UNIT 1

FORCES AND MOTION

1 MOVEMENT AND POSITION
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
 Plot and explain distance-time graphs
 Know and use the relationship between average speed, distance moved and time taken:
distance moved
average speed ¿
timetaken

 Practical: investigate the motion of everyday objects such as toy cars or tennis balls
 Know and use the relationship between acceleration, change in velocity and time taken:
change∈ velocity (v−u)
acceleration ¿ a¿
timetaken t
 Plot and explain velocity-time graphs
 Determine acceleration from the gradient of a velocity- time graph
 Determine the distance travelled from the area between a velocity-time graph and the time axis
 Use the relationship between final speed, initial speed, acceleration and distance moved:
(final speed )2=(initial speed)2 + (2×acceleration×distance moved)
v2= u2 + (2× a × s)
Scaler and vector Quantities:
Considering the aspect of direction all the quantities of the physical word can be divided into two groups :
1. Scalar Quantity
2. Vector Quantity
Scalar quantity: Physical quantities which can be fully expressed by magnitude only are called scalar
quantities. Length, mass, speed, work, energy, time, temperature etc. are examples of scalar quantities.
Vector quantity: Physical quantities which need both magnitude and direction to be fully expressed are
called vector quantities. Displacement, weight, velocity, acceleration, force, electric intensity, magnetic
intensity etc. are examples of vector quantities.
Table. Examples of scalar and vector quantities
Scalar Quantity Vector Quantity
Name Symbol Example Name Symbol Example
Distance d 40m Displacement s 40m towards east
Speed v 30ms-1 velocity v 30ms-1 towards north
Time t 15s force F I 00N upward
Energy E 2000J Acceleration a 98ms-2 downward

Difference between Scalar and vector quantity:

Vector Quantity Scalar Quantity
1. Any physical quantity which has both 1. Any physical quantity which has only
magnitude and direction is called a vector magnitude is called a scalar quantity viz.
quantity viz. displacement. velocity, weight etc. length, speed, mass etc.
2. A vector quantity change if its magnitude or 2. A scalar quantity changes only when its
direction or both are changed. magnitude is changed.
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 3. Addition, subtraction, multiplication etc. of 3. Addition. subtraction, multiplication etc. of
vectors are not subject to ordinary arithmetic scalars are subject to ordinary arithmetic rules.
rules.
Example:
Scalar quantity:
mass, distance, time, speed, volume, density, pressure, work, energy, power, charge, electric
current, temperature, scalar potential, specific heat, frequency etc.
Vector quantity: Displacement, velocity, acceleration, force, weight, momentum, angular
momentum, impulse, electric field, magnetic field, current density, poynting vector, vector potential
etc.
Rest and Motion
Rest: A body is said to be static or at rest with respect to its surroundings when does not change its position
with time.
Motion: A body is said to be in motion with respect to its surroundings when it changes its position with
time. And this change of position with time is called motion.

Distance and Displacement

Distance: Total path covered by an object irrespectively to its direction is called Distance.
It is scalar quantity
Unit: Meter (m)
Displacement: The change of position of an object with respect to its surrounding in a definite direction is
called displacement.
It is a vector quantity because it has both magnitude and direction.
Unit: The unit of displacement is the same as that of distance that meter (m). The displacement of a body is
50m towards north means that the body has moved 50m from its initial position towards north direction.
Question 2. An object moves along the grid through points A, B, C, D, E, and F as shown below. The side of square
tiles measures 0.5 km.
a) Calculate the distance covered by the moving object.
b) Find the magnitude of the displacement of the object.

Solution:
a) The distance covered by the moving object is calculated as follows:
AB + BC + CD + DE + EF
3 + 1 + 1.5 + 0.5 + 0.5 = 6.5 km
The distance covered by the moving object is 6.5 km.
b) The initial point is A and the final point is F, hence the magnitude of the displacement is equal to the distance AF which
is calculated by applying Pythagoras’s theorem to the triangle AHF as shown in the figure below
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Speed and velocity:
Speed: The rate of change of distance with time is called speed.
distance moved
speed ¿
timetaken

d
in symbols, v ¿ where v = speed (in ms-1)
t
Average speed: If a body does not move with uniform speed, then average speed is obtained dividing the
total distance traversed by time.
total distance
Thus, average speed ¿
time
Velocity: The distance traversed by a moving body in unit time in a definite direction is called the velocity
of the body.
The rate of change of displacement with time is called velocity

displacement
velocity ¿
time taken

If a body traverses a distance S in a definite direction in time t the velocity is v = s/t.

Dimension: The dimension of velocity is the same as that of speed, i.e. [LT-1]
Unit: The unit of velocity is ms-1 the same as that of speed. Velocity has both magnitude and direction. So
velocity is a vector quantity.
Uniform velocity: If the magnitude and direction of the velocity of a moving body remains unchanged, then
the velocity of the body is called uniform velocity.
Non-uniform velocity: If the magnitude or direction or both of the velocity of a moving body changes
during its motion, then its velocity is called variable or non-uniform velocity.

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Differences between speed and velocity

Speed Velocity
1. Speed of a body is the rate of change of its 1. Velocity is the rate of change of displacement
position with time in a straight or curved path. with time.
2. Speed is a scalar quantity. 2. Velocity is a vector quantity.
3. There is change of speed if only magnitude 3. Velocity changes if only magnitude or only
change. direction or both change.
4. The magnitude of velocity of a body is its 4. Speed in a definite direction is Velocity.
speed.

Distance-Time Graph Essentials

Specification Point 1.3
 Plot and explain distance−time graphs
The Basics

A distance-time graph shows how the distance of an object (from a point) varies over time:

Graphs showing how the distance travelled by three objects varies over time

Finding Speed

 The speed of an object is given by the gradient of the line.

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  A horizontal line means stationary.
 A straight line means constant speed.
 If the gradient increases the object is speeding up (accelerating).
 If the gradient decreases the object is slowing down (decelerating).
 If the line is going down, the object is moving backwards.

Exam Tip
 When you come across any graph, look carefully at what is plotted on each axis and think for a while about
what the graph is showing you.

 Distance-time graphs are also known as position-time graphs or displacement-time graphs. Don’t be fooled
by these different names: They describe the same kind of things.

Calculating the SPEED using a DISTANCE-

TIME Graph .....
The GRADIENT or SLOPE of a D-T graph tells us about the objects SPEED in ms-1
Tocalculate the speed we use rise/run or Distance/Time.
We must be careful to only calculate the speed for the section
asked - so check values carefully in questions!!

The average speed can be calculated for any part of a journey by

taking the change in distance and dividing by the change
in time for that part of the journey. You can even do this for a
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curved line where the speed is changing, just remember that your
result is the average speed in this case. You may also notice that
the formula for calculating speed is sometime written with small
triangles Δ (the Greek letter delta) in front of d (distance)
and t (time). The Δ is just short hand for "change in".
Therefore Δt means "change in time"

Speed: The Basics

Specification Point 1.4:
 Know and use the relationship between average speed, distance moved and time taken:
average speed = distance moved / time taken
 Speed (measured in metres per second) is the distance moved by an object each second.
 The average speed of an object is given by the equation:

 You can rearrange the equation with the help of the formula triangle:

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 Use the formula triangle to help you rearrange the equation

Exam Tip
 Use the units of speed (metres per second – distance divided by time) to help you remember the formula.
 The equation is for average speed, but the speed at a specific moment might be higher or lower.

Describing Experiments
Specification Point 1.5
 Practical: Investigate the motion of everyday objects such as toy cars or tennis balls.

 You might be asked to describe an experiment in which you have to determine the speed or acceleration
of an object, or how its position or speed change with time.
 As part of this, you will be expected to list any apparatus that you need, explaining clearly how you will
use it.

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 Some simple apparatus that can be used to measure distance and time

 The experiment you describe must be realistic: Using a ruler to measure the length of an athletics track is
not realistic – you would be far better using a (long) tape measure or a trundle wheel.

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 A trundle wheel is ideal for measuring long distances

Top Tips for describing experiments:

 If you need to use an equation to calculate something, start off by giving it.
(Listing it at the start will give you some hints about the things you need to mention later).
 State what your independent variable is (the thing that you are going to change) and how you will
measure it.
If appropriate, you should also suggest some values for your independent variable.
 State what your dependent variable is (the thing you are going to measure), and describe how you will
measure it (what equipment will you use?)
 List any variables that you need to control and explain briefly how you will do so.
 Finally, state that you will repeat the experiment several times and take an average.

Example:

“Describe an experiment to measure the terminal velocity of a falling paper cone.”

 I will determine the terminal velocity using the equation:

speed = distance / time

 My independent variable will be the distance, which I will measure using a tape measure. I will drop the
paper cone from a variety of heights starting at 1 metre and going up in 10 cm intervals to 2 meters.

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(Note: These distances are big enough that the times will be measurable – any smaller and they won’t be).

 My dependent variable will be the time which I will measure using a stopclock. I will start the clock
when I drop the cone and stop it when it hits the ground.
 I will repeat each measurement three times and take an average of the times at each height.
 I will then calculate the speed at each height using the above equation.
 I will use the same paper cone throughout the experiment and do the experiment somewhere where there
are no drafts which could affect the results.

Exam Tip
 You may write your answer using bullet points (as in the example above).
 The use of bullet points will help you to structure your answer and to keep better track of the marking
points that you have addressed.

Light gates

 Sometimes you may be asked to suggest ways in which an experiment could be improved.
 Light gates are pieces of apparatus that allow times to be measured more accurately, but in order to gain
marks you must describe what they do and how you would use them.

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 Light gates can be used to accurately time the motion of objects in a laboratory

 A light gate can be used to start a timer when an object passes through it (blocking the lightgate).
 A second light gate (a fixed distance away) can be used to stop the timer.
 Light gates can also be used to determine the speed of an object through the gate by timing how long the
gate is blocked for.

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Measuring Speed

Figure: Using a light gate to measure the speed of moving the speed of a moving trolley in the laboratory.

In the laboratory, the speed of a moving trolley can be measured using a light gate connected to an
electronic timer (see Figure 1.1) A piece of card, called an interrupt card, is mounted on the trolley. The
light gate has a beam of (invisible) infrared radiation. As the trolley passes through the gate, the front edge
of the card breaks the beam and starts the timer. When the trailing edge passes the gate, the bam is no longer
broken and the timer stops. The faster the trolley is moving, the shorter the time for which the beam is
broken. Given the length of the card, the trolley’s speed can be calculated.

The ticker timer and speed

The ticker timer is simply a piece of apparatus that we use to measure time. When you work out the speed of
an object you need to know how far it goes in a certain time.

Acceleration :The rate of change of non-uniform velocity of a body with time is called its acceleration.
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If the initial velocity of a body is u and its final velocity after time t is v
then change of velocity in time t = v-u
v−u
Hence, change of velocity in unit time =
t

v−u
⸫ rate of change of velocity, i.e. acceleration, a =
t
change∈ velocity
Therefore, Acceleration =
time
velocity 2
Unit : The unit of acceleration in the unit of , that is , ms −¿ ¿ = ms-2
time s

Acceleration, Velocity & Time

Specification Point 1.6
 Know and use the relationship between acceleration, change in velocity and time taken:
acceleration = change in velocity / time taken
a = (v − u) / t
 Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity: In other words, how much the velocity of an object
changes by every second.
 Acceleration is given by the equation (where u is the initial velocity of an object and vis its final
velocity):

(Where u is the initial velocity of an object and v is its final velocity.)

 You can rearrange this equation with the help of the formula triangle:

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 Use the formula triangle to help you rearrange the equation

 The units of acceleration are m/s2, which mean the same thing as m/s/s – the change in velocity
(in m/s) every second.

Exam Tip
 Marks are often available for giving the correct unit, even if your answer is incorrect.
 You must, however, give an answer (even if it’s just a guess): giving a unit without an answer will not gain
you any marks.

Uniform acceleration and Non-uniform acceleration

If the rate of increase of velocity of a moving body in particular direction is maintained constant all the time,
then the acceleration is said to be uniform. Conversely, if the rate of velocity change with time, the
acceleration is said to be non-uniform or variable.

The difference between and acceleration

Velocity acceleration
1. The rate of change of displacement with time is 1. The rate of change of non-uniform velocity of a
called velocity. body with time is called acceleration.
2. Dimension of velocity [LT-1] 2. Dimension of acceleration is [LT-2]
3. Unit o1 velocity is ms-1 3. Unit of acceleration is ms-2
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Acceleration: The rate of change of velocity of body with time is called acceleration.

Positive acceleration means the change in velocity is in the same direction as the velocity. Therefore, the
speed is increasing.

Negative acceleration means the change in velocity is in the opposite direction to the velocity. Therefore, the
speed is decreasing. Negative acceleration is also known as deceleration or retardation.

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 1. A body at rest 2. A body moving constant velocity
s/m
s/m

The body has a displacement

10

t/s
t/s
gradient of the s-t graph = velocity

v/ms-1 v/ms-1

0 t/s t/s

a/ms-2 a/ms-2

0 t/s t/s

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 3. Object moving at a uniform acceleration 4.Object moving at uniform deceleration
3 0.5
acceleration constant
Ac
cel 0
erat 0 5 10 15 20
Acceleration (ms-2)

acceleration is constant ion -0.5

2 (ms
-2
)
-1

1 -1.5

-2

0 -2.5 time (sec)

0 5 10 15 20

time (sec)

40
40

30 Velocity is increasing at
a constant/ linear rate
30
Velocity (ms-1)

velocity decreasing at a constant rate

Velocity (ms-1)

20
20

10

10

0 0

0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20

450
500

375
400
distance (m)
distance (m)

displacement increasing at an increasing rate 300

300
225

200 150 displacement increasing at a decreasing rate

100 75

0 0
0 0
5 10 15 20 10 20

time (sec) time (sec)

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5. Acceleration increasing at a constant rate 6. Acceleration increasing at an increasing rate

10 16

acceleration increasing at a constant rate acceleration increasing at an increasing rate

8
12

Acceleration (ms-2)
Acceleration (ms-2)

4
2

0 0
0 10 20 5 10 15 20

time (sec) time (sec)

160 80

120 60
Velocity (ms-1)

velocity increasing at an increasing rate

Velocity (ms-1)

velocity increasing at an increasing rate

40
80

20
40

0 0
0 0 5 10 15 20
10 20
time (sec) time (sec)

200 100

160 displacement increasing at an increasing rate 80

displacement increasing at an increasing rate
Distance (m)
Distance (m)

120 60

80 40

40 20

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 0 0
0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20

time (sec) time (sec)

7. Acceleration increasing at a decreasing rate 8. Acceleration decreasing at a constant rate

30
20

25 16 acceleration decreasing at a constant rate

Acceleration (ms-1)

Acceleration (ms-1)
20 acceleration increasing at a decreasing rate 12

15 8

5 4

0 0
0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20

time (sec) time (sec)

600 200

500
160
velocity increasing at an increasing rate
velocity (ms-1)

400
velocity (ms-1)

120

300

80 velocity increasing at a decreasing rate

200

100 40

0 0
0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20

time (sec) time (sec)

1000

900
800
800
Distance (m)

700

600 600
Distance (m)

500
Displacement increasing at an increasing rate
400 400
Displacement increasing at an increasing
300

200
200
100

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0 0

0 5 10 15 20 0 5 10 15 20

time (sec) time (sec)

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9. Acceleration decreasing at an increasing rate. 10. Acceleration decreasing decreasing rate.

a/ms-2 a/ms-2

acceleration decreasing
at an increasing rate

t/s t/s

v v/ms-1

velocity increasing at an
increasing rate

t t/s

s
s/ms-1

velocity increasing at
an increasing rate

t t

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11. A body is moving with a constant acceleration 12. A body is moving with a constant velocity
in the opposite direction in the opposite direction

a/ms-2 a/ms-2

t/s

t/s

v/ms-1 v/ms-1

t/s
-1 t/s

-2

-3

d/s
s

t/s

t/s

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13. A body is moving with a constant
deceleration in the opposite direction

a/ms-1

-(-a)
=+a

t/s

v/ms-1

t/s

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 Velocity-Time Graph Essentials
Specification Point 1.7
 Plot and explain velocity-time graphs

 A Velocity-time graph shows how the velocity (or speed) of an object changes over time.

Graph showing how the velocity (speed) of an object changes over time

Finding Acceleration
Specification Point 1.8
 Determine acceleration from the gradient of a velocity−time graph

 The acceleration of an object is given by the gradient of the graph:

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 Graph showing how acceleration can be determined from gradient

 If the line is horizontal, the velocity is constant (no acceleration).

 If the line slopes upwards then the object is accelerating (speeding up).
 If the line goes down then the object is decelerating (slowing down).

Finding Distance
Specification Point 1.9:
 Determine the distance travelled from the area between a velocity−time graph and the
time axis

 The distance travelled by an object can be found by determining the area beneath the graph.

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 The distance travelled can be found from the area beneath the graph

 If the area beneath the graph forms a triangle (the object is accelerating or decelerating) then the area can
be determined using the formula:

area = ½ × base × height

 If the area beneath the graph is a rectangle (constant velocity) then the area can be determined using the
formula:

area = base × height

Exam Tip
 Remember to include units when giving your answers:
o The units of acceleration, for example, are m/s2

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  When asked to find the distance, start by stating:

distance = area beneath graph

 A common mistake is to try and find distance using the distance-speed-time equation. This equation will
not work if the speed of the object is changing.

 Lines that slope downwards have negative gradients and so can be said to have negative accelerations:
This is the same thing as a deceleration. Don’t worry about this, though – you can use either term to
describe it.

Calculating the TOTAL DISTANCE traveled from a SPEED-

TIME graph ?
The total distance traveled in a journey is represented by the AREA under the v-t
graph
The way to calculate this is to break your graph up into "shapes" and find the area of
each shape (just like you would do in Maths)
so AREA = DISTANCE TRAVELLED
The area under the line in a velocity-time graph represents the distance travelled. To
find the distance travelled in the graph above, you need to find the area of the light-blue
triangle and the dark-blue rectangle.

1. Area of light-blue triangle

o The width of the triangle is 4 seconds and the height is 8 metres per
second. To find the area, you use the equation:
o area of triangle = 1⁄2 × base × height
o so the area of the light-blue triangle is 1⁄2 × 8 × 4 = 16 m
2. Area of dark-blue rectangle
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 o The width of the rectangle is 6 seconds and the height is 8 metres per
second. So the area is 8 × 6 = 48 m. (b x h)
3. Area under the whole graph
o The area of the light-blue triangle plus the area of the dark-blue rectangle
is:
o 16 + 48 = 64 m.
o This is the total area under the distance-time graph. This area represents
the distance covered.

Acceleration & time

 If the acceleration of an object is known, you can determine how its speed changes over time, using the
equation:

final speed = initial speed + acceleration time

 This equation is often written using the algebraic form:

v=u+a×t
Where:


o u = initial speed
o v = final speed
o a = acceleration
o t = time

Acceleration & Distance

Specification Point 1.10
 Use the relationship between final speed, initial speed, acceleration and distance moved:

 If you don’t know how long the object accelerates for but you do know how far it travels, a different
equation can be used:

(final speed)2 = (initial speed)2 + (2 × acceleration × distance moved)

 This can be written algebraically:

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 v2 = u2 + (2 × a × s)
Where:


o s = distance travelled
o u = initial speed
o v = final speed
o a = acceleration

Exam Tip
 When tackling problems like this, start by writing down the values of all of the quantities you know.
 You can do this by writing down the expression suvat and then writing numbers next to each letter, as
shown below:

s = 10 m

u = 0 m/s

v = ???? (this is what we want to find out)

a = 5 m/s2

t = xxx (we don’t know this value)

 Writing out the information as shown above will make the problem clearer and help you to decide which
equation to use.

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Velocity-time graphs
The slope of a velocity-time graph represents acceleration.

High Acceleration

Low Acceleration
Velocity

Constant Velocity
Or zero Acceleration

Deceleration
Time

The area under a velocity-time graph represents distance travelled.

velocity

area equals distance

travelled

Time

1
Area of the triangle = × base × height
2
1
Area of the trapezium = (sum of the to parallel sides) × height
2

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X-t, V-t, and a-t graph for a round trip.

s/m
-a

t/m

v/ms-1

t/s

a/ms-2

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Motion and graph for a bouncing ball

A ball is dropped from a certain height, it hits the ground and bounces few more times, For
this case, upward is taken to be positive and downward is to be negative. Ground is take to
be zero. All measurements were taken from the ball’s centre of gravity.

+ =Up
Displacement

= Down

0 Time
Brief bounce
+
Velocity

0
Time
-
+
Acceleration

- Time

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Explanation of Displacement – Time Graph: A ball was dropped from a cartain height and
it acceleration downwards due its weight. The displacement decreases at an increasing rate.

The ball hits the ground. It exerts a force on the ground gives it an equal and opposite force
hence the direction of the ball’s velocity changes upward. So the ball starts moving upward
after remaining in contact for a short time knows as ‘impact time’. Since the gravity always
acts downwards, this time it is against the ball’s motion. The ball’s displacement increases at
decreasing rate because the ball is now decelerating. The ball reaches a maximum height and
at the point, the velocity of the ball becomes zero and the ball starts falling again. With every
bounce, some of the kinetic energy of the ball gets transferred to internal (thermal) energy
and hence its peak height decreases and impact time increases.

Explanation of Velocity- Time graph:

The ball is initially dropped downward. The ball acceleration at a constant rate (-9.81ms -2) so
the velocity increases at a linear rate. The downward direction is considered negative. So the
velocity increases with negative values.

The ball goes up after bouncing. Upward taken positive. The ball decelerates at a constant
rate (-9.81ms-2), so the velocity decreases at a constant rate until it becomes zero (at
maximum height). But all values of velocities are taken to be positive.

The ball comes down again and hits the ground. Due to the ground’s force of the ball, in the
upward direction, the ball’s direction of velocity changes to upward in the impact time.

Within impact time, the velocity changes from negative to positive. So the graph has a very
light gradient/slope.

The graph repeats with every bounce.

Explanation of Acceleration- Time graph:

During free fall (and free rise), the only acts on the ball is gravitational. So the acceleration is
--9.81ms-2 (negative because the gravity always acts downwards). Also the velocity time
graph is also a liner one which shows the gradient is constant.

When the ball is constant with ground, the force from ground is upwards. Now an
unbalanced force always causes acceleration. THIS acceleration was NOT AN
ACCELERATION OF FREE FALL. This acceleration caused the ball’s velocity to change
upwards from downward. So the acceleration during impact time is positive.

With every hit, some energy gets dissipated to the surrounding and every time the velocity
with which the ball rebounds decreases and contact time increases so acceleration during
impact time decreases.

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Equation of Motion

Change∈velocity
(i) Acceleration =
Time taken

v−u
a=
t
v = u + at

Total distance
(ii) Avg velocity =
Total time

u+v
Avg velocity =
2

s u+v
⸫ =
t 2

u+v t
s=( )
2

s u+v s u+at
(iii) = =
t 2 t 2

1
v = u + at s = ut + + at2
2

s v +u+ at
=
t 2

(iv) v = u + at
v2 = (u + at)2
v2 = u2 + 2uat + a2 + t2
1
v2 = u2 + 2a (u + + at2)
2
2 2
v = u +2as

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Straight Line Graphs :

y = mx + c equation of a straight line

where, m = gradient

c = cut in y – axis = y intercept

v = u + at t=x–a×s v2 = u2 + 2as
v = at + u x = y – intercept draw v2 against u2 graph
v = y- axis
a m

-- gradient = a

1
t/s T = 2π√ g

t/s
2 2
v = u + 2as
v2 = 2as + u2
v2 = y – ax, s = ax – ax
√L
2 2
v = √ 2as + u
y2 mn+c

T2/s2

π2
4 g

Gradient
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u2
L/m
s/m

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CHAPTER QUESTIONS (Edexcel IGCSE (9-1) Physic student book) page 26-27)
1. A sprinter runs 100 meters in 12.5 seconds. Calculate the speed in m/s.
2. A jet can travel at 350 m/s. Calculate how far it will travel at this speed in:
a 30 seconds
b 5 minute
c half an hour.
3. A snail crawls at a speed of 0.0004 m/s. How long will it take to climb a garden stick 1.6 m high ?
4. Look at the following distance-time graphs of moving objects.

distance

distance
distance
distance

time time time time

A B C D
Identify in which graph the object is :
a moving backwards
b moving slowly
c moving quickly
d not moving at all

5. Sketch a distance-time graph to show the motion of a person walking quickly, stopping for a
moment, then continuing to walk slowly is the same direction.
6. Plot a distance-time graph using the data in the following table. Draw a lien of best fit and use your
graph find the speed of the object concerned.

Distance/m 0.00 1.60 3.25 4.80 6.35 8.00 9.60

Time/s 0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30

7. The diagram below shows a trail of oil drips made by a car as it travels along a road. The oil is
dripping from the car at a steady rate of one drip every 2.5 seconds.
oil drips on the road

a Describe the way the car is moving

b The distance between the first and the seventh drip is 135 metres.
8. A car is traveling at 20 m/s. It acceleration uniformly at 3 m/s2 for 5s.
a Sketch a velocity-time graph for the car during the period that it is acceleration. Include numerical
detail on the axes of your graph.
b Calculate the distance the car travels while it is accelerating.
9. Explain the difference between the following terms :
a average speed and instantaneous speed
b speed and velocity.
10. A sports car acceleration uniformly from rest to 24 m/s in 6 s. Calculate the acceleration of the car .
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11. Sketch velocity-time graphs for an object:
a moving with a constant velocity of 6 m/s
b accelerating uniformly from rest at 2 m/s2 for 10s
c decelerating to rest at 4 m/s2
Include numbers and units on the velocity and time axes in each case.
12. A plane starting from rest acceleration at 3 m/s2 for 25s. Calculate the increase in velocity after :
a 1s
b 5s
c 25c
13. Look at the following sketches of velocity-time graphs or moving objects.

velocity

velocity
velocity
velocity

time time time time

A B C D

In which graph is the object:

a not acceleration
b accelerating from rest
c decelerating
d accelerating at the greatest rate?
14. Sketch a velocity-time graph to show the velocity of a car travelling along a straight road changes if
it accelerates uniformly from rest for 5 s, travels at a constant velocity for 10 s, then brakes hard to
come to rest in 2 s.
15. a Plot a velocity-time graph using the data in the following table:

Velocity/m/s 0.00 2.5 5.0 7.5 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0
Time/s 0.00 0.1 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0

Draw a line of best fit and use your graph to find:

b the acceleration during the first 4 s
c the distance travelled in :
i the first 4s of the motion shown
ii the last 5s of the motion shown
d the average speed during the 9 seconds of motion shown.
16. The dripping car from Question 7 is still on the road! It is still dripping oil but now at a rate of one
drop per second. The trail of drips is shown on the diagram below as the travels from left to right.

oil drips on the road

Describe the motion (the way the car is moving) using the information in this diagram
17. This question uses the equation v2 = u2 + 2as.
a Explain what each of the terms in this equation represents.
b A ball is thrown vertically upwards at 25 m/s. Gravity causes the ball to decelerate at 10 m/s 2.
Calculate the maximum height the ball will reach.
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Cambridge O level Physics by David Sang

WORK EXAMPLE 2.1

A car travels 5 km due east and makes a U-turn back to travel a further distance of 3 km
Find (a) the distance covered,
(b) Its displacement.

Solution:
(a) Distance covered = 5+3
= 8 km

3 k,m
N
Ending point E

staring point 5 k,m

Figure----
(b) Displacement = 5 – 3
= 2 km due east of starting point O.

WORK EXAMPLE 2.2

Calculate (a) the average speed and (b) the average velocity of the car in Worked Example 2.1 if the time for
the car to move from O to E is 0.2 hour.

Solution:
total distance covered
(a) Average speed =
total time taken
8
=
0.2
= 40 km h-1

2
(b) Average velocity =
0.2
total displacement
=
total time taken

= 10 km h-1 due east of

Starting point O.

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WORK EXAMPLE 2.3
A ball rolling in a straight line shows down from 8 ms-1 to 2 ms-1 in 10s. What is its acceleration?

Solution

Initial velocity u = 8 ms-1

Final velocity v = 2 ms-1
Time taken t = 10 s
v−u 2−8
Uniform Acceleration a = = = -0.6 ms-2
Δt 10
The negative sign in the answer means that the ball is decelerating.

WORK EXAMPLE 2.4

A cyclist decelerates uniformly at 0.4 ms-2 from 5 ms-1 to a complete stop. How long does he take to stop?

Solution:

Initial velocity u = 5 ms-1

Final velocity v = 0 ms-1

Acceleration a = -0.4 ms-2 (negative to represent decelerating)

v−u
=
Δt
v−u 0−5
Δt = = = 12.5 s
a −0.4

WORK EXAMPLE 2.5 The graph is Figure 2.25 shows the movement of
Speed/ms-1 a car over period of 50 s. What distance was
travelled by the car while its speed was
decreasing?
20
Solution:
10
The speed was decreasing in the time interval
between 40 and 50 s.
0 1
= 2 × 20 × 10 = 100 m
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 time/s
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WORKED EXAMPLE 2.6
A boy accidentally dropped a book and a pencil from a third-
story window. If the objects were dropped 9 m from the
ground, how long would these objects take to hit me ground?
(Take the acceleration due to gravity, g =10 ms-2). What would
the velocity be when the book hits the ground?

Solution:
Both the book and the pencil accelerate from rest with area = distance
acceleration g = 10 ms-2. The velocity-time graph is as shown dropped
in Figure 2.31.

Let the velocity with which the objects hit the ground be v and
the time taken be t.
v-0
Gradient of v-t graph = =10 ms-2
t
⸫ v = 10 t Figure --------
1 1
Area under v-t graph = distance = 9 = vt = (10t) t = 5t2
2 2
9
Therefore, t2 = = 1.8
5
t = 1.34 s
⸫ v = 10 t = 13.4 ms-1

Both the book and the pencil will hit the ground in 1.34 s with
a velocity of 13.4 ms-1 (which is almost 50 km h-1!).

WORKED EXAMPLE 2.7

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A marble was dropped 25 m above the ground. The marble accelerated uniformly as it fell to the ground. An
observed noted that it took 2.0 s for the marble to reach the ground. Calculate values for
(a) the average speed of the marble as it fell,
(b) the maximum speed of the marble,
(c) the acceleration of the marble as it fell.

In the light of your value for the acceleration, suggest in what way the original observations may have been
faulty.

Solution:
(a) Total distance travelled by the marble = 25 m
Time taken = 2.0 s
25
Average speed = = 12.5 ms-1
2.0

(b) Let the maximum speed of the marble be v ms-1. The speed time graph of its motion is as shown:

Speed/ms-1

2 Time/s
Figure12.22
Distance travelled = are under the graph = 2 × 2 × v = 25
Therefore the maximum speed of the marble v = 25 ms-1

change in velocity 25−0

(c) acceleration = time taken = 2
= 12.5 ms-1

The marble is falling freely under gravity. The acceleration due to free fall should be about
10 ms-2. The calculated value is too big. The time have taken for the marble to fall was
measured wrongly-the actual fall should have lasted longer than 2.0 s.

WORKED EXAMPLE 2.8

Fine the speed of the tape in the diagram:
Measure the tape shown. Do you find that it has travelled 1.9 cm in each 5-dot length?

0 1 2 3 4 5
distance travelled (5 dots)
Speed =1.9 cm
time taken for 5 dots

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 1.9 cm 1.9 cm
= = = 19 cm/s = 0.19 ms-1
5× 0.02 s 0.1 s
Practice Questions section A What is the average acceleration of the girl?
Multiple-Choice Questions A 12.5 ms-2 B 1.125 ms-2
C 8 ms-2 C 80 ms-2
1. Which statement correctly describes speed?
A distance travelled at 1 ms-1.
B The distance travelled in 1 second.
C The time taken to reach 1 ms-2 from rest. 4. The graph shows the speed of two cyclists
D The time taken to travel 1 metre. over a period of time.

2. The graph shows the movement of a car over a

period of 50 s. cyclist X
Speed
cyclist Y

Spe
ed/
ms-
1
Time
10

Figure 2.36

5
Figure 2.34
From the information in the graph, which
statement is correct?
A Cyclist X went faster than Cyclist Y.
0 B Cyclist X was more powerful than Cyclist Y.
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Time/s
C Cyclist X and Cyclist Y always travelled at
constant speed.
Which distance was travelled by the car while its D Cyclist X accelerated at the same rate as
speed was increasing? Cyclist Y.
A 10 m B 20 m
C 100 m D 200 m 5. The graph shows the first few seconds of a car
journey.
3. The speed-time graph of a girl rollerblading is
speed
shown. in ms-1

spe 40
ed/
ms-
-1
30

20 0
time/s
0
Figure 2.37
10

0 From the graph it can be seen that the car travels

0 1 2 3 4 5 Time/s A at increasing speed and then stops.
B at constant speed and then slows down.
Figure 2.35
C with constant acceleration and then at
constant speed.
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D with constant acceleration and then stops.

6. A skier is travelling downhill. The Section B Structured Questions

acceleration on hard snow is 4 ms-2 and on soft
1.
snow is 2 ms-2. Which graph shows the motion
(a) Explain the difference between speed and
of the skier when moving from hard to soft
velocity.
snow?
(b) Figure 2.39 shows a distance-time graph for an
object.
D

B C

distance
speed in speed in
ms-1 A ms-1 B
30 30
A Time

20 20 Figure 2.39

10 10
Which section of the graph AB, BC or CD,
0 0
indicates the object
0 5 10 0 5 10 (i) moving with constant speed,
time in s time in s
(ii) At rest?
(Nov03/P2/Q1)
speed in speed in
ms-1 ms-1
C D
1. (a) A car travels round a circular track at a
30 30
constant speed of 40 km h-1
20 20 Explain why the car’s velocity is not constant.
(b)Is the car accelerating? Explain your
10 10
answer.
0 0

0 5 10 0 5 10
(Nov02/P2/Q1)
time in s time in s

2. The graph below shows how the velocity of a

ball charged when it was rolled up a smooth
slope with an initial speed of 8 ms-1.
7. The graph shows how the speed of a (a) At what time did the ball reach its highest
motorcycle changes with time. point on the slope?
Speed (b) Calculate the greatest distance of the ball
in ms-1 from its starting point.
(c) Calculate the acceleration of the ball as it
moved up the slope.
20
(d) At what time would the ball return to its
starting point?
10 (Nov94/P2/Q2)

time/s
5 10 15 20 25 30
8
Figure 2.38
speed 4
in ms-1
How far does the motorcycle travel before the
brakes are applied? 0 2 4
A 150 m B 200 m Time/s
C 350 m C 500 m Figure 2.40
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 (c) State the value of the time when the ball is at
its highest point above the ground.
3. The speed of a cyclist moving along a (d) Determine the vertical distance covered by
horizontal straight road is shown in the the in the first 0.4 s of its motion.
diagram below. (Phy/Jun98/P2/Q1)

8 6. The table below shows the variation with t of

the distance s travelled by an aircraft as it
6 starts moving along a runway.
4
t/s 0 1 2 3 4 5
2
0 time/s s/m 0 1 6 17 37 67
0 10 20 30

Figure 2.41 State, giving your reasons,

(i) weather the speed of the aircraft is
(a) What is meant by acceleration? increasing decreasing or remaining
(b) Calculate the acceleration of the cyclist in constant.
the first 20 seconds. (ii) whether the acceleration of the aircraft is
(Jun92/P2/Q1 (part)) increasing decreasing or remaining
4. A car moving along a straight level road at an constant.
initial speed of ms-1 has a constant acceleration (Phy/Jun97/P2/Q1(a))
of 2ms-2 for 3 s.
(a) Plot a speed-time graph for this motion.
(b) Calculate the distance travelled by the car
in the three seconds.
(Nov91/P2/Q1(part))
7. A small steel ball, dropped from rest, take
5. Figure 2.42 below shows the variation of 0.50 s to fall through a vertical distance of
speed u with time t of a ball thrown vertically 1.25 m. Determine
upwards into the air. Only the first 0.4 s of the (i) the average speed of the ball,
graph have been plotted. (ii) the actual speed of the ball when it has
fallen through a vertical distance of 1.25
u/(ms-1) m, assuming that the acceleration is
constant,
6 (iii) the value of that acceleration.

4 (Phy/Jun96/P2/Q1(a))

0 t/s
0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2

Figure 2.42

(a) State what is meant by the speed of the ball.

(b) Complete the figure to show the variation of
the speed u with time between t = 0.4 s and i =
1.2 s.

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