Motion

A student moves at a steady speed. He needs $100\ \text{s}$ to complete $160$ paces. Each pace measures $0.80\ \text{m}$. What distance does the student cover in $50\ \text{s}$?

May/June 2015

A student lets a table-tennis ball fall through the air from rest. What happens to the ball’s velocity and acceleration during the first few seconds after it is released?

May/June 2015

A cyclist completes a journey that lasts $25\text{ s}$. The diagram shows how the distance travelled from her starting point changes with time. What is her average speed for the entire journey?

May/June 2015

A car sets off and starts moving. It then increases its speed until it attains a steady speed. It goes on travelling at this steady speed for the remainder of the trip. What happens to the acceleration and what happens to the velocity of the car during the journey?

May/June 2015

A student lets go of a table-tennis ball from rest in air. What happens to the ball’s velocity and to its acceleration during the first few seconds after it is released?

May/June 2015

Fig. 1.1 is a distance-time graph showing cyclists A and B. They set off together in a 500 m race, but they cross the finish line at different times.

May/June 2015

Fig. 9.1 shows a satellite orbiting the Earth.

May/June 2015

In Fig. 11.1, a bungee jumper drops from a bridge over a river. The man begins at position A. The elastic cord first begins to stretch at position C, and he comes to rest for the first time at position D. Fig. 11.2 shows how the man's velocity varies with time $t$.

May/June 2015

A student explores how parachute area changes the time it takes to descend. He trims a square from an A4 sheet of paper to form the parachute, then fastens it to an eraser with four equal-length pieces of thin string, as shown in Fig. 2.1. An A4 sheet of paper is the same size as one page of the examination paper. The student holds the top of the parachute against the ceiling. He lets it go and measures the time $t$ for the eraser to reach the floor.

May/June 2015

The graph illustrates the way the speed of a car changes over time. Which statement about the car's acceleration from $10\,\text{s}$ to $20\,\text{s}$ is correct?

May/June 2016

A cyclist’s total stopping distance has two components: the distance covered while the cyclist reacts (the thinking distance) and the distance covered after the brakes are used (the braking distance).

May/June 2016

Fig. 1.1 shows the speed-time graph for a car moving along a horizontal road.

May/June 2016

A learner constructs a pendulum from paperclips. He links 14 matching paperclips end to end. He hangs them vertically from a pin fixed firmly to a bench, as shown in Fig. 2.1 (not to scale). He pulls the lowest paperclip to one side and lets it go. The paperclip pendulum then oscillates from side to side. With a stopwatch, he records the time $t$ for 10 full swings of the pendulum.

May/June 2016

The diagram presents the car’s distance-time graph. The car is moving on a straight road that slopes uphill. Which quantity for the car remains constant and is greater than zero?

May/June 2017

A resultant force acts on an object and makes it travel along a straight line. The graph shows how the resultant force changes with time. Which graph is the speed-time graph for the object?

May/June 2017

A car travels on a straight horizontal road, speeding up at $5.0\,\text{m s}^{-2}$ until its velocity becomes $20\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ after $4.0\,\text{s}$. Over this interval, the car's total displacement is $40\,\text{m}$. Which quantity is a scalar?

May/June 2017

The diagram illustrates a distance-time graph for a car. The car is moving on a straight road uphill. Which quantity for the car remains constant and is greater than zero?

May/June 2017

The diagram presents a speed-time graph for an object that is accelerating uniformly. What distance is travelled during the first $4.0\,\text{s}$?

May/June 2017

A car starts from rest and moves in a straight line. Over the first 14 s, its acceleration is constant, and the car attains a speed of 25 m/s.

May/June 2017

A strip of paper is fixed to a small toy car. As the toy car travels, it drags the strip of paper through a timer. The timer places a dot on the paper every $0.020\,\text{s}$. Fig. 1.1 shows part of the strip with the first four dots. The first dot made on the paper is marked A.

May/June 2017

A student determines the acceleration of free-fall $g$ by dropping a metal ball from a height of 1.000 m onto the floor and timing the interval $t$ taken to reach it. Fig. 1.1 shows the ball together with a metre rule held vertically in a clamp.

May/June 2017

Which speed-time graph shows the motion of a railway train that makes a brief stop at a station?

May/June 2018

A cyclist is moving on a straight, level road, as illustrated in Fig. 1.1.

May/June 2018

A student releases a small metal object into a cylinder of oil. As it moves down beside a vertical ruler, a camera records its position at 1.0 s intervals, as shown in Fig. 1.1.

May/June 2018

A woman runs $2.0\,\text{km}$ from $X$ to $Y$ in $20\,\text{minutes}$, then remains at $Y$ for $10\,\text{minutes}$. After that, she takes $10\,\text{minutes}$ to run $1.6\,\text{km}$ from $Y$ to $Z$. Determine the magnitude of her average velocity for the journey from $X$ to $Z$?

May/June 2019

A cyclist moving along a straight path at $8.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ increases speed to $12\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ over a period of $6.0\,\text{s}$. Which expression gives the cyclist’s acceleration?

May/June 2019

The diagram illustrates the distance-time graph of an object in motion. What is the moving object?

May/June 2019

Fig. 1.1 presents the distance-time graph for a trip by a cyclist from town A to town B. The cyclist departs from town A when $t = 0$ and reaches town B at $t = 4.0$ hours.

May/June 2019

Fig. 9.1 depicts a parachutist descending straight down towards the ground. The parachutist has a mass of $60\,\text{kg}$ and a weight of $600\,\text{N}$.

May/June 2019

Fig. 9.1 is a map showing the path a car follows when it goes from town A to town B. This trip has both a distance and a displacement.

May/June 2019

The quantities below are listed. acceleration displacement force length mass velocity What is the number of these quantities that are vectors?

May/June 2021

A train departs from a station at time $t = 0$. The graph illustrates how the distance between the train and the station changes with time. Which statement about the train’s motion between time $t_1$ and $t_2$ is correct?

May/June 2021

A student gives three changes that affect a car’s stopping distance. Which change or changes make the stopping distance longer?

May/June 2021

A car is moving towards a set of traffic lights. At time $t = 0$, the lights switch to red. Fig. 2.1 illustrates how the car’s speed varies with time.

May/June 2021

A student is measuring the acceleration of a trolley as it rolls down a ramp.

May/June 2021

A driver is travelling a car at uniform velocity along a road. The driver notices a hazard and then applies the brakes. What happens to the car’s motion while it covers the thinking distance and while it covers the braking distance?

May/June 2022

The graph presents the speed-time graph of a parachutist who leaves a plane but does not open his parachute straight away. At what point does he open his parachute?

May/June 2022

Fig. 7.1 presents a toy helicopter. It can hover and move through the air.

May/June 2022

Fig. 7.1 presents the speed-time graph of a car moving along a straight horizontal road.

May/June 2022

A speed-time graph showing the car’s journey is given. Which distance-time graph represents the journey?

May/June 2023

Which row gives the descriptions of acceleration, displacement, distance and speed?

May/June 2023

On the distance-time graph, the curved line represents how a toy car moves. The straight line is the tangent to the curve at $10\,\text{s}$. Determine the speed of the toy car at $10\,\text{s}$.

May/June 2023

As illustrated in Fig. 1.1, an aircraft tows a glider along a runway. Fig. 1.2 displays the glider’s speed during the initial 12 s of the motion.

May/June 2023

A student is investigating a falling mass, using the apparatus shown in Fig. 3.1.

May/June 2023

The table gives the distance covered by a car in each $2\,\text{s}$ interval over a $12\,\text{s}$ period of its journey. Which statement describes the car's motion?

May/June 2024

A car, moving along a straight road, brakes and finally stops. Which row shows the expression used to calculate the thinking distance and names a variable that affects thinking distance?

May/June 2024

A ball is released from rest at the top of a building. Air resistance may be ignored. The ball has a velocity of $14\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ as it reaches the ground. What is the height of the building?

May/June 2024

The graph illustrates how the speed of a car moving in a straight line varies with time. Which section indicates the greatest acceleration?

May/June 2024

A man travels along a path from X to Y. The diagram shows the path viewed from above. He records the distance travelled and the time taken. Which quantity can be worked out using only this information?

May/June 2024

A ball is let go from rest at point A and travels along the smooth track ABCDE shown in Fig. 1.1. The ball is shown at point A and again after it has passed point B. The ball stays in contact with the track at all times and air resistance is negligible. Fig. 1.2 gives the distance-time graph for the ball as it moves from A to E.

May/June 2024

Fig. 1.1 depicts two trolleys. A wooden rod is attached to the front of trolley A, while trolley B is initially stationary. When trolley A moves to the right, the rod goes into the modelling clay. Trolley A slows down and trolley B begins to move. The two trolleys then stay stuck together and keep travelling to the right. Fig. 1.1 labels: trolley A, trolley B, wooden rod, modelling clay. Fig. 1.2 presents the speed-time graph for the two trolleys. The vertical axis shows speed in m/s and the horizontal axis shows time $t$/s. The lines are labelled trolley A, trolley B, and trolley A and B. The trolleys begin to collide at time $t = 0.30\,\text{s}$. At $t = 0.50\,\text{s}$, both trolleys are moving at the same speed.

May/June 2024

The speed-time graph displays part of the journey of a bicycle over a time of $10\,\text{ s}$. What distance does the bicycle travel in the $10\,\text{ s}$?

May/June 2025

The diagram presents the distance-time graph of an object in motion. What description matches the moving object?

May/June 2025

The speed-time graph for a skydiver in free fall is shown below. During the descent, he extends his arms and legs, and then deploys his parachute. Which section of the graph indicates that the skydiver is falling at terminal velocity?

May/June 2025

A car driver who is moving in a straight line at constant speed notices a hazard in the road ahead at time $= 0$. The speed-time graph shows the way the car’s speed varies from time $= 0$. Three students give their ideas about what area $X$ and area $Y$ mean. student 1: Area $X$ shows the thinking distance. student 2: Area $Y$ shows the stopping distance. student 3: Area $X$ + area $Y$ shows the stopping distance. Which students are correct?

May/June 2025

There is no atmosphere on the Moon. On the Moon, two spheres made of metal have the same volume but different masses, and both are initially at rest at the same height above the ground. They are released at the same time. What is the motion of the spheres after they are released?

May/June 2025

Fig. 1.1 shows a skydiver dropping straight down through the air. During the first part of the descent, her speed rises while her acceleration falls. During the second part of the descent, her speed stays the same.

May/June 2025

A ball is released beside a vertical scale labelled in centimetres. A video of the drop records the ball's position on the scale every 0.10 s. The ball's fallen distance is indicated by its position on the scale. Table 1.1 presents the results.

May/June 2025

An object moves with a steady speed of $10\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ for $10\,\text{s}$. Over the following $5\,\text{s}$, it accelerates uniformly until its speed becomes $20\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. What total distance does the object travel?

Oct/Nov 2015

A lorry needs $15\,\text{minutes}$ to move along the route $P Q R S$. What is the lorry’s average speed?

Oct/Nov 2015

At time $t_1$, a stone is released from a balloon that is at rest. The stone attains terminal velocity at time $t_2$. Which row shows the stone’s acceleration at time $t_1$ and at time $t_2$?

Oct/Nov 2015

Fig. 1.1 depicts an archer shooting an arrow at a target in a competition. The arrow's mass is 0.018 kg and it starts from rest. It leaves the bow 0.011 s after the bow string is released. At the moment it leaves the bow, its velocity is 95 m/s.

Oct/Nov 2015

A skydiver drops from rest through the air and attains terminal velocity. What is the skydiver’s acceleration during the fall?

Oct/Nov 2016

A car is stationary at a red traffic light. As soon as the light turns green, the car begins to move with uniform acceleration. The graph shows this motion. Which quantity is shown on the x-axis, and which quantity is shown on the y-axis?

Oct/Nov 2016

Aluminium spheres P and Q, with masses $0.50\,\text{kg}$ and $1.0\,\text{kg}$ respectively, are let go together from the same height. Why do they experience the same acceleration?

Oct/Nov 2016

The diagram is a distance-time graph for a car moving along a straight line. In which region is the car decelerating?

Oct/Nov 2016

A car with a mass of 800 kg is moving at 25 m/s on a straight, level road.

Oct/Nov 2016

Starting from rest, a skier moves in a straight line with uniform acceleration of $3.4\,\text{m s}^{-2}$ for $5.0\,\text{s}$.

Oct/Nov 2016

The speed-time graph shows a brief journey. Which distance-time graph shows that same journey?

Oct/Nov 2017

An object moves at a constant speed of $10\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ for $20\,\text{s}$. Over the following $10\,\text{s}$, it accelerates uniformly until its speed reaches $20\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. What is the total distance covered by the object in the $30\,\text{s}$?

Oct/Nov 2017

The speed-time graph shows a brief journey. Which distance-time graph shows the same journey?

Oct/Nov 2017

A student is examining the period of a simple pendulum. The period $T$ is the time for one full oscillation of the pendulum. She arranges the pendulum so that the point of support is at a constant height above the bench surface. During the investigation, she leaves this height unchanged and does not move the clamp. Fig. 1.1 shows a scale drawing of her apparatus.

Oct/Nov 2017

A skydiver is descending at terminal velocity. Which row gives the skydiver’s acceleration and the skydiver’s velocity?

Oct/Nov 2018

A cyclist goes on a journey that lasts $250\,\text{s}$. The graph illustrates how the distance from the starting point changes with time. What is his average speed for the whole journey?

Oct/Nov 2018

The table illustrates how the speeds of four bodies, A, B, C and D, vary with time. Which body has an acceleration that is not constant?

Oct/Nov 2018

The paths are arranged as illustrated between points X, Y and Z. A person moves along the paths from X to Y to Z, and then returns to X. What are the values of the total displacement and the total distance travelled?

Oct/Nov 2018

A girl with mass 35 kg is riding a bicycle, starts from rest and moves downhill in a straight line. She does not pedal. Fig. 1.1 indicates that the slope has a constant gradient.

Oct/Nov 2018

In a cricket game, a player strikes a ball with a bat. The ball then rises straight up, as shown in Fig. 8.1. As it leaves the bat, its speed is $8.7\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. The ball has a mass of $0.16\,\text{kg}$. Fig. 8.2 gives the velocity-time graph for the ball.

Oct/Nov 2018

The Moon has no atmosphere. Two metal spheres that have the same volume but different masses are initially stationary at the same height above the Moon’s surface. They are released together. How do the spheres move after they are let go?

Oct/Nov 2019

The graph illustrates the way the speed of a car changes with time. Which statement about the car’s acceleration between $10\,\text{s}$ and $20\,\text{s}$ is correct?

Oct/Nov 2019

A section of a speed-time graph for two runners is shown. They are moving along the same track. Which statement has to be correct?

Oct/Nov 2019

The graph illustrates how the car’s speed changes with time. Which statement correctly describes the car’s acceleration between $10\,\text{s}$ and $20\,\text{s}$?

Oct/Nov 2019

During which type of descent is the acceleration equal to the acceleration of free fall $g$ throughout?

Oct/Nov 2019

There is no atmosphere on the Moon. An astronaut on the Moon releases a feather and a hammer from the same height at the same moment. Each one accelerates downward at $1.6\,\text{m s}^{-2}$, and they reach the surface together.

Oct/Nov 2019

A car starts moving. Its speed increases until it is travelling at a steady speed. It then keeps travelling at this steady speed for the rest of the journey. What happens to the car's acceleration, and what happens to its velocity, during the journey?

Oct/Nov 2020

A car starts moving. Its speed increases until it reaches a steady speed. It then keeps travelling at this steady speed for the remainder of the journey. What happens to the car's acceleration and what happens to its velocity during the journey?

Oct/Nov 2020

The speed-time graph for a car’s journey is shown. At which section of the journey does the car have non-uniform acceleration?

Oct/Nov 2020

Fig. 1.1 presents the distance-time graph for a skydiver who exits a balloon at time $t = 0$.

Oct/Nov 2020

A bus sets off from a bus-stop at time $t = 0$ and moves along a horizontal road until it arrives at a second bus-stop. Fig. 7.1 shows the distance-time graph for the bus from $t = 0$ to $t = 60\,\text{s}$.

Oct/Nov 2020

Two identical objects are released from rest. One object falls from $200\,\text{m}$ above the Earth’s surface, while the other falls from $200\,\text{m}$ above the Moon’s surface. After 1 second of falling, both objects are still accelerating. The Moon has no atmosphere, and the weight of each object stays constant. Which row shows the motion of both objects at this time?

Oct/Nov 2021

A boy begins at P and walks $3.0\,\text{m}$ due north from P to Q, then goes $4.0\,\text{m}$ due east from Q to R. What is the shortest distance he must now travel to make his overall displacement zero?

Oct/Nov 2021

A student studies the motion of a ball as it falls through the air. Which quantity is a vector quantity?

Oct/Nov 2021

A skier moves down a slope. The diagram illustrates how his speed changes with time. What is his average acceleration over the $6.0\,\text{s}$?

Oct/Nov 2021

A learner sets out to find how a pendulum’s period changes with its length. The learner: • sets up the apparatus as illustrated in Fig. 1.1. • secures the pendulum string in place with a clamp. The length of the pendulum is measured from the centre of the pendulum bob to the support point.

Oct/Nov 2021

Velocity is defined as the displacement change divided by the time change. How many vector quantities are mentioned in this statement?

Oct/Nov 2022

Which section of the distance-time graph indicates the greatest constant speed?

Oct/Nov 2022

An object accelerates along a straight, horizontal track with uniform acceleration. Which speed-time graph shows this motion?

Oct/Nov 2022

The diagram shows a car at the instant the driver notices a hazard in front. Which expression gives the stopping distance?

Oct/Nov 2022

$X$ is obtained by dividing $Y$ by $Z$. What are $X$, $Y$ and $Z$?

Oct/Nov 2022

A ball is released from rest and rolls down a steep slope. It then continues rolling over rough horizontal ground. Which graph represents the ball’s speed at different times?

Oct/Nov 2022