Class 9 English Chapter 4 Question Answers - A Truly Beautiful Mind

Q1. What did Einstein’s mother think him to be? Why?
Ans. Einstein’s mother thought him to be a ‘freak’ or someone with an unusual physical abnormality or behavioural problem. She thought of him as a freak because his head seemed too large to her. This made him look different from the other children of his age.

Q2. Einstein showed no early signs of his genius one day. Comment.

Ans: As a child, Einstein had a large head and did not start to speak till he was two-and-a-half years old. Even when he did start speaking he uttered everything twice. He did not interact well with other children and always played alone. All this showed the absence of genius. 

Q3. What did Einstein’s playmates call him? Why?

Ans: Einstein’s playmates called him ‘Brother Boring’ as he could not mix up with other children. He did not find their games interesting nor did he know how to interact with other children. Also, he did not talk till he was two-and-a-half years old, and even then he repeated each word twice. This made his company boring to his playmates.  

Q5. Why does the world remember Einstein as a “world citizen”? 

Ans: The world remembers Einstein as a world citizen because, towards the latter part of his life, he strived for the peace and well-being of the entire world and not just his own country. He was no longer solely a scientific genius but a visionary as well, who felt that the solution to enmity between countries was a world government.

Q6. What kind of toys attracted the attention of Einstein when he was a child? Why? 

Ans: Einstein could not enjoy the company of playmates because of his introverted nature. Instead, as a child, he was attracted only by mechanical toys. It showed his scientific temperament since mechanical toys work on some kind of scientific principles.

Q7. Why did Einstein try to look for wheels on the body of his newlyborn sister? 

Ans: Einstein was much too interested in mechanical toys and had scientific tendencies. When his sister was born, he thought her to be a new toy; that is why he tried to search for wheels on her body.

Q8. What was the opinion of the school headmaster about Einstein?

Ans: The school headmaster considered Einstein to be a good-for-nothing boy. He thought that Einstein would never succeed in any profession. Therefore, the choice of profession would not make any difference in the results of his efforts.

Q9. Which musical instrument did Einstein begin to learn? Why?
Ans: Einstein began to learn to play the violin at the young age of six. He kept this interest alive throughout his life and became a gifted amateur violinist. He began learning the violin because his mother wanted him to.

Q10. How did Einstein perform in various subjects while studying in Munich?
Ans: As a young child, Einstein was very slow, still while studying in Munich, he showed great progress in almost all the subjects and scored very good marks. He showed a special interest in Physics and Mathematics.

Q11. Why did Einstein leave school in Munich?
Ans: Einstein left the school in Munich because of the stifling environment that suppressed his scientifically curious mind. The excessively stern discipline and rigid rules in that school led to frequent clashes with his teachers. He thus began to feel that such a place was inappropriate for a liberal person like him.

Q12. Why did Einstein shift to Switzerland to continue his education? 
Ans: Einstein shifted to the German-speaking part of Switzerland to continue his education because he had left his school in Munich midway. This new place was more liberal than Munich and Einstein’s curious and free temperament created a favourable environment over here.

Q13. Why did Einstein see an ally in Mileva Maric?
Ans: Einstein saw an ally in his Serbian fellow student Mileva Maric because, like him, she too was against the Philistines – the people who have disregard for art and culture. As both shared similar tastes, Einstein developed a liking for her and they both fell in love.

Q14. What did Einstein call his desk drawer at the patent office? Why?
Ans:  Einstein jokingly called his desk drawer at the patent office as “Bureau of Theoretical Physics”. He did so because his office job required him to assess the inventions of other people while he secretly developed his ideas regarding his keen interest in Physics.

Q15. Why did Einstein’s mother not want him to marry Mileva? 
Ans: There were two reasons for Einstein’s mother not wanting him to marry Mileva: 

• Firstly, the girl was three years older than Einstein.
• Secondly, she was much too intelligent – ‘a book’ just like him, in his mother’s opinion.
  
  

Q16. Why did Einstein’s marriage with Mileva not survive long? 
Ans: Although Einstein and Mileva had been in love, still their marriage did not survive long because Mileva gradually lost her intellectual vigour and aspirations. She became a frustrated housewife. There were frequent scuffles between the couple which resulted in their ultimate divorce in 1919.

Q17. What was the new personal chapter in Einstein’s life? How did it coincide with his fame?

“Einstein’s new personal chapter coincided with his rise to world fame”. What new personal chapter in Einstein’s life is the author talking about here? 
Ans: The new personal chapter in Einstein’s life was his marriage to his cousin Elsa in the year 1919 immediately after his divorce from Mileva. This chapter coincided with his rise to world fame when his paper on General Theory of Relativity, published in 1915, was found to be accurate due to the proof that came through the eclipse of the sun in 1919.

Q18. When and for what did Einstein gain international fame?
Ans: Einstein gained international fame when his paper on the General Theory of Relativity was found to be accurate in 1919. As per this theory, the calculations made by Einstein in advance about the deflection of light in the solar gravitational field during the eclipse were proven true. This theory was treated as “a scientific revolution.”

Q19. How was Einstein honoured for his achievements?
Ans: Honours came pouring in for Einstein after his theories proved him to be a scientist with exceptional abilities. He was awarded the prestigious Nobel Prize for Physics in 1921. Honours and invitations were conferred on him from all over the world. The newspapers too applauded his genius.

Q20. Why did Einstein leave Germany and emigrate to America?
Ans: Einstein had always been a lover of freedom and liberal ideas. The Nazi government, which came to power in 1933, was very suppressive and autocratic. Therefore, Einstein left Germany and emigrated to America.

Q21. Why did the discovery of nuclear fission in Berlin disturb the American physicists?

‘The discovery of nuclear fission in Berlin had American physicists in an uproar”. Why?

Ans: The American physicists were disturbed by the discovery of nuclear fission in Berlin because they were afraid that Germany would make an atom bomb and use it for destructive purposes.

Q22. Why did Einstein write a letter to Franklin Roosevelt?

Ans: Einstein wrote to the American president, Roosevelt, because he wanted to forewarn him regarding the massive destructive power of the atomic bomb which the Germans were expected to build after the discovery of nuclear fission. If dropped on a port, the bomb could destroy the whole port as well as the area around it.

Q24. How did Einstein react to the bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by America? 
Ans: Einstein was completely shaken by the immense destruction caused due to the bombing of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by America. As a reaction to this tragic event, he wrote a letter to the United Nations proposing the establishment of a world government that could counter such fierce enmity among nations.