Question

Joe looks a bird and says it is moving to the right. Shmo looks at the same bird at the same moment, but he says it is moving to the left. Which is true?

A) Joe and Shmo must be in different reference frames.
B) The bird is actually not moving at all.
C) Joe and Shmo must have the same speed and direction
D) One of them is right and one of them is wrong.

Answer 1

Joe and Shmo must be in different reference frames.

Step-by-step explanation:

The correct answer is A) Joe and Shmo must be in different reference frames. When two observers have different reference frames, they will perceive the motion of an object differently. Observation and perception of motion depends on the reference point from which it is observed. In this case, Joe and Shmo are looking at the bird from different positions or reference frames, causing them to perceive the direction of motion differently.

Answer 2

Joe and Shmo observing a bird moving in different directions implies that they are in different reference frames. The correct understanding of motion in this context is that it is relative and it must be described with respect to a chosen frame of reference.

Step-by-step explanation:

When Joe says the bird is moving to the right and Shmo says it is moving to the left, it indicates that they must be in different reference frames. The motion of an object is always described relative to some chosen frame of reference. Therefore, the perception of movement depends on the observer's point of view. Galileo's principle, which applies to this situation, states that motion must be described relative to a reference frame, and observers in different reference frames moving at constant speeds and directions relative to each other will describe motion differently.

To answer the example of Joe and Shmo observing the bird, the correct answer is (A) Joe and Shmo must be in different reference frames. This scenario is analogous to the example provided where two boats moving in opposite directions pass each other. A person in Boat A and a person in Boat B would describe each other's motion differently due to being in different reference frames.