Mechanics 1 (PAPER 4)

CHAPTER 1 : Velocity and Acceleration

SUPPORTING MATERIAL

EXAMPLES

1. A car is travelling on a straight road. It takes 15 seconds to travel from a sign post A to another sign post B
which are 360 m apart. When the car is passing the sign post B it has speed 28 m/s.
(a) Find the speed of the car at A.
(b) Find the acceleration of the car.
(c) Find the distance travelled by the car in the first 10 seconds.
(d) Find the distance traveled by the car in the 10th second.
(e) After travelling a further 140 m with uniform acceleration the car reaches the sign post C. Find the
velocity of the car at C.
(f) The car then decelerates uniformly and comes to rest at the station D within the next 5 seconds. Find the
magnitude of deceleration.
(g) Calculate the distance from A to D.
(h) Calculate the total time the car takes to travel from A to D.
[Self Made]

2. An aeroplane accelerates at a constant rate of 3𝑚𝑠 −2 for 5 𝑠 from an initial velocity of 4 𝑚𝑠 −1 . Find its final
velocity.
[M1 book; Ex 1B; No. 4]

3. A driver sees a turning 100 m ahead. She lets her car slow at constant deceleration of 0.4 𝑚𝑠 −2 and arrives at
the turning 10 s later. Find the velocity she is travelling at when she reaches the turning.
[M1 book; Ex 1B; No. 10]

4. A driver sees the traffic lights change to red 240 m away when he is travelling at a velocity of 30 𝑚𝑠 −1 . To
avoid wasting fuel, he does not brake, but lets the car slow down naturally. The traffic lights change to green
after 12s, at the same time as the driver arrives at the lights.
a) Find the speed at which the driver goes past the lights.
b) What assumptions have been made to answer the question?
[M1 book; Ex 1C; No. 10]

5. A golf ball is struck 10 m from a hole and is rolling towards the hole. It has an initial velocity of 2.4 𝑚𝑠 −1
when struck and decelerates at a constant rate of 0.3 𝑚𝑠 −2 . Does the ball reach the hole?
[M1 book; Ex 1C; No. 12]

6. A car accelerates from an initial velocity of 4 𝑚𝑠 −1 to a final velocity of 8 𝑚𝑠 −1 at a constant rate of

0.5 𝑚𝑠 −2. Find the car’s displacement in that time.
[M1 book; Ex 1B; No. 7]

7. A sprinter covers 60 m in 10 s accelerating from a jog. Her final velocity is 9 𝑚𝑠 −1.

a) Calculate her acceleration.
b) What assumptions have been made to answer the question?
[M1 book; Ex 1B; No. 8]

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8. A wagon is accelerating down a hill at constant acceleration. It took 1 s more to accelerate from a velocity of
1 𝑚𝑠 −1 to a velocity of 5 𝑚𝑠 −1 than it took to accelerate from rest to a velocity of 1 𝑚𝑠 −1. Find the
acceleration.
[M1 book; Ex 1B; No. 9]

9.
(a) Assuming constant acceleration, find 𝑣 when 𝑠 = 18 𝑚, 𝑢 = 3 𝑚𝑠 −1 and 𝑎 = 2 𝑚𝑠 −2 .
(b) Why is it not necessary to specify in this question whether the object has changed direction during the
motion?
[M1 book; Ex 1C; No. 5]

10. A car is travelling at a velocity of 20 𝑚𝑠 −1 when the driver sees the traffic lights ahead change to red. He
decelerates at a constant rate of 4 𝑚𝑠 −2 and comes to a stop at the lights. Find how far away from the lights
the driver started braking.
[M1 book; Ex 1C; No. 6]

11. An aeroplane accelerates from rest along a runway at a constant rate of 4 𝑚𝑠 −2 . It needs to reach a velocity of
80 𝑚𝑠 −1 to take off. Find how long the runway needs to be.
[M1 book; Ex 1C; No. 8]

12. A motorcyclist sees that the traffic lights are red 40 m ahead of her. She is travelling at a velocity of 20 𝑚𝑠 −1
and comes to rest at the lights. Find the deceleration she experiences, assuming it is constant.
[M1 book; Ex 1C; No. 9]

13. An object completes a rotation around a playground of radius 10 m once in 1 minute.

(a) What is its average velocity over this time?
(b) What is its average speed over the same time?
[Self Made]

14. A remote control car travels forwards at 6 𝑚 𝑠 −1 in Drive and backwards at 3 𝑚𝑠 −1 in Reverse. The car
travels for 10 s in Drive before travelling for 5 s in Reverse.
a) Find its displacement from its starting point.
b) Find its average velocity in the direction in which it started driving forwards.
c) Find its average speed.
[M1 book; Ex 1A; No. 7]

15. Two cars are racing over the same distance. They start at the same time, but one finishes 8 s before the other.
The faster one averaged 45 𝑚𝑠 −1 and the slower one averaged 44 𝑚𝑠 −1 . Find the length of the race.
[M1 book; Ex 1A; No. 11]

16. The distance from point A to point B is 𝑠. In the motion from A to B and back, the speed for the first part of
the motion is 𝑣1 and the speed for the return part of the motion is 𝑣2 . The average speed for the entire motion
is 𝑣.
2𝑣1 𝑣2
a) Prove that 𝑣 = 𝑣 .
1 +𝑣2
b) Deduce that it is impossible to average twice the speed of the first part of the motion; that is, it is
impossible to have 𝑣 = 2𝑣1 .
[M1 book; Ex 1A; No. 14]

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17.
a) A cheetah spots a grazing gazelle 150 m way and runs at a constant 25 𝑚𝑠 −1 to catch it. Find how long the
cheetah takes to catch the gazelle.
b) What assumptions have been made to answer the question?
[M1 book; Ex 1A; No. 3]

18. A runner runs at 5 𝑚 𝑠 −1 for 7 s before increasing the pace to 7 𝑚 𝑠 −1 for the next 13 s.
a) Find the average speed.
b) What assumptions have been made to answer the question?
[M1 book; Ex 1A; No. 6]

19. A speed skater averages 11 𝑚𝑠 −1 over the first 5 s of a race. Find the average speed required over the next 10
s to average 12 𝑚𝑠 −1 overall.
[M1 book; Ex 1A; No. 8]

20. The speed of sound in wood is 3300 𝑚𝑠 −1 and the speed of sound in air is 330 𝑚𝑠 −1. A hammer hits one end
of a 33 m long plank of wood. Find the difference in time between the sound waves being detected at the other
end of the plank and the sound being heard through the air.
[M1 book; Ex 1A; No. 9]

21. An exercise routine involves a mixture of jogging at 4 𝑚𝑠 −1 and sprinting at 7 𝑚𝑠 −1. An athlete covers 1 km
in 3 minutes and 10 seconds. Find how long she spent sprinting.
[M1 book; Ex 1A; No. 10]

22. A particle is moving along the x-axis so that its position x m at time t s is given by 𝑥 = 3 − 𝑡(2 − 𝑡), 𝑡 ≥ 0.
(a) Find the position of the particle at times 𝑡 = 0, 1, 2, 3, 5.
(b) State the displacement of the particle from the starting point after 5 s.
(c) Find the average velocity of the particle over the first 5 s.
𝑑𝑥
(d) Find 𝑑𝑡 at 𝑡 = 1.
[Self Made]

23. Sketch the displacement-time graphs from the information given. In each case, consider north to be the
positive direction and home to be the point from which displacement is measured.
a) Bob leaves his home and heads north at a constant speed of 3 𝑚𝑠 −1 for 10 𝑠.
b) Jenny is 30 m north of home and walks at a constant speed of 1.5 𝑚𝑠 −1 until reaching home.
c) Ryo is sitting still at a point 10 m south of his home.
d) Nina is 300 m north of her home. She drives south at a constant speed of 10 𝑚𝑠 −1 , passing her home, until
she has travelled a total of 500 m.
[M1 book; Ex 1D; No. 1]

24. Sketch the displacement – time graphs from the information given. In each case consider upwards to be the
positive direction and ground level to be the point from which displacement is measured. Remember to
include the values for time and displacement at any points where the motion changes.
a) A firework takes off from ground level, accelerating upwards for 10 s with constant acceleration 4 𝑚 𝑠 −2 .
b) A ball is thrown upwards from a point 1 m above the ground with initial speed 5 𝑚𝑠 −1 . It accelerates
downwards at a constant rate of 10 𝑚𝑠 −2 until it stops moving upwards, when it is caught by someone
standing on a ladder.
c) A rocket is a falling at 10 𝑚𝑠 −1 at a height of 100 m above the ground when its engines turn on to
provide a constant acceleration of 2 𝑚 𝑠 −2 upwards. The engines remain on until the rocket has reached a
height of 175 m above ground level.

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 d) A pebble is thrown upwards from the top of a cliff 18.75 m above the sea. It has initial speed 5 𝑚 𝑠 −1 .
Initially it moves upwards, then it stops and falls downwards to reach the sea at the bottom of the cliff.
Throughout the motion the pebble accelerates downwards at a constant rate of 10 𝑚 𝑠 −2 . Displacement is
measured from the top of the cliff.
[M1 book; Ex 1D; No. 2]

25. Sketch the displacement – time graphs from the information give. In each case consider forwards to be the
positive direction and the traffic lights to be the point from which displacement is measured. Remember to
include the values for time and displacement at any points where the motion change.
a) A car is waiting at rest at the traffic lights. It accelerates at a constant rate of 3 𝑚𝑠 −2 for 5 s, then remains
at constant speed for the next 10 s.
b) A motorbike passes the traffic lights at a constant speed of 10 𝑚𝑠 −1 . After 6 s it starts to slow at a
constant rate of 2 𝑚 𝑠 −2 until it comes to rest.
c) A truck is moving at a constant speed of 8 𝑚𝑠 −1 and is approaching the traffic lights 60 m away. When it
is 20 m away it accelerates at a constant rate of 2 𝑚 𝑠 −2 to get past the lights before they change colour.
d) A scooter accelerates from rest 100 m before the traffic lights at a constant rate of 1.5 𝑚 𝑠 −2 until it
reaches 6 𝑚 𝑠 −1 . It then travels at this speed until it reaches a point 50 𝑚 beyond the traffic lights. At that
point the scooter starts to slow at a constant rate of 1 𝑚𝑠 −2 until it stops.
[M1 book; Ex 1D; No. 3]

26. Two cars drive along the same highway. One car starts at junction 1, travelling north at a constant speed of
30 𝑚𝑠 −1 . The second car starts at junction 2, which is 3 km north of junction 1, travelling south at a constant
speed of 20 𝑚𝑠 −1 .
a) Sketch the two displacement – time graphs on the same set of axes.
b) Find the equations of the two displacement – time graphs.
c) Solve the equations to find the time at which the cars pass each other and, hence, find the distance from
junction 1 at which they pass.
[M1 book; Ex 1D; No. 6]

27. A cyclist it stationary when a second cyclist passes, travelling at a constant speed of 8 𝑚𝑠 −1 . The first cyclist
then accelerates for 5 s at a constant rate of 2 𝑚𝑠 −1 before continuing at constant speed until overtaking the
second cyclist. By sketching both graphs, find the equations of the two straight-line sections of the graphs and,
hence, find how long it is before the first cyclist overtakes the second.
[M1 book; Ex 1D; No. 8]

28. Two rowing boats are completing a 2 km course. The first boat leaves, its crew rowing at a speed of 3.2 𝑚𝑠 −1 .
The second boat leaves some time later, its crew rowing at 4 𝑚𝑠 −1 , and overtakes the first boat after the
second has been travelling for 40 s.
a) Find how much earlier the second boat completes the course.
b) What assumption has been made in your answer?
[M1 book; Ex 1D; No. 9]

29. The leader in a race has 500 m to go and is running at a constant speed of 4 𝑚𝑠 −1 , but with 100 m to go
increases her speed by a constant acceleration of 0.1 𝑚𝑠 −2 . The second runner is 100 m behind the leader
when the leader has 500 m to go, and running at 3.8 𝑚𝑠 −1 when she starts to accelerate at a constant rate.
Find the minimum acceleration she needs in order to win the race.
[M1 book; Ex 1D; No. 10]

30. A police motorcyclist is stationary when a car passes, driving dangerously at a constant speed of 40 𝑚𝑠 −1 . At
the instant the car passes, the motorcyclist gives chase, accelerating at 2.5 𝑚𝑠 −2 until reaching a speed of

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 50 𝑚𝑠 −1 before continuing at a constant speed. Show that the motorcyclist has not caught the car by the time
he reaches top speed. Find how long after the car initially passed him the motorcyclist catches up to the car.
[M1 book; Ex 1D; No. 12]

31.

(a) Calculate the acceleration at times 2 second, 5 second and 10 second.

(b) Write down the velocity at B, D, F and H.
(c) Calculate the total displacement.
(d) Calculate the total distance traveled.
(e) Draw an acceleration-time graph for the motion.
[Self Made]

32. Sketch the velocity –time graphs from the information given. In each case take upwards to be the positive
direction.
a) A ball is thrown up in the air from the surface of a pond with initial velocity 20 𝑚𝑠 −1 . It accelerates
downwards under gravity with constant acceleration 10 𝑚𝑠 −2 . Once it has reached its highest point it falls
until it hits the surface of the pond and goes underwater. Under the water it continues to accelerate with
constant acceleration 1 𝑚𝑠 −2 for 1 s.
b) A parachutist falls from a helicopter that is flying at a constant height. She accelerates downwards at a
constant rate of 10 𝑚𝑠 −2 for 0.5 s before the parachute opens. She then remains at constant speed for 5 s.
c) A hot-air balloon is floating at a constant height before descending to a lower height. It descends with
constant acceleration 5 𝑚𝑠 −2 for 6 s, then the burner is turned on and the balloon decelerates at a constant
rate of 2 𝑚𝑠 −2 until it is no longer descending.
d) A firework takes off from rest and accelerates upwards for 7 s with constant acceleration 5 𝑚𝑠 −2 , before
decelerating at a constant rate of 10 𝑚𝑠 −2 until it explodes at the highest point of its trajectory.
[M1 book; Ex 1E; No. 2]

33. The graph shows the motion of a motorcyclist when he starts

travelling along a highway until reaching top speed. Find the
distance covered in reaching that speed.

[M1 book; Ex 1E; No. 3]

34. The graph shows the motion of a ball when it is thrown upwards in the air
until it hits the ground. Find the height above the ground from which it was
thrown.
[M1 book; Ex 1E; No. 4]

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35. For the given displacement-time graph,
(a) Describe the graph.
(b) Calculate the velocity and speed for different
parts of the graph AB, BC, CD.
(c) Calculate the average speed and average velocity.

36. For the given displacement-time graph,

(a) Describe the graph.
(b) Calculate the velocity and speed for different parts of the
graph AB, BC, CD, DE, EF, FG.
(c) Calculate the average speed and average velocity.

37. For the given displacement-time graph,

(a) Describe the graph.
(b) Calculate the velocity and speed for different
parts of the graph AB, BC, DE, EF.
(c) Calculate the average speed and average
velocity.

38. An object is projected vertically upwards such that its displacement y m from the ground after t s is given by
the expression 𝑦 = 5 + 4𝑡 − 𝑡 2 .
(a) Sketch a displacement-time graph for 0 ≤ 𝑡 ≤ 3.
(b) Find the displacement relative to its starting position after 2.5 s.
(c) At what time does the object reach its highest point and how high does it reach?
(d) What is the total distance travelled in the 3 s?

39. For the given velocity-time graph,

(a) Calculate the acceleration at times 2 s,
5 s and 9 s.
(b) Write down the velocity at B and D.
(c) Calculate the total distance travelled.
(d) Draw an acceleration-time graph for the
motion.

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40. A racing car is being tested along a straight 1 km course. It starts from rest, accelerating at a constant rate of
10 𝑚𝑠 −2 for 5 s. It then travels at a constant speed until a time 𝑡 s after it started moving. Show that the
distance covered by time 𝑡 is given by 𝑠 = 125 + 50 (𝑡 − 5). Hence, find how long it takes to complete the
course.
[M1 book; Ex 1E; No. 7]

41. A driver travelling at 26 𝑚𝑠 −1 sees a red traffic light ahead and starts to slow at 3 𝑚𝑠 −2 by removing her foot
from the accelerator pedal. A little later she brakes at 5 𝑚𝑠 −2 and comes to rest at the lights after 6 s.
a) Sketch the velocity–time graph of the motion.
b) Find the equations of the two sections of the graph.
c) Hence, find the time when the driver needs to start braking.
[M1 book; Ex 1E; No. 14]

42. A car accelerates from rest to a speed 𝑣 𝑚𝑠 −1 at a constant acceleration. It then immediately decelerates at a
constant deceleration until coming back to rest 𝑡 s after starting the motion.
a) Show that the distance travelled is independent of the values of the acceleration and deceleration.
b) Suppose instead the car spends a time 𝑇 s at speed 𝑣 𝑚𝑠 −1 but still returns to rest after a total of 𝑡 𝑠 after
starting the motion. Show that the distance travelled is independent of the values of the acceleration and
deceleration.
[M1 book; Ex 1E; No. 15]

43. An ice hockey puck slides along a rink at a constant speed of 10 𝑚𝑠 −1 . It strikes the boards at the edge of the
rink 20 m away and slides back along the rink at 8 𝑚𝑠 −1 until going into the goal 40 m from the board.
Sketch a velocity–time graph and a displacement–time graph for the motion, measuring displacement from the
starting point in the original direction of motion.
[M1 book; Ex 1F; No. 1]

44. A ball is dropped from rest 20 m above the ground. It accelerates towards the ground at a constant rate of
10 𝑚𝑠 −2 . It bounces on the ground and leaves with a speed that is half the speed it struck the ground
originally. The ball is then caught when it reaches the highest point of its bounce. Sketch a velocity–time
graph and a displacement–time graph for the motion, measuring displacement above the ground.
[M1 book; Ex 1F; No. 4]

45. A woman walks in a straight line. The woman’s velocity 𝑡

seconds after passing through a fixed point A on the line
is 𝑣 𝑚𝑠 −1 . The graph of 𝑣 against 𝑡 consists of 4 straight
line segments (see diagram).

The woman is at the point B when 𝑡 = 60. Find

(i) the woman’s acceleration for 0 < 𝑡 < 30 and for
30 < 𝑡 < 40,

(ii) the distance AB,

(iii) the total distance walked by the woman.

[M1 book; EOC Review Ex 1; No. 15]

46. A bowling ball rolls down an alley with initial speed 8 𝑚𝑠 −1 and decelerates at a constant rate of 0.8 𝑚𝑠 −2.
After 2.5 s it strikes a pin and instantly slows down to 2 𝑚𝑠 −1 . In continues to decelerate at the same constant
rate until coming to rest. Sketch a velocity –time graph and a displacement –time graph for the motion.
[M1 book; Ex 1F; No. 2]

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47. In a game of blind cricket, a ball is rolled towards a player with a bat 20 m away, who tries to hit the ball. On
one occasion, the ball is rolled towards the batsman at a constant speed of 4 𝑚𝑠 −1 . The batsman hits the ball
back directly where it came from with initial speed 6 𝑚𝑠 −1 and decelerating at a constant rate of 0.5 𝑚𝑠 −2 .
Sketch a velocity –time graph and a displacement –time graph for the motion, taking the original starting point
as the origin and the original direction of motion as positive.
[M1 book; Ex 1F; No. 3]

48. A car travels in a straight line from A to B, a distance of 12 km, taking 552 seconds. The car starts from rest at
A and accelerates for 𝑇1 𝑠 at 0.3 𝑚 𝑠 −2 , reaching a speed of 𝑉 𝑚𝑠 −1. The car then continues to move at
𝑉 𝑚𝑠 −1 for 𝑇2 s. It then decelerates for 𝑇3 𝑠 at 1 𝑚𝑠 −2 , coming to rest at B.
i) Sketch the velocity –time graph for the motion and express 𝑇1 and 𝑇3 in terms of V.
ii) Express the total distance travelled in terms of 𝑉 and show that 13 𝑉 2 − 3312𝑉 + 72000 = 0. Hence find
the value of 𝑉.
[M1 book; EOC Review Ex 1; No. 16]

49. The diagram shows the velocity–time graph for a particle 𝑃 which travels on a straight line 𝐴𝐵, where 𝑣 𝑚𝑠 −1
is the velocity of 𝑃 at time 𝑡 𝑠. The graph consists of five straight line segments. The particle starts from rest
when 𝑡 = 0 at a point X on the line between A and B and moves towards A. The particle comes to rest at A
when 𝑡 = 2.5.
(i) Given that the distance 𝑋𝐴 is 4 m, find the greatest speed reached by P during this stage of the
motion.

In the second stage, P starts from rest at A when 𝑡 = 2.5 and moves towards B. The distance AB is 48 m. The
particle takes 12 s to travel from A to B and comes to rest at B. For the first 2 s of this stage P accelerates at
3 𝑚𝑠 −2 , reaching a velocity of 𝑉 𝑚𝑠 −1 . Find

(ii) the value of 𝑉.

(iii) the value of 𝑡 at which 𝑃 starts to decelerate during this stage.
(iv) the deceleration of 𝑃 immediately before it reaches 𝐵.
[M1 book; EOC Review Ex 1; No. 17]

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 TOPICAL QUESTION PAPER
Chapter 1: Velocity and Acceleration

Note:
These problems are taken from Topic 3 of Topical QP Book.
Topic 3 contains problems from Chapters 1, 2 and 6 of textbook.
Only questions related to Chapter 1 are included here.
Questions are numbered according to the order of Topical QP Book.
The remaining questions of Topic 3 are included in Chapter 2 and 6’s worksheets.

8. A train travels from 𝐴 to 𝐵, a distance of 20 000 m, taking 1000 s. The journey has three stages. In the first
stage the train starts from rest at 𝐴 and accelerates uniformly until its speed is 𝑉 𝑚𝑠 −1 . In the second stage the
train travels at constant speed 𝑉 𝑚𝑠 −1 for 600 s. During the third stage of the journey the train decelerates
uniformly, coming to rest at 𝐵.
i) Sketch the velocity-time graph for the train’s journey.
ii) Find the value of 𝑉.
iii) Given that the acceleration of the train during first stage of the journey is 0.15 𝑚𝑠 −2 , find the distance
travelled by the train during the third stage of the journey.
[N08/M1/Q6]
Answer:
i)
ii) 𝑉 = 25
iii) 2916.662 ≈ 2920 m (3 sf)

12. The diagram shows the velocity-time

graph for the motion of a machine’s cutting
tool. The graph consists of five straight line
segments. The tool moves forward for 8 s
while cutting and then takes 3 s to return to
its starting position. Find
i) The acceleration of the tool during
the first 2 s of the motion,
ii) The distance the tool moves forward
while cutting.
iii) The greatest speed of the tool during
the return to its starting position.
[J10/M1/Q2]
Answer:
i) 0.09 𝑚𝑠 −2
ii) 1.08 𝑚
iii) 𝑣 = 0.72 𝑚𝑠 −1

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15. The diagram shows the velocity-time graph for a particle 𝑃 which travels on a straight line 𝐴𝐵, where
𝑣 𝑚𝑠 −1 is the velocity of 𝑃 at time 𝑡 𝑠. The graph consists of five straight line segments. The particle starts from
rest when 𝑡 = 0 at a point 𝑋 on the line between 𝐴 and 𝐵 and moves towards 𝐴. The particle comes to rest at 𝐴
when 𝑡 = 2.5.
i) Give that the distance 𝑋𝐴 is 4 m, find the greatest speed reached by 𝑃 during this stage of the motion.
In the second stage, 𝑃 starts from rest at
𝐴 when 𝑡 = 2.5 and moves towards 𝐵.
The distance 𝐴𝐵 is 48 m. The particle
takes 12 s to travel from A to B and
comes to rest at B. For the first 2 s of this
stage P accelerates at 3 𝑚𝑠 −2 , reaching a
velocity of 𝑉 𝑚𝑠 −1 . Find

ii) The value of 𝑉,

iii) The value of 𝑡 at which P starts to decelerate during this stage.
iv) The deceleration of P immediately before it reaches B.
[N10/M1/Q6]

Answer:

i) 𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 3.2 𝑚𝑠 −1
ii) 𝑉 = 6 𝑚𝑠 −1
iii) 𝑡 = 8.5 seconds.
iv) 1 𝑚𝑠 −2

17. The velocity time graph shown models

the motion of parachutist falling vertically.
There are four stages in the motion:
 Falling freely with the parachute
closed,
 Decelerating at a constant rate with the
parachute open,
 Falling with constant speed with the
parachute open,
 Coming to rest instantaneously on
hitting the ground.
i) Show that the total distance fallen is 1048 m.
The weight of the parachutist is 850 N.

ii) Find the upward force on the parachutist due to the parachute, during the second stage.
[J11/M1/Q3]
Answer:
i) 1048 𝑚 (shown)
ii) (85)(6) + 850 = 1360 𝑁

24. A car travels along a straight road with constant acceleration 𝑎 𝑚𝑠 −2 . It passes through points 𝐴, 𝐵 and 𝐶;
the time taken from 𝐴 to 𝐵 and from 𝐵 to 𝐶 is 5 s in each case. The speed of the car at 𝐴 is 𝑢 𝑚𝑠 −1 and the
distances 𝐴𝐵 and 𝐵𝐶 are 55 m and 65 m respectively. Find the values of 𝑎 and 𝑢.
[N12/M1/Q3]
Answer:
𝑎 = 0.4, 𝑢 = 10

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28. 𝐴 and 𝐵 are two points which are 10 m apart on the same horizontal plane. A particle 𝑃 starts to move from
rest at 𝐴, directly towards 𝐵, with constant acceleration 0.5 𝑚𝑠 −2. Another particle 𝑄 is moving directly towards
𝐴 with constant speed 0.75 𝑚𝑠 −1 and passes through 𝐵 at the instant that 𝑃 starts to move. At time 𝑇 𝑠 after this
instant, particles 𝑃 and 𝑄 collide. Find
i) The value of 𝑇,
ii) The speed of 𝑃 immediately before the collision.
[J14/M1/Q2]
Answer:
i) 𝑇=5
ii) 2.5 𝑚𝑠 −1

37. A sprinter runs a race of 400 m. His total time for

running the race is 52 s. The diagram shows the velocity-
time graph for the motion of the sprinter. He starts from
rest and accelerates uniformly to a speed of 8.2 𝑚𝑠 −1 in 6
s. The sprinter maintains a speed of 8.2 𝑚𝑠 −1 for 36 s, and
he then decelerates uniformly to a speed of 𝑉 𝑚𝑠 −1 at the
end of the race.
i) Calculate the distance covered by the sprinter in
the first 42 s of the race.
ii) Show that 𝑉 = 7.84.
iii) Calculate the deceleration of the sprinter in the last 10 s of the race.
[J16/M1/Q4]

Answer:
i) 319.8 𝑚
ii) 7.84 𝑚𝑠 −1
iii) 0.036 𝑚𝑠 −2

39. A car starts from rest and moves in a straight line from point 𝐴 with constant acceleration 3 𝑚𝑠 −2 for 10 s.
The car then travels at constant speed for 30 s before decelerating uniformly, coming to rest at point 𝐵. The
distance 𝐴𝐵 is 1.5 km.
i) Find the total distance travelled in the first 40 s of motion.
When the car has been moving for 20 s, a motorcycle starts from rest and accelerates uniformly in a straight line
from point 𝐴 to a speed 𝑉 𝑚𝑠 −1 . It then maintains this speed for 30 s before decelerating uniformly to rest at
point 𝐵. The motorcycle comes to rest at the same time as the car.
ii) Given that the magnitude of the acceleration 𝑎 𝑚𝑠 −2 of the motorcycle is three times the magnitude of
its deceleration, find the value of 𝑎.
iii) Sketch the displacement-time graph for the motion of the car.
[N16/M1/Q7]
Answer:
1
i) (30 + 40)(30) = 1050 𝑚
2
ii) 𝑎 = 7.5 𝑚𝑠 −2

40. The diagram shows a velocity-time graph which

models the motion of a car. The graph consists of four
straight line segments. The car accelerates at a constant
rate of 2 m/s² from rest to a speed of 20 m/s over a
period of T s. It then decelerates at a constant rate for 5
seconds before travelling at a constant speed of V m/s
for 27.5 s. The car then decelerates to rest at a constant
rate over a period of 5 s.
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(a) Find T.
(b) Given that the distance travelled up to the point at which the car begins to move with constant speed is
one third of the total distance travelled, find V.
[Nov 20/Paper 42/Q4]

41. A train starts from rest and moves with uniform acceleration with for 20 s. The train then travels at a
constant speed, V m/s, for 170 s before being brought to rest with uniform deceleration of magnitude twice
that of the acceleration. The total distance travelled by the train is 2.775 km.
(a) Sketch a velocity-time graph for the motion, stating the total time for which the train is moving.
(b) Find V.
(c) Find the magnitude of the acceleration.
[June 20/Paper 42/Q1]

42. A car starts from rest and moves in a straight line with constant acceleration a m/s² for a distance of 50 m.
The car then travels with constant velocity for 500 m for a period of 25 s, before decelerating to rest. The
magnitude of this deceleration is 2a m/s².
(a) Sketch the velocity-time graph for the motion of the car.
(b) Find the value of a.
(c) Find the total time for which the car is in motion.
[June 20/Paper 43/Q4]

MQ’s School of Mathematics