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Mechanics · Part 1 of 3
24 exam-style questions with model answers, plus 32 quick multi-choice questions — every question on this part of the standard, grouped by the 8 pages of notes they come from.
Write a full answer before you reveal the model one. That comparison is where the learning happens.
A cyclist travels m along a straight road in s.
Calculate the cyclist's average speed.
A swimmer swims m north up a pool in s, then m back south in s.
Calculate her average speed and her average velocity for the whole swim, and explain why the two answers are different.
A ball is thrown vertically upward. At the highest point of its flight, a student claims that because the ball is momentarily stationary, its acceleration must also be zero.
Discuss whether the student is correct. In your answer you should refer to the definitions of velocity and acceleration, and to the force acting on the ball.
A car starts from rest and accelerates uniformly at m s−2 for s.
Calculate its final velocity.
A motorcycle travelling at m s−1 brakes uniformly and stops in s.
Calculate the acceleration and the distance travelled while braking. Explain why the acceleration is negative.
Two cars, A and B, are side by side and both travelling at m s−1 when they begin to brake. Car A decelerates uniformly at m s−2; car B decelerates uniformly at m s−2.
Calculate each stopping distance. Then explain fully, using the equations of motion, why halving the deceleration doubles the stopping distance, and why doubling the initial speed instead would have a far larger effect.
A ball is dropped from rest from a height of m. Take m s−2.
Calculate the speed at which it hits the ground.
A stone is thrown vertically upward at m s−1.
Calculate the maximum height it reaches above the throwing point, and explain why the stone's acceleration is not zero at the highest point of its flight.
A physics class drops a cricket ball and a table-tennis ball of the same diameter from a first-floor window at the same instant. The cricket ball lands noticeably first.
Explain fully why the free-fall model predicts that they should land together, and why in reality they do not. Refer to the forces on each ball and to Newton's second law.
A distance–time graph is a straight line passing through and .
Calculate the velocity of the object.
A distance–time graph for a bus consists of a straight line rising from to , followed by a horizontal line to .
Describe the motion of the bus in each stage and calculate the velocity in each. Explain what feature of the graph tells you the bus is stationary.
Two distance–time graphs are drawn on the same axes for the same s interval. Graph P is a straight line from to . Graph Q is a curve from to that starts nearly flat and finishes very steep.
Compare the motion shown by the two graphs. Your answer should discuss average velocity, instantaneous velocity, and acceleration, and explain how the same average velocity can arise from completely different motions.
A car's velocity–time graph is a horizontal line at m s−1 for s.
State what the area under the line represents, and calculate the distance the car travels.
A cyclist's velocity–time graph rises in a straight line from to m s−1 over s, then stays at m s−1 for a further s.
Calculate the acceleration during the first stage and the total distance travelled, and explain how you know the acceleration in the second stage is zero.
A lift's velocity–time graph shows: a straight rise from to m s−1 over s; a horizontal section at m s−1 for s; then a straight fall back to over s.
Analyse the motion fully. Calculate the acceleration in each stage and the total distance, and explain how the graph shows that the passenger feels heaviest in the first stage and lightest in the last.
A ball is dropped from a height of m. Take m s−2.
Calculate the time it takes to reach the ground.
A ball is kicked horizontally at m s−1 from the top of a wall m high.
Calculate how far from the base of the wall it lands, and explain why its horizontal velocity does not change during the flight.
A ball is thrown horizontally from a balcony at the same instant that an identical ball is dropped from the same height.
Explain fully why the two balls land at the same time, and describe how the landing speeds compare. Support your answer with reference to the components of velocity.
A ball is launched at m s−1 at an angle of above the horizontal.
Calculate the horizontal and vertical components of the launch velocity.
A golf ball is hit from level ground at m s−1 at above the horizontal.
Calculate the maximum height it reaches, and explain why the horizontal component of its velocity is the same at the top of the flight as it was at launch.
A shot-putter can release the shot at a fixed speed. She is told that launching at and at would send the shot the same horizontal distance on level ground.
Explain fully why the two angles give the same range, using the components of the launch velocity, and discuss which of the two would be the better choice in a real competition.
A ball on a string moves in a horizontal circle of radius m at a constant speed of m s−1.
Calculate its centripetal acceleration.
A stone on a string is whirled in a horizontal circle of radius m, completing revolutions per second.
Calculate its speed and centripetal acceleration, and explain why the stone is accelerating even though its speed is constant.
A ball is being whirled in a horizontal circle on the end of a string when the string suddenly breaks.
Describe and explain the subsequent path of the ball. Your answer should refer to Newton's laws and to why passengers in a cornering car feel pushed outward, even though no outward force acts on them.