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Anglo-Chinese School (Independent)

Year 5 IBDP Physics 2016

2.1 Motion

1 The graph shows displacement against time. Describe the motion in as much detail as possible.

2 The graph shows the motion of a stone thrown vertically upwards. Calculate the maximum height
reached by the stone by
(a) first finding the average speed of the stone,
(b) finding the area under the graph.

3 The graph shows, in idealized form, a velocity-time graph for a typical short journey.

(a) Calculate the acceleration at each stage of the journey and display your answers on an
acceleration-time graph.
(b) Sketch a displacement-time graph for this journey.

4 A baby buggy rolls down a ramp which is 15 m long. It starts from rest, accelerates uniformly, and
takes 5.0 s to reach the bottom.
(a) Calculate its average velocity as it moves down the ramp.
(b) What is its velocity at the bottom of the ramp?
(c) What is its acceleration down the ramp?
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5 One type of aeroplane has a maximum acceleration on the ground of 3.5 m s .
(a) For how many seconds must it accelerate along a runway in order to reach its take-off speed
of 115 m s-1?
(b) What is the minimum length of runway needed to reach this speed?

6 Use the following two equations for uniform acceleration,

v = u + at and s=½(u+v)t
to produce
(a) an equation linking u, v, a and t.
(b) an equation linking s, u, a and t.

7 The best throwers in the world are baseball pitchers. They can release a ball travelling at 40 m s-1.
In so doing they accelerate the baseball through a distance of 3.6 m.
Calculate, taking g as 9.81 m s-2,
(a) the average speed of the ball during the throw,
(b) the time during which the ball is being accelerated,
(c) the average acceleration of the baseball.

8 A ball is thrown vertically upwards at 19.6 m s-1. Taking g as 9.81 m s-2.

(a) Make a table showing its velocity after 1.0 s, 2.0 s, 3.0 s and 4.0 s.
(b) What is the displacement after 2.0 s and 4.0 s?
(c) How far does it travel in the first 4.0 s?

9 A man throws a ball straight up into the air and catches it again. Take the upward direction to be
positive and sketch a velocity-time graph for the ball, assuming that air resistance to be negligible.
How could you use your graph to find the height reached by the ball?

10 Parachutists hit the ground at about 6.0 m s-1. How high a platform is needed for them to jump off
in order to give them practice at hitting the ground at this speed? [ g = 9.81 m s-2 ]

11 The diagram shows a velocity-time graph for a ball bouncing vertically on a hard surface.
[ Take g as 9.81 m s-2 ]

(a) Explain the shape of the graph.

(b) Use the graph to calculate three separate values for the acceleration of free fall.
(c) Calculate the height from which the ball was dropped and the height to which it bounced on
(i) its first bounce,
(ii) its second bounce.
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12 A kangaroo was seen to jump to a vertical height of 2.8 m. For how long was it in the air?
[g = 9.81 m s-2 ]

13 A ball was photographed stroboscopically as it was released and fell

freely. Eight images appear (the first two are overlapping) on
the photo which is reduced by a factor of eight and shown below.
Use the fact that the acceleration of the ball is 9.8 m s-2 to
discover the time interval between the flashes of the stroboscope.

14 A stone is dropped from the top of a building to the ground. During the last second of its fall it
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moves through a distance which is of the height of the building. How high is the building?
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[ 440 m ]

15 The graph shows the speeds of two cars A and B which are traveling in the same direction over a
period of time of 40 s. Car A traveling at a constant speed of 40 m s-1 overtakes car B at time t = 0.
In order to catch up with car A, car B immediately accelerates uniformly for 20 s to reach a
constant speed of 50 m s-1.

speed /ms-1

50 B

40 A

25

0 20 40 time/s

(a) How far does car A travel during the first 20 s?

(b) Calculate the acceleration of car B in the first 20 s.
(c) How far does car B travel in this time?
(d) What additional time will it take for car B to catch up with car A?
(e) How far will each car have then traveled since t = 0?
(f) What is the maximum distance between the two cars before car B catches up with car A?
[ 800 m, 1.25 ms-2 , 750 m, 5.0 s, 1 km, 90 m ]
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16 The diagram shows a velocity-time graph for a journey lasting 65 s. It has been divided into six
sections for ease of reference.

Velocity/ms-1
A B C D E F
30

20

-5 10 25 35 50 55 65 time/s

(a) Using information from the graph, obtain

(i) the velocity 10 s after the start,
(ii) the acceleration in section A,
(iii) the acceleration in section E,
(iv) the distance travelled in section B,
(v) the distance travelled in section C.
[ 20 ms-1, 2.0 ms-2, - 7.0 ms-2, 300 m, 250 m ]

(b) Describe qualitatively in words what happens in sections E and F of the journey.

(c) On the diagram below sketch the shape of the corresponding distance-time graph. You are not
expected to make detailed calculations of the distance travelled.

A B C D E F

distance
from start/m

time/s
10 25 35 50 55 65
time/s
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17 A cricketer throws a ball vertically upwards and catches it 3.0 s later. Neglecting air resistance,
find
(a) the speed with which the ball leaves his hands, [ 15 m s-1 ]
(b) the maximum height to which it rises. [ 11.3 m ]

Draw a sketch graph showing how the velocity of the ball depends on time during its flight. Mark
on your graph the times at which
(i) the ball leaves the cricketer’s hands (t1),
(ii) it comes to its maximum height (t2),
(iii) it reaches his hands again (t3).
[There is no need to calculate further particular values of the velocity.]

You are told to neglect air resistance in these calculations. In fact, air resistance provides a
retarding force which is approximately proportional to the square of the speed of the ball.
Without carrying out any calculations, explain how air resistance would affect
(iv) the time taken for the ball to reach its maximum height,
(v) the maximum height to which it rises,
if it were projected vertically upwards with the same speed as that calculated in (a) above.

18 A table from a car driver’s handbook reads as follows:

Speed / ms-1 Thinking distance/m Braking distance/m Overall distance/m

5.0 3.0 1.9 4.9
10 6.0 7.5 13.5
15 9.0 17 26
20 12 30 42
25 15 47 62
30 18 68 86
35 21 92 113

The Thinking distance is the distance travelled by the car during the driver’s reaction time.
The Braking distance is the distance in which the car stops after the brakes have been applied.

(a) Explain why thinking distance is directly proportional to speed whereas braking distance is not.
Describe in words the relationship between braking distance and speed.
(b) What constant value of negative acceleration has the author of the table used in calculating
the braking distances? [ 6.6 m s-2 ]
(c) Calculate the overall stopping distance for a car traveling at 50 m s-1. [ 218 m ]
(d) What would be the effects on the thinking distance and the braking distance of each of the
following conditions?
(i) The road is wet.
(ii) The driver is not fully alert.
(e) Calculate the overall stopping distance for a car traveling at a speed of 35 m s-1 down a hill at
an angle of 100 to the horizontal. [ 146 m ]

19 A stone is thrown horizontally from the top of a cliff with a speed of 5.6 m s-1. The cliff is 37 m
high. Assuming that air resistance is negligible and that the acceleration of free fall is 9.8 m s-2,
determine:

(a) the time taken for the stone to fall to the bottom of the cliff
(b) the distance of the stone from the base of the cliff when it lands
(c) the vertical component of the velocity of the stone when it lands
(d) the velocity of the stone when it lands
[2.7 s; 15 m; 26 m s-1; 27 m s-1 at 78o to the horizontal]
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20 A ball is thrown from horizontal ground at a speed of 24.0 m s and at an angle of 30 to the
horizontal. The acceleration of free fall is 9.8 m s-2.

(a) Neglecting air resistance, determine:

(i) the horizontal component of the velocity of the ball
(ii) the initial vertical component of the velocity
(iii) the maximum height reached by the ball
(iv) the time taken to reach maximum height
(v) the horizontal distance from the point where the ball was thrown to the point
where it returns to ground level
[21 m s-1; 12 m s-1; 7.3 m; 1.2 s; 50 m]

(b) (i) Draw a sketch graph of the path of the ball. Mark any important points on your
graph.
(ii) On your graph, sketch a line (labelled T) to indicate the path the ball would have
taken if it had been thrown with the same speed but at an angle of 40o to the
horizontal.
(iii) On the same graph, draw a line (labelled A) to show the path the ball would have
taken if it had been thrown with the same speed at an angle of 30o, but air
resistance could not be neglected.

21 A tennis ball is thrown from a height 2.0 m above the ground with a speed of 40 m s-1 at an angle
of 30o above the horizontal. As it is falling back to the ground, it strikes the top of a building which
is 12 m above the ground, as shown below.

Calculate
(i) the greatest height above the ground reached by the ball
(ii) the time taken by the ball to reach this height
(iii) the time taken by the ball to reach the point of impact with the building
(iv) the horizontal distance travelled by the ball up to the point of impact with the building.
(v) Draw graphs to represent the variation with time of
1 the horizontal component of the velocity
2 the vertical component of the velocity
[22 m, 2.0s, 0.58s or 3.5s, 120m]
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22 Figure below shows an aeroplane flying horizontally at a steady speed of 67 m s . A parachutist
falls from the aeroplane freely for 80 m (vertical height) before the parachute opens. For the
purpose of calculation, you may assume that air resistance is negligible before the parachute
opens.

(i) Determine the magnitude and direction of the resultant velocity of the parachutist when
he has fallen 80 m.
(ii) Sketch a simple diagram and draw two labelled paths, P and Q, of the parachutist during
the free-fall, assuming that
1 for path P, air resistance is negligible,
2 for path Q, air resistance cannot be neglected.
[78 m s-1 at 31˚ to the horizontal]

23 A basketball player is running to the right with a speed of 1.0 m s-1 and he throws the ball
at a speed of 7.5 m s-1 at 50o above the horizontal and at a height 2.0 m above the ground
as shown below. He manages to make a good deciding score and helps the team win in
the game.

Draw a vector diagram to show the addition of the two velocities of the shot at the moment of
release.
(a) Hence, or otherwise, calculate the resultant velocity of the two velocities.
(b) Calculate the maximum height of the ball from the ground.
(c) Calculate the horizontal distance from the basketball player to the rim of the hoop in order to
execute this perfect throw.
[8.2 m s-1 at 45˚ to the horizontal, 3.7 m, 4.6m]

24 Describe qualitatively the effect of air resistance on the trajectory of a projectile.