Mechanics

Unit Test 1
1. Define the term Physics.
2. Explain why Physics is a science.
3. Discuss the relationship between physics and society.
4. State the career opportunities that physics opens for you.
5. Describe the scientific investigation processes.
6. Distinguish between a fundamental (base) quantity and a derived quantity.
Give one example of each.
7. Name three fundamental quantities and their SI units.
8. Give a reason why it was necessary to establish SI units.
9. How many micrometres are there in 4 cm?
10. Express the following in millimetres:
(a) 2.7 m (b) 26.9 cm (c) 356 µm.
11. Name the instruments you would use to measure each of the following:
(a) the length of a football field.
(b) the height of a 20 litre jerrican.
(c) the circumference of your waist.
12. A sea vessel carries 2 megatonnes of cargo. What is this mass in kg?
13. Explain how you would measure the exter nal diameter of a
measuring cylinder.
14. Describe briefly how you would measure:
(a) the volume of a single drop of water from a burette.
(b)the time taken by an ant to cover a distance of 2 m.
15. Drops of water coming from a crack in a water tap are collected at regular
intervals as shown in Fig. 1.39(a).
(a) What is the volume of the water
collected?
(b) Fig. 1.39 (b) shows the time 25 55
60
5

taken to fill the measuring ml

20
50 10

cylinder. What is the time taken 15

45 15

to collect this volume? 10

40 20

35 25

(c) The measuring cylinder used 5

30

has a capacity of 25 ml. What 0

is the time taken to fill the (a) (b)

measuring cylinder? Fig. 1.39: Measuring volume of water

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Conserve water always! Repair damaged taps to avoid water loss.

16. Estimate the volume of air in your classroom.

17. A solid cube of aluminium has sides 10 cm long.
(a) Calculate its volume.
(b) What mass in kilogram of aluminium has a mass of 100 g? Use the
table of densities on page 54.
18. A Eureka can of cross sectional area 60 cm2 is filled with water to a height
of 10 cm. A piece of steel is lowered carefully into the can as shown in
Fig. 1.40 then removed. If the height of the water dropped to 7 cm, after
overflowing, determine the volume of steel metal.

10 cm

Fig. 1.40: Measuring volume using Eureka can

19. An aquarium measuring 1 m by 0.8 m by 0.5 m is filled with water of density
1 000 kg/m3. Calculate the mass of water contained in the aquarium.
20. 1 kg of lead and 1 kg of aluminium are each made into a spherical ball. Which
one will occupy more space? Explain step by step how you arrived at your
answer (Use table 1.13 showing densities of common substances).
21. What is the length of the glass rod shown in Fig. 1.41?
30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 24

0 mm 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Glass rod
Fig. 1.41: Measuring length of a glass rod

22. Describe how you would determine the volume of an irregular object such as
a small stone.
23. How would you determine the circumference of a test tube using a cotton
thread and a metre rule? State any precautions that need to be taken.
24. What is the mass of air in a room measuring 5 m × 10 m × 10 m? (Take the
density of air to be 1.293 kg/m3).

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4. Describe a laboratory experiment by which you would measure the

acceleration due to gravity. Show how the acceleration is obtained from
your results.

Unit summary and new words

• Distance is the total length of the path travelled.
• Displacement is the shortest distance between two points in the direction
of motion.
• Speed is the distance moved by the body per unit time. i.e.

Speed = distance moved

time taken
• A body covering equal distances in unit time intervals is said to move with
uniform speed.
• Velocity is the rate of change of displacement. i.e.
change in displacement
Velocity = time taken
• Instantaneous velocity is the velocity of a body at a specific moment in time.
• Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity. i.e.
change in velocity
Acceleration = change in time
• The gradient of a velocity-time graph represents acceleration.
• The area under a velocity-time graph represents displacement.
• The gradient of a displacement-time graph represents velocity.

Unit Test 2
(Where necessary take g = 10 m/s2)
1. Define the following terms:
(a) Distance (d) Velocity
(b) Displacement (e) acceleration
(c) Speed
2. Iragena and Hakizimana were discussing about velocity in their Physics class
before presenting their findings to the whole class. Which of the following

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is correct about uniform velocity.

A. the rate of change of acceleration with time is constant.
B. the rate of change of displacement with time is constant.
C. the rate of change of velocity with time is constant.
D. the rate of change of distance with time is constant
3. A cyclist travelling at a uniform acceleration of 2.5 m/s2 passes through
two points P and Q in a straight line. Her speed at point P is 20 m/s and
the distance between the points is 100 m. Calculate her speed at point Q.
4. A car increases its speed steadily from 8.0 m/s to 30 m/s in 10 s. How far
does it travel in this time?
6. Ntwali runs 100 m race in 12.0 s. Find his average velocity.
7. A racing cyclist starts from rest and accelerates uniformly to a velocity of
20 m/s in 4 s.
(a) What is the acceleration of the cyclist?
(b) What is the distance covered in the 4 s?
8. Uwase threw a ball vertically upwards while playing in the school field.
Sketch:
(a) a speed-time graph for the motion of the ball.
(b) a velocity-time graph for the motion of the ball.
9. Which one of the following motion-time graphs and acceleration-time
graphs represents a body moving with uniform acceleration from rest? (Fig.
2.38).

(a) (b) (c)

v a a

t t t
(d) (e) (f)
a v s

t t t
Fig. 2.38: Motion-time graphs

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10. The velocity-time graph in Fig. 2.39 shows the movement of a toy car on
a straight path. Use the information to find:
Velocity
(m/s)

20

0
10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 Time (s)

–20

Fig. 2.39: Velocity-time graph

(a) the initial acceleration of the car.

(b) the total time the car was not moving.
(c) the total distance travelled by the car.
(d) the displacement of the car from the starting point.
11. A lift carrying people starts from the third floor and stops on the sixth
floor of a building after 20 s. Sketch a velocity-time graph of the motion
of the lift. Show how you would use your sketch to determine the distance
between the third and the sixth floor of the building.
12. Fig. 2.40 shows the motion of a motorcyclist on a straight road. Use the
information on the graph to answer the following questions.
Velocity
40
(m/s)
B C
30

20
F
10

A D E
0
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Time (s)
Fig. 2.40: Graph of velocity against time

(a) In which section of the graph was the cyclist accelerating most rapidly?
Explain how you would determine this acceleration.
(b) Calculate the retardation of the motorcyclist from the graph.
(c) Which part of the graph shows that the motorcyclist was stationary
and for how long?

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(d) Use the graph to find the distance travelled by the motorcyclist before
stopping.
13. Fig. 2.41 represents the velocity-time graph of a body during a period of
30 s.

10
Velocity, (m/s)

10 20 30 Time(s)
Fig. 2.41: Graph of velocity against time

(a) Use the equations of motion to find the displacement of the body in
30 s.
(b) Use the graph to determine the displacement of the body in 30 s.
(c) What is the retardation of the body?
14. Fig. 2.42 shows a displacement-time graph of the motion of a body over a
period of 14 s. Use the graph to determine:

50

40
Displacement (m)

30

20

10

2 4 6 8 10 12 14
Time (s)

Fig. 2.42: Displacement-time graph

(a) the velocity when t = 3 s and t = 7 s.

(b) the acceleration of the body between 3 s and 7 s.
(c) the time, in seconds, the body was stationary.

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• Weight is the gravitational pull in an object.

• A force can cause:
- Change in the state of motion of a body.
- Change of the shape of a body.
- Turning effect on a body.
- Wear and tear on a body.
• Types of forces include friction, tension, pull of gravity(weight), normal
reaction force, air resistant, upthrust, action and reaction force, gravitational,
magnetic and electric force.
• Contact force include tension, pull of gravity(weight), action and reaction
force, air resistance etc.
• Non-contact force includes gravitational, magnetic and electrostatic forces.
• Force is a vector quantity. It has both magnitude and direction. It is normally
represented by a line with an arrow ( ).
• Weight is measured using a spring balance.
• Two or more forces are said to be balanced if they are equal in magnitude and
act in opposite direction.

Unit Test 3
1. Define force and state its SI unit.
2. State three types of contact and non-contact forces.
3. Name the instrument which is used to measure weight.
4. A first aid kit box used at a fire accident scene has a weight of 2 500 N. What
is its mass?
5. The mass, weight and density of chalk is not changed by grinding it into
powder, but air friction is greater when the powder falls towards the ground.
Explain.
6. Calculate the weight of the following. (Take g = 10N/kg.)
(a) 300 g mass of water
(b) 700 kg mass of sand
(c) 0.5 mg mass of wool
7. A metal bob of mass 20 g is suspended using a light thread. Calculate the
tension developed in the thread. (Take g = 10N/kg.)

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8. What effect of a force is shown in Fig. 3.42?

Fig. 3.42: Effect of force on a body

9. What is frictional force?

10. Find the resultant of the following forces:
(a) 150 N due East and 200 N due West.
(b) 450 N due North and 250 N due South.
11. State four differences between mass and weight.
12. Moon’s gravitational pull is 16 of the earth’s gravitational pull. Calculate the
weight of a body whose mass is 40 kg on:
(a) the moon’s surface.
(b) the earth’s surface.
13. Three strings are attached to a small metal ring. Two of the strings make an
angle of 70º and each is pulled with a force of 7 N, find the force that must
be applied to the third string to keep the string stationary.
14. A body is acted upon by two forces each of magnitude 50 N. Find the
magnitude of the resultant force on the body when the angle between the
two forces is:
(a) 0º (b) 45º (c) 90º
(d) 135º (e) 180º

Drive and observe all traffic rules carefully. Careless driving and
breaking of traffic rules can cause death!

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Where, F = the force of attraction between the two bodies.

r = the separation distance of the two bodies.
G = the universal gravitational constant equal to 6.673 × 10-11Nm2/kg2.
m1 and m2 are the respective masses of the the two bodies.

Unit Test 4
In this unit test use: Mass of the earth = 5.98 × 1024 kg, Radius of the earth
= 6.4 × 10 6 m, Mass of the sun = 1.989 × 10 30 kg, Radius of the sun
= 6.9858 × 108 m, Distance from the sun to the earth = 1.496 × 1010 m,
Mass of the moon = 7.348 × 1022 kg, Radius of the moon = 1.7374 × 106 m,
G = 6.67 × 10–11 Nm2/kg2.
1. (a) Explain why Newton’s first law is also called the law of inertia.
(b) Describe an experiment to illustrate the Newton’s first law of motion.
2. Explain why a balloon with air moves immediately the air inside is released?
3. State Newton's universal law of gravitation.
4. Akaliza is 57 kg while Mazimpaka is 62 kg. The two are standing at a distance
from each other in their class. If the gravitational force of attraction between
them is 3.21 × 10-8 N, find their separation distance.
5. What is the gravitational force of attraction between the;
(a) Sun and the earth.
(b) Earth and the moon.
6. The gravitational force between two objects of equal mass when they are
15 m apart is 1.94 × 10-8N. What is the mass of each object.
7. Two wardrobes of masses 1.6 × 102 kg and 2.3 × 102 kg exert an attraction
force of 3.4 × 10-6 N between them. What is the distance separating them?
8. What is your mass? What is the earth's gravitational force of attraction on you
when you are standing on the ground?

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Unit Test 5
1. Define the term centre of gravity?
2. Differentiate between centre of mass and centre of gravity.
3. Redraw the figures shown in Fig 5.17 and indicate their centres of gravity.

Fig. 5.17: Solids

4. Describe how you can determine the centre of gravity of the lamina shown
in Fig 5.18.

Fig. 5.18 Irregular shape

5. Fig. 5.19 shows a marble in three types of equilibrium. State and explain
the type of equilibrium in each case.

Fig. 5.19: Marble in three state of equilibrium
6. What is stability?
7. One vehicle which was travelling from Kigali to Butare was seen carrying
heavy goods on its roof top and some of its passengers in the vehicle were
standing. Discuss why the vehicle is likely to topple if it negotiates a corner
at high speed.

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8. Explain why a three-legged stool design is less stable than a four legged one.
9. Explain the following:
(a) The passenger of a double-decker bus are not allowed to stand on
the upper deck.
(b) A racing car is made of a heavy chasis in its lower parts.
(c) When one is alighting from a moving vehicle, it is advisable to spread
out his/her legs.

My safety

Do not stand in a moving vehicle. Let us observe traffic rules.

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• According to the law of conservation of energy, energy cannot be created

or destroyed but can only be converted from one form to another.
• Energy is converted changes from one form to another by transducers such
as light bulbs, hair driers. For example, a hair drier converts electrical energy
into thermal energy, kinetic energy and sound energy.
• Fuel is a substance which when burnt produces heat.

Unit Test 6
1. Define the term power and give its SI unit.
2. A motor raised a block of mass 72 kg through a vertical height of 2.5 m in
28 s. Calculate the:
(a) work done on the block.
(b) useful power supplied by the motor.
3. A person of mass 40 kg runs up a flight of 50 stairs each of height 20 cm
in 5 s. Calculate:
(a) the work done.
(b) the average power of the person.
(c) explain why the energy the person uses to climb up is greater than
the calculated work done.
4. A runner of mass 65 kg runs up a steep slope rising through a vertical height
of 40 m in 65 s. Find the power that his muscles must develop in order to
do so.
5. A fork-lift truck raises a 400 kg box through a height of 2.3 m. The case is
then moved horizontally by the truck at 3.0 m/s onto the loading platform
of a lorry.
(a) What minimum upward force should the truck exert on the box?
(b) How much P.E. is gained by the box?
(c) Calculate the K.E of the box while being moved horizontally.
(d) What happens to the K.E once the truck stops?
6. A stone falls vertically through a distance of 20 m. If the mass of the stone
is 3.0 kg,
(a) Sketch a graph of work done by the gravity against distance.
(b) Find the power of the gravitational pull.

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7. Mugisha climps 16 m rope in 20 s. If his mass is 60 kg, find the average

power he developed.
8. A car is doing work at a rate of 8.0 × 104 W. Calculate the thrust of the wheels
on the ground if the car moves with a constant velocity of 30 m/s.
9. Uwimbabazi took 55.0 s to climb a staircase to a height of 14.0 m. If her
mass is 40 kg, find:
(a) How much force did she exert in getting to the that level?
(b) Her power?
10. In Fig. 6.25 three positions of a monkey swinging from a branch of a tree
are shown.

A C
B

Fig. 6.25: A monkey swinging

(a) What kind of energy does the monkey have at each position?
(b) What happens to the energy when the monkey is midway between A
and C?
(c) In which positions does the monkey have the least energy? What name
is given to this type of energy?
11. A device which converts one form of energy to another is called a
transducer. Name one transducer in each of the cases energy transformation
given below.
(a) Heat to kinetic energy (b) Electrical to light
(c) Sound to electrical (d) Potential energy to kinetic energy
(e) Chemical to electrical

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12. Discuss the energy transformations in Fig. 6.26.

Fig. 6.26: A boy jumping

13. (a) State the law of conservation of energy.

(b) Differentiate between renewable and non-renewable sources of energy.
Give two examples of each.
(c) Explain the energy transformation in a hydroelectric power station.

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Unit Test 7
1. Define the following terms:
(a) Power of a machine (b) Efficiency
(c) Mechanical advantage (M.A) (d) Velocity ratio (V.R)
2. A farmer draws water from a well using the machine shown in Fig. 7.26.
The weight of the bucket and water is 150 N. The force, F exerted by the
farmer is 170 N. The bucket and its content is raised through a height of 15
m.
(a) What is the name given to such a
machine?
(b) Why is the force, F, larger than the
weight of the bucket and water? Effort
(c) What distance does the farmer pull the
rope? 150N
(d) How much work is done on the bucket
and water?
(e) What kind of energy is gained by the Fig. 7.26: A simple pulley system
bucket?
(f) How much work is done by the farmer?
(g) Where does the energy used by the farmer come from?
(h) Show with a flow diagram the energy conversion in lifting the water
from the well.
3. A factory worker lifts up a bag of cement of mass 50 kg, carries it horizontally
then up a ramp of length 6.0 m onto a pick-up and finally drops the bag
of cement on the pick-up (Fig. 7.27).

Fig. 7.27: Worker lifting cement on the pick-up

(a) Explain the energy changes in the various stages of the movement
of the worker.
(b) During which stages is the worker doing work on the bag of cement.

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(c) If the worker has a mass of 60 kg and the ramp is 1.5 m high, find the
(i) velocity ratio.
(ii) efficiency of the inclined plane if the mechanical advantage is 3.
4. Fig. 7.28 shows the cross-section of a wheel and axle of radius 6.5 cm
and 1.5 cm respectively used to lift a load. Calculate the efficiency of the
machine.

Effort
50 N

Load
150 N

Fig. 7.28: Wheel and axle

5. A student wanted to put 10 boxes of salt at the top of

the platform using an inclined plane (Fig. 7.29). plat form
If the resistance due to friction is 10 N, calculate
B
(a) the work done in moving the box m 3.0 m
10 boxes. 7.5

(b) the efficiency of this A C

arrangement. W = 40.0 N ground
(c) the effort required to raise Fig. 7.29: A crane
one box to the platform.
6. A crane just lifts 9 940 N when an effort of 116 N is applied. The efficiency
of the crane is 75%. Find its:
(a) mechanical advantage
(b) velocity ratio
7. Fig. 7.30 shows a pulley system. An effort of 113 N is required to lift a load
of 180 N.
(a) What distance does the effort
move when the load moves 1 m?
113 N
(b) Find the work done by the effort.
(c) Find the work done on the load.
(d) Calculate the efficiency of the 180 N
system. Fig 7.30 A pulley system

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8. The Fig. 7.31 shows a single fixed pulley.

Calculate its:
(a) V.R
(b) Efficiency 20 000 N
15 000 N

Fig 7.31: Single fixed pulley

9. In the system shown in Fig. 7.32, the

winding machine exerts a force of
2.0 x 104 N
2.0 × 104 N in order to lift a load of
Winding
3.2 × 104 N. machine
(a) What is the velocity ratio?
(b) Calculate the M.A.
(c) Find the efficiency. 3.2 × 104 N
Fig. 7.32: A winding crane

10. Fig. 7.33 shows a pulley system.

(a) What is the velocity ratio of the system?
(b) Calculate the efficiency of the system. Effort
150 N
(c) Show the direction of the force on the string.
11. A block and tackle pulley system has five pulleys. It is
used to raise a load through a height of 20 m with an
effort of 100 N. It is 80% efficient.
Load
(a) Is the end of the string attached to the upper or 400 N
lower block of pulleys if the upper block has three
pulleys? Show it in a diagram. Fig. 7.33: A block and
tackle pulley
(b) State the velocity ratio of the system.
(c) Calculate the load raised.
(d) Find the work done by the effort.
(e) Find the energy wasted.
12. A man pulls a hand cart with a force of 1 000 N through a distance of 100
m in 100 s. Determine the power developed.

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