains programme-related questions.

Worksheet for students (questions only):
PDF, 30KB
Word document, 30KB

Worksheet for teachers (questions and answers):
PDF, 54KB
Word document, 31KB

Questions and answers are also given below:

Programme-related questions (and answers)

1. What country did Einstein come from, and when was he alive?

(Germany, 1879-1955.)

2. Why is no one allowed to use Einstein's name or face on a product without permission?

(Einstein's name and face are both registered trademarks.)

3. Name three of Einstein's major discoveries.

(Theory of relativity; Theory of time travel; Theory that smallest things contain massive energy: energy = mass x the speed of light squared, or e=mc2.)

4. When we 'stand still', what movement is really taking place?

(The Earth is rotating on its axis at 1,000 miles per hour, and is also moving around the sun at 67,000 miles per hour.)

5. How did Einstein avoid being called up for military service?

(He had flat feet.)

6. Name two inventions that Einstein was involved with that were concerned with travel.

(A compass for submarines, and better wings for airplanes.)

7. Did Einstein care about his appearance?

(No, he wore the same clothes day in, day out.)

8. What job was offered to Einstein in 1952, because he was so widely respected?

(President of Israel. He refused.)

9. What made Einstein's brain different from other people's?

(It was bigger, and the parietal lobe, which governs intelligence, was larger than normal. It was also missing part of a region concerned with reading, writing and speech.)

10. Which of Einstein's theories was used destructively?

(His work on the atom led to the development of the first nuclear weapon.)

11. Name two 20th-century theories that stemmed from Einstein's original work.

(The Big Bang theory, and string theory.)

12. List some everyday products that tap into Einstein's original ideas.

(TV, remote controls, flash cameras, toothpaste, shaving cream.)

Discussion questions

Do you think Einstein, a pacifist, should have felt guilty because his discovery – that huge amounts of energy could be released from a tiny atom – eventually led to other scientists creating the atomic bomb?

Einstein said of the atomic bomb, 'If I'd known they were going to do this, I'd have become a shoemaker!' How might the world be different today, if Einstein had decided not to pursue his ideas?