Key Concept 2: Speed

1. A stopwatch is used to time a runner in a race. The 4. Which row describes speed and velocity?
diagrams show the stopwatch at the start and at the
end of a lap of the race. speed velocity
A. scalar scalar
√ B. scalar vector
C. vector scalar
D. vector vector

5. Four athletes run twice around a track. The table

How long did the runner take to finish the lap of the shows their times at the end of each lap.
race? Which athlete runs the second lap the fastest?

√ A. 50.00 seconds time at end time at end of

athlete
B. 50.10 seconds of first lap/ s second lap/ s

C. 90.00 seconds A 22.99 47.04

B 23.04 47.00
D. 100.10 seconds
C 23.16 47.18
2. A stopwatch is used to time a runner in a race. The D 23.39 47.24

diagrams show the stopwatch at the start and at the
end of the race.
6. Five athletes P, Q, R, S and T compete in a race. The
table shows the finishing times for the
athletes.

Which statement is correct?

How long did the runner take to run the race?
Athlete P won the race and was 0.70 s
√ A. 70.00 s √ A.
ahead of the athlete in second place
B. 110.00 s
Athlete P won the race and was 1.90 s
B.
C. 115.20 s ahead of the athlete in second place
D. 155.20 s Athlete S won the race and was 1.30 s
C.
ahead of the athlete in second place
3. Which quantity is not a vector? Athlete S won the race and was 2.10 s
D.
ahead of the athlete in second place
A. acceleration
√ B. temperature
C. velocity
D. weight

Page 1 of 23
7. A train begins a journey from a station and travels 12. A snail moves along a ruler. It takes 20s to move
60km in a time of 20 minutes. What is the average from Q to R.
speed of the train?

A. 3.0 m/s
B. 5.0 m/s
√ C. 50 m/s
What is its average speed from Q to R?
D. 60 m/s
12
8. A car takes 15 minutes to travel along a road that A. 𝑐𝑚/𝑠
20
is 20 km long. What is the average speed of the car?
12 − 2
 B. 𝑐𝑚/𝑠
A. 0.75 km/h 20
B. 5.0 km/h 20
C. 𝑐𝑚/𝑠
12
√ C. 80 km/h
20
D. 300 km/h D. 𝑐𝑚/𝑠
12 − 2

9. A car travels at an average speed of 60 km/h for

13. A man stands by a railway track.
15 minutes. How far does the car travel in this time?

A. 4.0 km
√ B. 15 km
C. 240 km A train travelling at 40 m/s takes 2.0 s to pass the
man. What is the length of the train?
D. 900 km
A. 20 m
10. A car travels at an average speed of 60 km/h for
15 minutes. How far does the car travel in 15 B. 38 m
minutes? C. 40 m

A. 4.0 km √ D. 80 m

√ B. 15 km 14. In a race, a car travels 60 times around a 3.6km

C. 240 km track. This takes 2.4 hours. What is the average
speed of the car?
D. 900 km
A. 1.5 km/h
11. A car takes 15 minutes to travel along a road that
is 20 km long. What is the average speed of the car?  B. 90 km/h
C. 144 km/h
A. 0.75 km/h
D. 216 km/h
B. 5.0 km/h
√ C. 80 km/h
D. 300 km/h

Page 2 of 23
15. A student determines the average speed of a 17. A car travels 6.0 km along a main road in 6.0
bubble rising through a liquid at constant speed. minutes. It then travels 2.0 km along a minor road in
When the student starts the stopwatch the bubble is 6.0 minutes.
at position P. After 2.0 s the bubble is at position Q.

Which calculation of average speed for the whole

journey is correct?

√ A. 8.0 ÷ 12.0 = 0.67 𝑘𝑚/𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒

B. 12.0 ÷ 8.0 = 1.5 𝑘𝑚/𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒
C. 8.0 + 12.0 = 20 𝑘𝑚/𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒

What is the speed of the bubble between P and Q? D. 8.0 × 12.0 = 96 𝑘𝑚/𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒

A. 3.2 cm/s 18. A cyclist rides 300 m up a slope in 50 s. She then

rides down the slope in 25 s. What is her average
√ B. 3.7 cm/s speed for the whole journey?
C. 6.4 cm/s
A. 4.0 m / s
D. 7.4 cm/s
√ B. 8.0 m/s
16. A car travels at various speeds during a short C. 9.0 m/s
journey. The table shows the distances travelled and
the times taken during each of four stages P, Q, R and D. 16 m/s
S.
stage P Q R S 19. An athlete runs 300 m up a hill at a steady
speed of 3.0 m / s. She then immediately runs the
Distance 1.8 3.6 2.7 2.7
same distance down the hill at a steady speed of 6.0
travelled/km
m/s. What is her average speed for the 600 m run?
Time taken/ 2 2 4 3
minutes
A. 2.0 m/s
During which two stages is the car travelling at the B. 3.0 m/s
same average speed?
√ C. 4.0 m/s
A. P and Q D. 4.5 m/s
√ B. P and S
20. A boy runs 400 m at an average speed of 4.0 m /
C. Q and R s. He runs the first 200 m in 40 s. How long does he
D. R and S take to run the second 200 m?

A. 60 s
B. 66.7 s
√ C. 80 s
D. 140 s

Page 3 of 23
21. An athlete runs at a speed of 8 m/s for 10 s, and 24. A car travels along the route PQRST in 30
then at a speed of 6 m/s for 12 s. Which calculation minutes.
gives the average speed of the athlete in m/s?

8+6
A.
2
(8 × 10) + (6 × 12)
√ B.
22
(8 ÷ 10) + (6 ÷ 12)
C.
22
What is the average speed of the car?
(10 ÷ 8) + (12 ÷ 6)
D.
22
A. 10km/hour

22. An aeroplane flies from town X to town Z, B. 20km/hour

stopping for 1 hour at town Y to pick up more C. 30km/hour
passengers. The distances between the towns are
shown in the diagram. √ D. 60km/hour

25. The distance–time graph for a motorway journey

is shown.

The total time taken between leaving X and arriving

at Z is 3 hours. What is the average speed of the
aeroplane in the air?

500
A. 𝑘𝑚 /ℎ
4
What is the average speed for the journey?
500
B. 𝑘𝑚 /ℎ
3 √ A. 50 km/h
500 B. 67 km/h
√ C. 𝑘𝑚 /ℎ
2
C. 70 km/h
500
D. 𝑘𝑚 /ℎ D. 83 km/h
1

23. A car travels 100km. The journey takes two 26. The diagram shows the distance-time graph for a
hours. The highest speed of the car is 80km/h, and car. At which labelled point is the car moving with
the lowest speed is 40 km/h. What is the average constant speed?
speed for the journey?

A. 40 km/ h
√ B. 50 km/ h
C. 60 km/ h
D. 120 km/ h

√ A.

Page 4 of 23
27. The graph shows how the distance travelled by a 29. Which distance / time graph represents the
vehicle changes with time motion of an object moving at constant speed?

Which row describes the speed of the vehicle in each

section of the graph?

√ D.

30. Which distance-time graph represents a body

√ A. A whose speed is decreasing?

28. A car is moving downhill along a road at a

constant speed. Which graph is the speed/ time
graph for the car?
A.

A.

B.

B.

√ C.

 C.

D.

D.

Page 5 of 23
31. The diagram shows the distance-time graph of 33. Two distance/ time graphs and two speed/ time
an object. graphs are shown. Which graph represents an object
that is at rest?

A.
Which statement describes the object?

A. It is accelerating.
√ B. It is moving at a constant speed.
C. It is slowing down.
 B.
D. It is stationary.

32. A cyclist records his speed and the distance

travelled during a journey. He then plots the data
against time for different sections of his journey.
Which graph shows a section when he is moving
with constant speed? C.

A.

D.

34. The graph shows how the speed of a car changes

B.
with time.

√ C.

Between which two times is the car stationary?

A. U and V
B. V and W

D. C. W and X
√ D. X and Y

Page 6 of 23
Free response:

1. Drops of water from a cracked gutter fall past the window of an IGCSE Physics student’s room, as shown in Fig.
below:

The student uses a digital stopwatch to find the time between

one drop and the next.

To do this he sets the stopwatch to zero, then, starts the

stopwatch as a drop comes into view at the top of the window,
then, stops the stopwatch 40 drops later.

The appearance of the stopwatch after 40 drops is shown in

Fig. below

a. State the reading on the stopwatch.

13.6 s

b. Calculate the time interval between one drop and the next.
13.6/40 = 0.34 s

c. Explain why it is better to time 40 intervals than to time just 1 interval.

more accurate OR errors less significant OR time for 1 interval too small

d. Using the figure above, estimate the time for a drop to fall from the top of the upper window to the
ground.
4 intervals OR 4 and a bit intervals OR 5 intervals

e. The figure shows that the drops get further apart as they get closer to the ground. Explain why this
happens.
drops accelerate/go faster

2. The figure shows students about to start a 50.0m swimming race.

a. The length of the pool is 50.0m. Name a suitable piece of equipment

that could be used to measure the length of the pool.
flexible rule/tape measure/measuring tape

Page 7 of 23
 b. The race starts and the students swim to the end of the 50.0 m pool. Figure below shows the times
recorded on the stop watches for the winner and the swimmer in second place

i. Determine the time taken by the winner to swim 50.0 m. Use information from Fig. 1.2.
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑛 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑟 = 58.75 𝑠

ii. Calculate the average speed of the winner.

𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 50.0 𝑚
𝑆𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = = = 0.85 𝑠
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 58.75 𝑠

iii. Calculate the time difference between the winner and the swimmer in second place.
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 = (65.87 𝑠 − 58.75 𝑠) = 7.12 𝑠

3. Model trains move along a track passing through two model stations. Students analyze the motion of a train.
They start a digital timer as the train starts to move. They record the time that it enters Station A and the time it
enters Station B. Fig. 1.1 shows the time on entering Station A and the time on entering Station B.

a. Calculate the time taken from the train entering Station A to the train entering Station B. State your answer
in seconds.
72 s

b. A faster train takes 54s to travel from Station A to Station B. The distance between the stations is 120m.
Calculate the average speed of this train.
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 120 𝑚
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = = = 2.2 𝑚/𝑠
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 54 𝑠

Page 8 of 23
4. Two girls attempt to measure the speed of the water in a river, as shown in Fig. 2.1.

a. The distance between the two bridges is measured as 50 m. Suggest an appropriate instrument that they
might use to measure this distance.
Measuring tape

b. The girl on bridge 1 drops a piece of wood into the water. The girl on bridge 2 measures how long it takes
for the piece of wood to reach bridge 2. It takes 400 s to travel between the two bridges.

i. Name an appropriate instrument that could be used to measure this time.

clock OR watch

ii. Describe the procedure for measuring this time.

• set the clock to zero OR note the start time
• start the clock when the wood is seen to fall
• stop the clock and note the time when the wood reaches bridge 2

5. Two boys, X and Y, decide to measure the speed of some of the vehicles travelling along a road. The two boys
stand 405 m apart beside the road, as shown in Fig. 1.1.

Boy X has a stopwatch which he sets to zero. As a vehicle passes boy Y, boy Y drops his hand as a signal to boy X to
start his stopwatch. Boy X then stops the stopwatch as the vehicle goes past him.
The appearance of the stopwatch is then as shown in Fig. 1.2.

a. How long did it take for the vehicle to travel from Y to X?

54 s

b. Calculate the average speed of the vehicle as it travels from Y to X.

405/54. = 7.5 m/s

Page 9 of 23
 c. The vehicle in (a) and (b) is accelerating as it travels from Y to X.

i. How does its speed at X compare with that at Y? Tick one box.

❐ greater than at Y

❐ same as that at Y

❐ less than that at Y

ii. How does its speed at X compare with the average speed calculated in (b)? Tick one box.

❐ greater than average speed

❐ same as average speed

❐ less than average speed

6.
a. Complete the table below to identify the physical quantities as scalars or vectors.

Physical quantity Scalar or vector

speed Scalar
velocity vector
distance scalar
force vector
kinetic energy scalar

b. Fig. 1.1 shows the path of a football as it is kicked along the ground between three players. The distances
between the players are shown on Fig. 1.1.

The ball takes 1.2 s to travel from player A to player B.

i. Calculate the average speed of the ball between A and B.

18/1.2 = 15 m/ s

ii. Player B kicks the ball to player C. It travels with the same average
speed. Calculate the time taken for the ball to travel from B to C.
21/15 = 1.4 s

iii. Suggest why the speed of the ball might change during its motion from A to B.
Air resistance / friction / force opposing motion

iv. Discuss whether the average velocities, from A to B and from B to C, are the same.
Velocity changes because direction changes

Page 10 of 23
7.
a. Speed is a scalar quantity and velocity is a vector quantity. State the difference between a scalar quantity and
a vector quantity.
A scalar quantity like speed has magnitude only, with no direction
A vector quantity like velocity has both magnitude and direction

b. Write down one other scalar quantity and one other vector quantity.
Scalar quantity _________________________ (any scalar quantity)
Vector quantity _________________________ (any vector quantity)

7. A student uses a stopwatch in a timing experiment. Fig. 1.1 shows the stopwatch readings.

Calculate the time interval between the two readings.

∆𝑡 = 226.50 – 82.10 = 144.4 𝑠
𝑂𝑅
3: 46.50– 1: 22.10 = 2 min 24.4 𝑠

8. The figure below shows a water tank that is leaking. Drops of water fall from the tank at a constant rate.

a. A student uses a stopwatch to determine the time between two drops hitting
the ground. He sets the stopwatch to zero. He starts the stopwatch when the
first drop hits the ground.
He stops the stopwatch after a further 30 drops have hit the ground.
The reading on the stopwatch is recorded and shown in the figure below.

Page 11 of 23
 i. State the time taken for 30 drops to hit the ground.
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 = 13.2 𝑠

ii. Calculate the average time between two drops hitting the ground.
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 = 13.2 ÷ 30 = 0.44 𝑠

iii. Explain why the student measures the time for 30 drops to hit the ground instead of measuring the
time for one drop to hit the ground.
Reduces the effects of errors caused by reaction time.

b. Fig. 1.1 shows that the drops get further apart as they get close to the ground. State why the drops get
further apart.
Drops are accelerating OR moving with increasing speed

c. In another experiment the student determines the speed of a falling weight at different times. The speed–
time graph for his results is shown in the figure below.
Calculate the distance fallen by the weight in the
first 1.5s.
1
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 = 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑢𝑛𝑑𝑒𝑟 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑝ℎ = 𝑏ℎ
2
1
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 = 2 (1.5)(15)=11.25 𝑚

9. Fig. 1.1 shows a large tank containing water. The tank leaks. Drops of water fall from the tank. The drops hit the
ground at a regular rate.

a. A student measures the time interval between two drops of water hitting the ground. She uses a stopwatch
and repeats the procedure three times. Fig. 1.2 shows each stopwatch reading.

Page 12 of 23
 i. On the line below each stopwatch, state the time readings shown, in seconds.
1.24 s
1.14 s
1.16 s

ii. Calculate the average time interval between two drops of water hitting the ground.
(1.24 + 1.14 + 1.16) 𝑠
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 = = 1.18 𝑠
3

b. Another student measures the average time taken for a drop of water to fall from the tank to the ground.
The time taken is 1.6 s. Calculate the average speed of this drop of water.
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 12
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = = = 7.5 𝑚/𝑠
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 1.6

10. Model trains move along a track passing through two model stations. Students analyze the motion of a train.
They start a digital timer as the train starts to move. They record the time that it enters Station A and the time it
enters Station B. Fig. 1.1 shows the time on entering Station A and the time on entering Station B

a. Calculate the time taken from the train entering Station A to the train entering Station B. State your answer
in seconds.
154 𝑠 − 82 𝑠 = 72 𝑠

b. A faster train takes 54 s to travel from Station A to Station B. The distance between the stations is 120 m.
Calculate the average speed of this train.
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 120 𝑚
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = = = 2.2 𝑚/𝑠
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 54 𝑠

11. A student watches a car race around a track. He uses a stopwatch to measure the time for the car to make one
lap of the track.

a. The student forgets to reset the stopwatch at the start of

the race. Fig. 1.1 shows the time on the stopwatch at the
start and the time after going around the track once.
Calculate the time the car takes to go around the track
once, in seconds.
153.65 − 82.15 𝑠 = 71.50 𝑠

b. The length of the track is 4.0 km. The car goes around the track 20 times. The car takes 26 minutes and 40
seconds to complete the 20 laps. Calculate the average speed of the car in m/s.
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 20 × 4000 𝑚
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = = = 50 𝑚/𝑠
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 1600 𝑠
Page 13 of 23
12. The highlight of Super Academy’s athletics calendar is the end-of-year cross-country race. This is a circular race
over a distance of 6.0 km. By tradition, it starts and ends below the school clock tower. Student Goodrunner is the
school’s fastest athlete. His dream is to beat the school record for the race, which is 26 minutes.
At the start of the race, the school clock looks as shown in Fig. 1.1.
As student Goodrunner crosses the finishing line, the school clock looks as shown
in Fig. 1.2.

a. Calculate Goodrunner’s race time. Show your working.

𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 = 3.20 − 2.55 = 25 𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑠

b. Did Goodrunner beat the record?

__√__ yes ____ no

c. Calculate Goodrunner’s average speed during the race.

𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 =
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒
6000 𝑚
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = = 4.0 𝑚/𝑠
25 × 60 𝑠

13. Three students walk together from school to a bridge. The students stand together on the bridge for three
minutes and then return separately to school. The distance-time graphs for student A, student B and student C are
shown in Fig. 2.1.

a.
i. Determine the distance from the school to the bridge.
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 = 400 𝑚

Page 14 of 23
 ii. Calculate the average speed of the students when they are walking to the bridge. Give your answer
in m/s.
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 400 𝑚
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = = = 1.1 𝑚/𝑠
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 6.0 × 60 𝑠

b. The students return to school at different speeds. One student walks slowly, one student walks quickly and
the other student runs. State which student runs. Explain how this is shown by the graph.
Student A runs because he takes the shortest to return (or the line is the steepest/ largest gradient for
student A)

14. A woman drives a car from town A to town B. She stops at a garage during her journey. The distance-time graph
for the journey is shown in Fig. 3.1.

a.
i. Determine the total time for the whole journey.
1.75 hours 1 hour 45 minutes

ii. Determine the time for which the car is not moving.
0.5 hours 30 minutes

iii. Determine the distance between town A and town B.

100 km

b. Calculate the average speed of the car between 0 and 0.75h.

50 𝑘𝑚
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = 𝑆𝑙𝑜𝑝𝑒 = = 66.7 𝑘𝑚/ℎ
0.75 ℎ

c. The speed of the car before stopping at the garage is different from its speed after stopping at the garage.
Describe this difference in speed and explain how the graph in Fig. 3.1 shows it.
The average speed after stopping at the garage is faster than before stopping at the garage. This is from the
slope of the graph, as the line on graph after stopping is steeper than the line before stopping.

Page 15 of 23
15. A gardener studies the growth of one of his plants. At the same time each day, he measures the height h of the
top of the plant from the ground, as shown in Fig. 1.1.

The table of his results is shown below.

a. From the values in the table, deduce the average speed of growth of the plant during the 7 days. Work in
days and cm.
ℎ𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 (37.1 − 2.1)𝑚
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = = = 5.0 𝑐𝑚/𝑑𝑎𝑦
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 7

b.
i. Complete Fig. 1.2 by plotting the last three values of height h against time. Do not draw a line
through the points.

3 points correctly plotted to 1⁄2 square

ii. Describe how the graph shows that the speed of growth of the plant is not constant.
The points on the graph are not on a straight line

Page 16 of 23
16. Fig. 1.1 shows a distance-time graph for a moving object.

a. Describe the speed of the object between points

i. A and B,
The speed decreases with time and the average speed is 2.0 m/s

ii. B and C.
The speed is constant and equal to 0.8 m/s

b. State whether the acceleration of the object is zero, negative or positive, as shown on the graph between
points

i. A and B,
negative

ii. B and C.
zero

c. Calculate the average speed of the object during the 40 seconds.

𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 50 𝑚
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = = = 1.25 𝑚/𝑠
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 40 𝑠

Page 17 of 23
17. Four school athletes are about to run a 100 m race, as shown in Fig. 7.1.

a. Suggest what equipment

i. the groundsman used when he measured out the 100 m before marking the track,
Tape measure OR laser measure OR trundle wheel

ii. the timekeeper uses to time how long the runners take to run the 100 m.
stopwatch/stopclock

b. The timing instrument is known to work correctly. What might cause the timekeeper to introduce an
inaccuracy into the timing of the race?
reaction time OR delay in hearing sound

c. The winner takes 12.5 s to run the race.

i. Calculate the average speed of the winner.

𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 100 𝑚
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = = = 8.0 𝑚/𝑠
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 12.5 𝑠

ii. Suggest one reason why the average speed of the winner is less than his top speed.
Because the runner might be faster at the start of the race.
OR The runner is slowing down at the end of the race due to tiredness

d. On another occasion, the starter and timekeeper decide to measure the speed of the sound from the gun.
They use the same equipment they used to time the race.

i. Suggest how far apart they should be.

200m–500m

ii. Suggest how the timekeeper would know when to start timing.
By the means of signalling when the gun is fired, such as dropped arm or smoke seen

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18. In the past, burning candles were used as timers. A boy carries out an experiment to make his own timer using
a burning candle. Fig. 1.1 shows the length of the candle, and the clock he used, at the start of the experiment and
at the end of the experiment.

a. The candle has a cross-sectional area of 1.6 𝑐𝑚2 . Calculate the volume of candle at the start of the
experiment.
𝑉𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑒 = 𝑙𝑒𝑛𝑔𝑡ℎ × 𝑐𝑟𝑜𝑠𝑠 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 = 5.0 𝑐𝑚 × 1.6 𝑐𝑚2 = 8.0 𝑐𝑚3

b. Use Fig. 1.1 to complete the table.

time at start of the experiment .........11......... hours ........50..........minutes

.........14......... hours .........05.........minutes

time at end of the experiment
.........2...... hours ......15......minutes = .......2.25.... hours
time for which the candle was burning

c. The difference in the length of the candle from the start to the end of the experiment was 1.8 cm.
Calculate the rate, in cm/hour, at which the candle burns.
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 1.8 𝑐𝑚
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = = = 0.8 𝑐𝑚/ℎ
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 2.25 ℎ

d. The boy estimates that he would need a candle about 24 cm long, of the same material and diameter, to
make a candle timer that would last at least one day. State whether the boy’s estimate is correct. Give a
reason for your answer.
𝑑 24 𝑐𝑚
A 24 cm length candle would burn for a time of: 𝑡 = 𝑠 = 0.8 𝑐𝑚/ℎ = 30 ℎ
OR
The length of the candle required to burn for 24 h is: 𝑑 = 𝑠 × 𝑡 = 0.8 𝑐𝑚/ℎ × 24ℎ = 19.2 𝑐𝑚

Page 19 of 23
19. A girl cycles to meet a friend. The distance-time graph for her journey from start to finish is shown in Fig. 5.1.

a. How far does the girl travel from start to finish?

1100 m

b. Describe the motion of the girl between points B and C.

The girl is stationary/not moving/at rest

c. Which section of the graph shows

i. the part of the girl’s journey that involves cycling up a hill 500 m long,
between ......C...... and ......D......

ii. the girl travelling at the fastest speed?

between .......D..... and .....E.......

d. Calculate her average speed, in m/s, for the whole journey.

𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 1100 𝑚
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = = = 3.67 𝑚/𝑠
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 5.0 × 60

20. Cameras are used to check average speeds on a long straight road. Each camera records the exact time that a
car passes the camera. Fig. 2.1 shows three cameras and the times at which the car passes.

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 a.
i. Calculate the time taken for the car to travel between camera A and camera B. State your answer in
seconds.
𝑇𝑖𝑚𝑒 𝑡𝑜 𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑣𝑒𝑙 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝐴 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐵 = (31557 𝑠 − 31397 𝑠) = 160 𝑠

ii. The cameras are placed 5000m apart.

Calculate the average speed of the car between camera A and camera B.
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 5000 𝑚
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = = = 31.3 𝑚/𝑠
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 160 𝑠

iii. Using the information on the clocks, describe the average speed of the car between camera B and
camera C. Tick one box.
❐ slightly slower than between A and B
❐ much slower than between A and B
❐ same as between A and B
❐ slightly faster than between A and B
❐ much faster than between A and B

b. The speed limit for the road is 30 m/s. Use your answers to (a)(ii) and (a)(iii) to estimate whether the car’s
average speed was greater or less than the speed limit when travelling between camera A and camera C.
Explain how you decided on your answer.
The average speed is lower than the suggested speed limit of 30 m/s

The speed between A to B is 31.3 m/s and that between B and C is much slower than this. So the average
between A and C should be less than 30 m/s.
OR
The average speed from A to C:
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 10000 𝑚
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = = = 15.1 𝑚/𝑠
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 663 𝑠

21. Imagine that you live beside a busy road. One of your neighbors thinks that many of the vehicles are travelling
faster than the speed limit for the road. You decide to check this by measuring the speeds of some of the vehicles.

a. Which two quantities will you need to measure in order to find the speed of a vehicle, and which
instruments would you use to measure them?

Quantity measured Instrument used

Tape measure, trundle wheel, meter wheel

Distance
OR laser measure

Time Stopwatch/clock

Page 21 of 23
 b. State the equation you would use to calculate the speed of the vehicle. If you use symbols, state what your
symbols mean.
speed = distance/time

c. One lorry travels from your town to another town. The lorry reaches a top speed of 90 km/h, but its
average speed between the towns is only 66 km/h.

i. Why is the average speed less than the top speed?

The lorry might move some distance at lower speed or could stop for some time.

ii. The journey between the towns takes 20 minutes. Calculate the distance between the towns.
20
𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 = 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 × 𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 = 66 𝑘𝑚/ℎ × ( ℎ) = 22 𝑘𝑚
60

22. A girl rides her bicycle along a straight level road. The figure below shows a graph of her distance moved
against time.

a. Describe her motion

i. from A to B,
Increasing speed/ acceleration

ii. from B to C,
Constant / steady / uniform speed or motion

iii. from C to D.
Decreasing speed / deceleration / braking / slowing / stopping / negative acceleration

b. Calculate

i. her average speed from A to D,

400 / 60 = 6.67 m/s

ii. her maximum speed.

The maximum speed is the maximum gradient, which is the gradient of the part B to C:

Page 22 of 23
 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑒𝑝𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡
𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 =
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒
(350 − 70) 𝑚
𝑀𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = = 9.3 𝑚/𝑠
(45 − 15) 𝑠

23. Fig. 1.1 is a distance / time graph showing the motion of an object.

a.
i. Describe the motion shown for the first 2 s, calculating any relevant quantity.
Constant/steady/uniform speed/velocity
𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 5.0 𝑚
𝐴𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 = = = 2.5 𝑚/𝑠
𝑡𝑖𝑚𝑒 2.0 𝑠

ii. After 2 s the object accelerates. On the figure, sketch a possible shape of the graph for the next 2 s.
shape curving upward but not to vertical, at least to 3.5 s unless reaches 25 m

b. Describe how a distance-time graph shows an object that is stationary.

The graph is a horizontal straight line, parallel to time/x-axis

c. The figure below shows the axes for a speed-time

graph. On the figure, draw

i. the graph of the motion for the first 2 s as

shown in the figure above
horizontal straight line at 2.5m/s from 0 to 2s.

ii. an extension of the graph for the next 2 s,

showing the object accelerating at 2 m/s2.
straight line rising to the right as far as the
edge of the graph area
∆v = 4 m/s or gradient clearly 2m/s2

d. Describe how a speed-time graph shows an object that is stationary.

horizontal straight line at 0 m/s

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