Suppose one twin takes a ride in a space ship traveling at a very high speed to a distant star and back again, while the other twin remains on Earth. The twin that remained on Earth predicts that the astronaut twin is
A) younger.
B) the same age.
C) older.
D) cannot be determined from the given information

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

According to the theory of relativity, time dilation occurs as velocity increases. The closer an object's velocity is to the speed of light, the slower time will pass for that object relative to a stationary observer. Therefore, the twin traveling in the high-speed spaceship will experience time passing more slowly than the twin who stayed on Earth. As a result, when the traveling twin returns to Earth, they will have aged less than the twin who remained on Earth, making the twin on Earth older than the traveling twin.

Suppose One Twin Takes a Ride in a Space Ship