Describing Motion Practice Questions

Which of these quantities is a vector?

Put a cross ( ☒ ) in the box next to your answer.

☐ A energy

☐ B mass

☐ C momentum

☐ D speed

Complete the table by writing either scalar or vector next to each quantity.

Quantity	Scalar or vector
weight
distance
acceleration
energy

State the difference between a scalar quantity and a vector quantity.

Which of these is closest to the typical speed of sound in air?

Put a cross ( ☒ ) in the box next to your answer.

☐ A 3 m/s

☐ B 30 m/s

☐ C 330 m/s

☐ D 3300 m/s

A cyclist rides 4.5 km along a straight road in 15 minutes.

Calculate the average speed of the cyclist in m/s.

average speed = .............................................................. m/s

Describe the motion of the child during section B.

Calculate the speed of the child during section A.

speed = .............................................................. m/s

State which section, A or C, shows the greater speed. Give a reason for your answer.

The tram speeds up from 4.0 m/s to 16 m/s in 15 s.

Calculate the acceleration of the tram.

acceleration = .............................................................. m/s$^2$

Later in the journey the tram brakes uniformly from 16 m/s to rest in 8.0 s.

Calculate the deceleration of the tram.

deceleration = .............................................................. m/s$^2$

Explain why the acceleration of the tram while it brakes in (b) has a negative value.

Calculate the acceleration of the speedboat.

Use an equation selected from the list of equations at the end of this paper.

acceleration = .............................................................. m/s$^2$

Calculate the time taken for the speedboat to increase its speed from 5.0 m/s to 22 m/s.

time = .............................................................. s

State how long the bus travels at constant velocity.

time = .............................................................. s

Calculate the acceleration of the bus during the first 12 s.

acceleration = .............................................................. m/s$^2$

Compare the magnitude of the deceleration of the bus between 24 s and 30 s with the magnitude of its acceleration during the first 12 s.

Calculate the total distance travelled by the bus between the two bus stops.

distance = .............................................................. m

State the value of the acceleration in free fall, $g$.

$g$ = .............................................................. m/s$^2$

Calculate the speed of the stone as it reaches the water.

Use an equation selected from the list of equations at the end of this paper.

speed = .............................................................. m/s

Calculate the time taken for the stone to fall to the water.

time = .............................................................. s

In practice the stone takes slightly longer to reach the water than the time calculated in (c). Give one reason why.

A student wants to investigate how the speed of a trolley at the bottom of a ramp depends on the height of the top of the ramp.

The student has a trolley, a ramp, a stand to raise one end of the ramp, a card of known length, a metre rule, a stopwatch and a light gate connected to a data logger.

Figure 1 shows how the apparatus is set up.

Figure 1

Describe a method the student could use for this investigation.

Calculate the average speed of the athlete.

average speed = .............................................................. m/s

The athlete runs at a constant speed. Explain why the athlete is not moving with a constant velocity.

State the displacement of the athlete after one complete lap.

displacement = .............................................................. m

Which of these is closest to the typical speed of a car travelling on a motorway?

Put a cross ( ☒ ) in the box next to your answer.

☐ A 3 m/s

☐ B 10 m/s

☐ C 30 m/s

☐ D 300 m/s

On a slip road the car travels at 54 km/h.

Convert this speed to m/s.

speed = .............................................................. m/s

The car then travels on the motorway at an average speed of 25 m/s for 8.0 minutes.

Calculate the distance travelled by the car in this time.

distance = .............................................................. m

Draw the distance–time graph for Jamal's journey on the grid below.

Calculate Jamal's speed during the final section of the journey.

speed = .............................................................. m/s

Calculate Jamal's average speed for the whole journey.

average speed = .............................................................. m/s

Calculate the deceleration of the train as it comes to rest.

Use an equation selected from the list of equations at the end of this paper.

deceleration = .............................................................. m/s$^2$

Show that the total time for the journey between the two stations is about 46 s.

Calculate the average speed of the train for the whole journey between the two stations.

average speed = .............................................................. m/s

Calculate the speed of the trolley at light gate A and at light gate B.

speed at A = .............................................................. m/s

speed at B = .............................................................. m/s

Calculate the acceleration of the trolley between the two light gates.

Use an equation selected from the list of equations at the end of this paper.

acceleration = .............................................................. m/s$^2$

Another student measures the speeds using a stopwatch and a metre rule instead of the light gates.

Explain why the light gates give a more accurate value for the acceleration.

Calculate the acceleration of the ball while it is in contact with the wall.

acceleration = .............................................................. m/s$^2$

The acceleration in free fall is 10 m/s$^2$.

Calculate how many times greater the magnitude of the acceleration in (a) is than the acceleration in free fall.

number of times = ..............................................................

Show that the total time for the journey is about 71 minutes.

Calculate the average speed of the train for the whole journey, in m/s.

average speed = .............................................................. m/s