M13 F = ma practice questions

The graph below shows the acceleration of a car up to its maximum speed.

v/ms-1

t/s

1. (a) Why is the graph a straight line at low speeds?

(b) Use Newton I to explain why the car reaches a maximum speed which it cannot exceed.

2. A 70 kg athlete accelerates to his maximum speed of 9.5 ms-1 in a time of 2.5 s. What is the average
force he applies to the track?

3. A locomotive of mass 100 tonnes is hauling a train of wagons of mass 1200 tonnes with a pulling force
of 180 kN. What is the acceleration of the train?

4. A horse of mass 800 kg is pulling a barge of mass 5000 kg as shown in the diagram below:

The barge is initially at rest.

(a) Calculate the acceleration.

(b) The horse reaches a maximum speed of 1.5 ms-1. Calculate the time taken to reach this speed.

1
5. A lift and its passengers with a total mass of 500 kg accelerates upwards at 2 m s–2 as shown.
Assume that g = 10 m s–2.

What is the tension in the cable?

A 1000 N

B 4000 N

C 5000 N

D 6000 N
(Total 1 mark)

6.Two masses hang at rest from a spring, as shown in the diagram. The string separating the
masses is burned through.

Which of the following gives the accelerations of the two masses as the string breaks?

acceleration of free fall = g

acceleration of acceleration of
1 kg mass upwards in 2 kg mass downwards
m s–2 in m s–2

A 3g 1g

B 2g 2g

C 2g 1g

D 1g 1g

(Total 1 mark)

2
7. The diagram below shows an electric two-wheeled vehicle and driver.

(a) The vehicle accelerates horizontally from rest to 27.8 m s–1 in a time of 4.6 s. The mass
of the vehicle is 360 kg and the rider has a mass of 82 kg.

(i) Calculate the average acceleration during the 4.6 s time interval.
Give your answer to an appropriate number of significant figures.

acceleration = ............................................ m s–2

(2)

(ii) Calculate the average horizontal resultant force on the vehicle while it is
accelerating.

resultant force = .................................................. N

(2)

(b) State and explain how the horizontal forward force on the vehicle has to change for
constant acceleration to be maintained from 0 to 27.8 m s–1.

........................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................
(3)

(c) The electric motors drive both wheels of the vehicle.

Add labelled force arrows to the diagram to show the horizontal forces acting on the
vehicle when it is moving at a constant speed.
(2)
(Total 9 marks)

3
8.The driver of a car travelling with a velocity, v, along a level road, applies the brakes. The brakes
lock and the car skids to a stop. The skidding distance, d, is given by

d = kv2

where k is a constant.

(a) For a car travelling at a speed of 30 ms–1, d is 45 m. Calculate the value of d when the
car is travelling at 15 ms –1.

d ............................................... m (2)

(b) The mass of the car and its passengers is 700 kg. Calculate the average skidding
force that would bring the car to a stop from an initial speed of 30 ms–1 in a skidding
distance of 45 m.

average skidding force ............................................... N (4)

(c) By considering the equations for kinetic energy and the skidding distance, discuss how
the heat generated when the car skids is related to d.

........................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................

........................................................................................................................
(3)
(Total 9 marks)

4
9. In the 1969 Moon landing, the Lunar Module separated from the Command Module above
the surface of the Moon when it was travelling at a horizontal speed of 2040 m s–1.
In order to descend to the Moon’s surface the Lunar Module needed to reduce its speed
using its rocket as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1

(a) (i) The average thrust from the rocket was 30 kN and the mass of the Lunar Module
was 15100 kg. Calculate the horizontal deceleration of the Lunar Module.

answer = ............................. m s–2

(2)

(ii) Calculate the time for the Lunar Module to slow to the required horizontal velocity
of 150 m s–1. Assume the mass remained constant.

answer = ................................... s
(2)

(b) The rocket was then used to control the velocity of descent so that the Lunar Module
descended vertically with a constant velocity as shown in Figure 2. Due to the use of
fuel during the previous deceleration, the mass of the Lunar Module had fallen by 53%.

Figure 2

acceleration due to gravity near the Moon’s surface = 1.61 m s–2

(i) Draw force vectors on Figure 2 to show the forces acting on the Lunar Module at
this time. Label the vectors.
(2)

5
 (ii) Calculate the thrust force needed to maintain a constant vertical downwards
velocity.

answer = .................................. N
(2)

(c) When the Lunar Module was 1.2 m from the lunar surface, the rocket was switched off.
At this point the vertical velocity was 0.80 m s–1. Calculate the vertical velocity at which
the Lunar Module reached the lunar surface.

answer = ............................. m s–1

(2)
(Total 10 marks)

10.
A constant resultant horizontal force of 1.8 × 103 N acts on a car of mass 900 kg, initially at
rest on a level road.

(a) Calculate

(i) the acceleration of the car,

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

(ii) the speed of the car after 8.0 s,

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

(iii) the momentum of the car after 8.0 s,

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

(iv) the distance travelled by the car in the first 8.0 s of its motion,

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

6
 (v) the work done by the resultant horizontal force during the first 8.0 s.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(9)

(b) On the axes below sketch the graphs for speed, v, and distance travelled, s, against
time, t, for the first 8.0 s of the car’s motion.

(2)

(c) In practice the resultant force on the car changes with time. Air resistance is one factor
that affects the resultant force acting on the vehicle.
You may be awarded marks for the quality of written communication in your answer.

(i) Suggest, with a reason, how the resultant force on the car changes as its speed
increases.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

(ii) Explain, using Newton’s laws of motion, why the vehicle has a maximum speed.

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________
(5)
(Total 16 marks)