Kinematics Questions

Distance, Position and Displacement

1. Find the displacement for each of the following changes of position:
a) 6.0 km[S] to 15.0 km[S] b) 350 m[E] to 170 m[E] c) 12 cm[R] to 18 cm[L]
d) 25 m[U] to 55 m[U] e) -5.2 m[E] to 4.6 m[E] f) 8 m[N] to - 9 m[S]
2. At the start of a walk a persons initial position was 400 m[N]. During the walk their
displacement was 1700 m[S]. Find the persons final position.
3. A persons displacement during a walk was 2600 m[W]. If their final position was 300 m[E],
what was their initial position?
4. A person walks 225 m north and then walks 75 m east. Find a) the total distance walked and
b) persons displacement.
5. A person drove 42 km west, then 18 km south, and finally 13km east. Find a) the total
distance travelled and b) overall displacement.
Answer: 1.a)9.0km[S], b)180m[W], c)0.30m[L], d)3.0x10 1 m[U], e)9.8m[E], f)1m[N],
2)1300m[S], 3)2900m[E], 4a)3.00x102 m, b)237m[N18E], 5a) 73km, b)34km[W32S]

Speed and Velocity

6. What is the velocity of a boat that travels 62 km[E] in 2.5 hours?
7. What is the velocity of a person who jogs from 2 km[S] to 8 km[N] in 1.5 hours?
8. A car has a constant velocity of 60.0 km/h[N]. What is the cars displacement over 0.50
hours?
9. A person walks 3.4 km north and then 1.1 km south in 2.0 hours. Determine the persons
average a) speed. b) velocity.
10. A person drives a car at a uniform velocity of 60.0 km/h[E] for 3.5 hours and then drives
80.0 km/h[W] for 6.0 hours. Determine the cars average a) speed, b) velocity
11. How many hours would it take a plane to travel 2800 km[W] at a uniform velocity of 450
km/h[W]?
12. The sun is 1.5 x 1011 m away. The speed of light is 3.0 x 108 m/s. How long does it take
light from the sun to reach the earth?
13. Converting Units
120 cm/s =______ m/s 80.0 km/h = _____ m/s
2700m/s = _____ km/s 10.0 m/s = _____ km/h
60.0 m/min = _____ m/h 47 cm/s = _____ km/h
27mm/s = _____ cm/s 3.5 km/h = _____ cm/s
3.5 m/s = _____ m/min 26 cm/s = _____ m/min
9.8 m/s = _____ feet/s 12.5 m/min = _____ cm/s
10.0 feet/s = _____ m/s 3500 km/day = _____ m/s
100.0 km/h = _____ miles/h 4.86x105 m/s = _____ km/day
50.0 miles/h = _____ km/h 70.0 miles/h = _____ m/s
20.0 m/s = _____ miles/h
14. A person ran 125 m south in 18.5 seconds and then immediately turned and ran 75 m west in
10.5 seconds. Find the persons average a) speed, b) velocity. Include a labelled diagram.
15. A person drove north for 2.0 hours at constant speed of 65 km/h and headed east for 3.5
hours at a constant speed of 7.0x101 km/h. Find the a)total distance travelled, b)average
speed and c)average velocity.

Answer: 6)25km/h[E], 7)6.7km/h[N], 8) 3.0x101km[N], 9a)2.3km/h, b)1.2km/h[N],

10a)73km/h,b)28km/h[W], 11)6.2h, 12) 5.0x102s, 14a) 6.90m/s, b) 5.03m/s[31o WofS], 15a)
380 km, b) 68km/h, c) 5.0x101km/h [62 o EofN]

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 Kinematics Questions

Position-Time Graphs
16. The position time graph below shows the motion of a person jogging along a straight
highway.

1000
Position (m[W])

800
600
400
200
0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700
Tim e (s)

a) What are the time intervals of uniform motion?

b) What was the joggers velocity in each interval of uniform motion?
c) What was the joggers farthest distance from the starting point?
d) Draw a vector diagram (number-line) labelling the persons time and position at the end of
each interval of uniform motion.
e) What was the joggers displacement between
(i) 0 s and 100 s? (ii) 125 s and 300 s? (iii) 300 s and 500 s? (iv) 0 s and 675 s?
Answers: a) 0s-125s, 125s-275s, 275s-375s, 375s-675s, b) 1.6 m/s[W], 4.7 m/s[W], 0, 3.0m/s[E],
c) 0.90.k m, e) i) 150 m[W], ii) 0.70km [W], iii) 0.40 km[E], iv) 0,
17. The position time graph below shows the position of a snowplough relative to the centre of a
town along a straight highway. The snowplough starts out travelling east from its garage
which is located 10 km west of the centre of town.

40
30
Position ( km[E] )

20
10
0
-10 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3
-20
-30
-40
Time (h)

a) Draw a vector diagram (number-line) labelling the snowploughs time and position at the
end of each interval of uniform motion.
b) What is the snowploughs displacement during the first 1.0 hour?
c) What is the snowploughs displacement between 1.50 hours and 2.25 hours?
d) What are the time intervals of uniform motion?
e) What is the snowploughs velocity in each interval of uniform motion?
f) When did the snowploughs pass the centre of town?
g) What was the total distance travelled by the snowploughs?
Answers: b)40 km[E], c)45km[W], d)0h-1h,1h-1.25h,1.25h-2.25h,2.25h-2.5h,2.5h-3.0,
e)40km/h[E], 0, 60km/h[W], 0, 40km/h[E], f)at 0.25h and at 1.75h, g)120m

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 Kinematics Questions
18. The graph below shows the motion of car along a straight section of road.
5000

4000
Position m[W]

3000

2000

1000

0
0 200 400 600 800
Time (s)

a) When is the car moving i) west, ii) east, iii) not moving
b) When was the car furthest from the original position? What is the position?
c) Find the average velocity during the first 330 seconds.
d) Find the cars average velocity between 380 seconds and 750 seconds.
e) What is the total distance travelled over the whole trip?
f) Find the average speed over the whole trip.
g) Find the cars velocity at 100 seconds.
h) Find the cars velocity at 600 seconds
Answers: ai)0-330s, ii)380s-750s, iii)180s-230s, 330s-380s, b)330s-380s, 4200m[W], c)13m/s [W], d)
11m/s[E], e)8400m, f)11m/s, g)17m/s [W], h)9.0m/s[E]

19. The graph below shows the motion of an object moving in a straight line.

6
4
Position (m[N])

2
0
-2 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20
-4
-6
Time (s)

a) What is the objects i) initial position ii) final position?

b) When is the object furthest from the reference point? What is the position?
c) When is the object furthest from its initial position?
d) When is the object moving i)north? ii)south? iii)not moving?
e) Find the i)average speed and ii) average velocity for the first 9.0 seconds. Compare your answers.
f) Find the i)average speed and ii)average velocity over the entire 20 seconds. Compare you answers.
g) Find the instantaneous velocity at i) 4.0 seconds and 15.0 seconds.
Answers: ai)5.5m[S], 0.5m[s], b)0.0s, 5.5m[s], c)10.0s, di)0.0s-10.0s, 16.5s-20.0s, ii)10.0s-16.5s,
iii)10.0s, 16.5s, ei)1.0m/s, ii)1.0m/s[N], fi)1.01m/s, ii)0.25m/s[N], gi) 1.5m/s[N], ii) 0.94m/s[S]

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 Kinematics Questions
20. The graph below shows the motion of an object moving in a straight line.

35
30
25
Position(cm[N])

20
15
10
5
0
-5 0 5 10 15 20 25
-10
-15
Time(s)

a) Identify the intervals of i)uniform motion, ii) non-uniform motion.

b) When is the object moving i)north, ii)south, iii) not moving
c) Find the average speed for the first i) 5.0 s ii) 15.0 s, iii) last 10.0 s.
d) Find the objects velocity at i) 2.0 s, ii) 5.0 s, iii) 10.0 s, iv)15.0 s.
e) Sketch a velocity-time graph with approximate scales for time and velocity. Identify the
intervals in a)
Answers: ai)2.0s-7.0s, 9.0s-13.0s,13.0s-20.0s, 22.0s-25.0s, ii)0.0s-2.0s, 7.0s-9.0s, 20.0s-
22.0s, bi)0.0s-9.0s, ii)13.0s-22.0s, iii)9.0s-13.0s, 22.0s-25.0s, ci)3.6cm/s, ii)2.9cm/s,
iii)3.4cm/s, di) 3.8cm/s[N], ii)5.0cm/s[N], iii)0cm/s, iv)6.0cm/s[S]

Velocity-Time Graphs
21. The graph below shows the velocity of an object moving in a straight line.
Velocity (cm/s[E])

40
30
20
10
0
0 2 4 6 8 10
Time (s)

a) Identify the interval(s) of i)uniform motion, ii) uniform acceleration.

b) When is the object moving i) east, ii) west, iii) not moving?
c) When is the objects speed i) increasing, ii) decreasing, iii) constant?
d) When is the magnitude of the acceleration the greatest? Determine the acceleration.
e) Determine the objects displacement in each of the following intervals: i) 0s to 3.0s,
ii) 3.0s to 4.0s, iii) 4.0s to 8.0s, iv) 8.0s to 10.0s.
f) What is the objects total displacement after 10.0s?
g) Sketch a position-time graph.
Answers: ai)3.0s-4.0s, ii)0.0s-3.0s, 4.0s-8.0s, 8.0s-10.0s, bi) always, ii)never, iii)0.0s,10.0s,
d)0.0s-3.0s, 13cm/s2[E], ei)0.60m[E], ii)0.40m[E], iii)1.20m[E], iv)0.20m[E], f)2.40m[E]

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 Kinematics Questions
22. The graph below shows the velocity of an object moving in a straight line.

15

10
Velocity (m/s[E])

0
0 5 10 15 20
-5

-10
Time (s)

a) Identify the interval(s) of i)uniform motion, ii) uniform acceleration.

b) When is the object moving i) east, ii) west, iii) not moving?
c) When is the objects speed i) increasing, ii) decreasing, iii) constant?
d) Determine the objects displacement in each of the following intervals: i) 5.0s to 9.0s,
ii)13.0s to 15.0s.
e) Determine the object acceleration at i) 3.0s, ii) 7.0s, iii) 12.0s.
f) Sketch a position-time graph.
Ans ai)5.0s-9.0s, ii)0.0s-2.0s, 9.0s-15.0s, 19.0s-22.0s, bi)11.5s-22.0s, 0.0s-11.5s,
iii)0.0s,11.5s, ci)0.0s-5.0s, 11.5s-17.5s, ii)9.0s-11.5s, 17.5s-22.0s, iii)5.0s-9.0s, di)28m[W],
ii)14.5m[E], ei)1.3m/s2, ii)0m/s2, iii)2.8m/s2[E]

23. Sketch a graph showing the cars position and velocity against time for the situation
described below. Use the same time.
A car initially at rest increases its velocity uniformly to 50 km/h. The car continues with
uniform motion before gradually slowing to a traffic light. After waiting for the light to go
green the car uniformly accelerates to 60 km/h and then continues on with uniform motion.
The driver then realises they forgot something and brings the car to a quick stop, turns
around, accelerates to 40 km/h, and continues to the starting point at a uniform(without
having to stop for the light).

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 Kinematics Questions
Acceleration due to Gravity
24. An object is dropped from the top of a very tall building. a) How fast is the object going
after 1.5 s? How far has the object fallen in 1.5 s? c) If the object hits the ground after 2.2 s,
how tall is the building? Answers: a)15m/s[D], b)11m[D], c)24m[D]
25. An object is dropped from the top of a 56.0m tall building. a) How long does it take the
object to hit the ground? b) How fast is the object going when it hits the ground?
Answers: a)3.4s, b) 33m/s
26. An object is thrown straight up into the air with a speed of 12.5 m/s. How high does the
object go?Answer: 8.0m
27. An object is thrown straight up into the air. How fast must the object be thrown to reach a
height of 15.8m? Ans 18m/s
28. An object is thrown straight up into the air. How fast must the object be thrown so that it
takes 2.3 seconds before it reaches the ground? Ans 11m/s
29. An object is thrown straight up into the air with a speed of 15.3 m/s from the top of a 35.8 m
tall building. a) How long will it take for the object to hit the ground? b) How fast will the
object be going when it hits the ground? Ans a)4.7s, b)31m/s[D]

Applications of Vectors: Displacement and Velocity

2D Displacement and Velocity
30. An object moves from an initial position of 7.0 m[S] to a final position of 4.0 m[W] in 26s.
What is the objects displacement? (8.1m[N29.7oW])
31. A person walks 30.0 m north and then 20.0 m east in 45 seconds. a) Draw a diagram and
label. b) Determine the displacement for the entire trip. c) Determine the average speed for
the entire trip. (36.1m[N33.7oE], 1.11m/s)
32. An object moves 8.0 m[N] in 20.0 s and then 10.0 m[W] in 5.0 s. a) Draw a diagram and
label. b) Determine the following for the entire trip i) total distance, ii) average speed, iii)
displacement. (18.0m, 0.72m/s, 12.8m[N51.3oW])
33. A person drives 200.0 km south in 2.50 hours and then 150.0 km west in 1.50 hours. a) Draw
a diagram and label. b) Determine the following for the entire trip i) total distance, ii) average
speed, iii) displacement. (350.0km, 87.5km/h, 250.0km[36.9oWofS])
34. A person drives east at 80.0 km/h for 2.0 hours and then south at 60.0 km/h for 3.0 hours. a)
Draw a diagram and label. b) Determine the following for the entire trip i) total distance, ii)
average speed, iii) displacement. (340km, 68km/h, 240km[E48oS])
35. A person is 20.0 m north of a reference point and walks directly to a position 50.0 m east of
the reference point in 90.0 seconds. What is the person's a) displacement and b) average
velocity? (53.9m[S68.2oE], 0.598m/s[S68.2oE])

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 Kinematics Questions

Vector components
36. A person walks 1.8 km[S40W]. Find the components of the persons displacement in the
south and west directions. (1.4km[S],1.2km[W])
37. A person goes for a walk. The component of the person's displacement in the north direction
is 1.3 km. The component of the person's displacement in the east direction is 2.4 km. What
is the person's displacement? Include direction. 2.7km[E28.4oN])
3
38. A plane has a velocity of 1.0x10 km/h[N25W]. Find the velocity components in the north
and west direction. (420 km/h[W], 910km/h[N])
39. A persons walks from an initial position of 20.0 m[N] to a final position of 40.0 m[S60W].
Use components to find the person's displacement? (52.9m[S40.9oW])
40. If a plane has a constant velocity of 850 km/h[S40E], how far south does the plane travel in
3.5 hours? (2300km)
41. A person walks 60.0 m[N30E] and then walks 40.0 m[S40E]. Use components to find the
person's overall displacement during the walk. (59.7m[E21.0oN])

42. A person walks 4.0 km west and then 2.0 km[NW] in 2.0 hours. a) What is the persons
displacement? b) What is the person's velocity? (5.6km[14.6oNofW])
43. An object moves 54.0 m[N45°W] in 15s and then 90.0 m[S30°W] in 25 s. What is the
objects displacement and average velocity? (2.3m/s[W25.5oS])
44. A sailboat was 24.0 km[N30°E] from a lighthouse at 10:30 AM. At 12:30 PM the sailboat
was located 10.0 km[W45°S] from the lighthouse. a) What was the sailboats displacement?
b) What was the sailboats average velocity? (16.9km/h[S34.4oW])
45. A plane flies at a constant velocity of 600.0 km/h[E°30S]. If the plane was located 1200.0
km[E] of an airport at 1:00 PM, what was the planes position at 5:00 PM?(3490km[E20.1oS])

2D Average Acceleration
46. As a car rounds a corner its velocity changes from 5.0 m/s[W] to 8.0 m/s[S] in 3.0 seconds.
What is the car's average acceleration as it rounds the corner? (3.1m/s2[S32oe])
2
47. A plane changes its velocity from 6.0x10 km/h[N] to 750 km/h[E30°N] in 15.0 seconds.
What is the plane's average acceleration in km/h/s? (45.8km/h/s[E19.1oS])

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 Kinematics Questions

2D Relative Velocity
48. A plane is heading east with an airspeed of 400.0 km/h. a) What is the planes ground speed
and direction if it encounters a 60.0 km/h wind from the following directions: a) from the
east, b) from the north, c) from 30 east of south?
49. A plane can fly with an airspeed of 600 km/h. The pilot wishes to travel to an airport that is
1000 km directly east. a) If an 80 km/h wind is blowing from east i) what heading should the
pilot use? ii) how long will the trip take? b) If the wind is blowing from the north at 80 km/h:
i) what heading should the pilot use? ii) how long will the trip take? c) If the wind is 80 km/h
from 30 east of south i) what heading should the pilot use? ii) how long will the trip take?
50. A pilot wishes to reach an airport that is 1000 km[NW] from there present position in 2
hours. The wind is blowing directly from the east at 80 km/h. What speed and heading should
the pilot use?
51. A swimmer can swim at a speed of 1.5 m/s in still water. The current in a 225 m wide river
flows to the east at 1.0 m/s. The person leaves a point on the south shore.
a) If the person swims with an east heading i) what is the persons velocity relative to the
ground? ii) how long will it take to swim 50.0 m?
b) If the person swims with a west heading i) what is the persons velocity relative to the
ground? ii) how long will it take to swim 50.0 m?
c) If the person swims with a north heading i) what is the persons velocity relative to the
ground? ii)how long will it take to cross the river?, iii)how far downstream will the person
land?
d) If the person heads 30 west of north: i) how long would it take then to cross the river? ii)
How far upstream or downstream is the person once they arrive at the north shore?
e) If the person wishes to travel directly north: i) what heading should the person use? ii)what
is the person's velocity relative to the ground? iii)how long would it take the person to cross
the river?
f) What heading must the person use to travel directly to a point on the north shore that is
50.0 m upstream?

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