Accelerated Physics Summary of Cart-on-a-Ramp Lab — 

Page 1 of 3

Name _____________________________________ Date __________________ Period ________

SUMMARY OF CART-ON-A-RAMP LAB

The cart is released from rest and rolls down the The cart is given an initial push up the ramp. The car
incline. is stopped at its highest point.

x=0 +
+ x=0

0 +
+ 0
position

position

t t

The steepness of the position-time graph is The steepness of the position-time graph is
constant / increasing / decreasing constant / increasing / decreasing
and positive / negative and positive / negative
and represents _________________. and represents _________________.
velocity

velocity

t t

The slope of the velocity-time graph is The slope of the velocity-time graph is
constant / increasing / decreasing constant / increasing / decreasing
and positive / negative and positive / negative
and represents _________________. and represents _________________.
acceleration

acceleration

t t
Accelerated Physics Summary of Cart-on-a-Ramp Lab — Page 2 of 3

The cart is released from rest and rolls down the The cart is given an initial push up the ramp. The car
incline. is stopped at its highest point.

+ x=0
x=0 +

+ 0

0 +
position

position

t t

The steepness of the position-time graph is The steepness of the position-time graph is
constant / increasing / decreasing constant / increasing / decreasing
and positive / negative and positive / negative
and represents _________________. and represents _________________.
velocity

velocity

t t

The slope of the velocity-time graph is
constant / increasing / decreasing
and positive / negative
and represents _________________.
acceleration
The slope of the velocity-time graph is
constant / increasing / decreasing
and positive / negative
and represents _________________.

acceleration

t t
Accelerated Physics Summary of Cart-on-a-Ramp Lab — Page 3 of 3

The cart is given an initial push, rolls all the way up the ramp, and then rolls back down.

+
x=0

Describe how the slope of the position-time graph

changes.
position

Describe the slope of the velocity-time graph.

velocity

t
acceleration

t
Name _____________________________________ Date __________________ Period ________

GRAPH SKETCHING
For each of the following graphs, decide if the object is at rest, moving at a constant velocity, speeding up, or
slowing down.

x v v

t t t

v a x

t t t

Name _____________________________________ Date __________________ Period ________

GRAPH SKETCHING
For each of the following graphs, decide if the object is at rest, moving at a constant velocity, speeding up, or
slowing down.

x v v

t t t

v a x

t t t
 Accelerated Physics Constant Acceleration: Practice — Page 1 of 2

Name _____________________________________ Date __________________ Period ________

CONSTANT ACCELERATION: PRACTICE

1. Consider the velocity vs. time graphs for objects A and B below. Use the graphs to complete the table.
Object A Object B
+16 +16

+12 +12

+8 +8

+4 +4
v (m/s)

v (m/s)
0 t (s) 0 t (s)
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
–4 –4

–8 –8

–12 –12

–16 –16

Object A Object B
Describe the motion in
words.

Determine the displacement

between 0 and 4 seconds.
Show work!

Determine the displacement

between 4 and 8 seconds.
Show work!

Determine the average

acceleration during the first
3 seconds. Show work!
Accelerated Physics Constant Acceleration: Practice — Page 2 of 2

+8
2. Use the velocity vs. time graph to analyze the motion of the object.

a. Describe the motion in words. +4

v (m/s)
0 t (s)
2 4 6 8

–4

b. Sketch a qualitatively accurate motion map (dot diagram).

–8

c. Determine the displacement of the object from t = 0 s to t = 4 s.

d. Determine the displacement of the object from t = 4 s to t = 8 s.

e. Determine the displacement of the object from t = 0 s to t = 8 s.

f. Determine the distance traveled from t = 0 s to t = 8 s.

g. Determine the acceleration of the object at t = 4 s.

h. Sketch a possible position vs. time graph for the motion of the object.
Name _____________________________________ Date __________________ Period ________
DO-NOW GRAPHING
Consider the following graphs and then answer the questions below.

! A! B! C
x x x

t t t

! D! E! F
v v v

t t t

! G! H! I
a a a

t t t

1. Which of the graphs represent(s) an object moving in the positive direction? ________________

2. Which of the graphs represent(s) an object moving in the negative direction? ________________

3. Which of the graphs represent(s) an object that is speeding up? ________________

4. Which of the graphs represent(s) an object that is slowing down? ________________

5. Which of the graphs represent(s) an object with a constant velocity? ________________

6. Which of the graphs represent(s) an object with a positive velocity? ________________

7. Which of the graphs represent(s) an object with a negative velocity? ________________

8. Which of the graphs represent(s) an object with a positive acceleration? ________________

9. Which of the graphs represent(s) an object with a negative acceleration? ________________

 Accelerated Physics Stacks of Kinematics Curves — Page 1 of 2

Name _____________________________________ Date __________________ Period ________

STACKS OF KINEMATICS CURVES

1. Given the following position vs. time graphs, sketch the corresponding velocity vs. time and
acceleration vs. time graphs.

x x x x

t t t t

v v v v

t t t t

a a a a

t t t t

x x x x

t t t t

v v v v

t t t

a a a a

t t t
 Accelerated Physics Stacks of Kinematics Curves — Page 2 of 2

2. Given the following velocity vs. time graphs, sketch the corresponding position vs. time and
acceleration vs. time graphs.

x x x x

t t t t

v v v v

t t t

a a a a

t t t

x x x x

t t t t

v v v v

t t t

a a a a

t t t
Accelerated Physics Deriving the Equation of Motion for Constant Acceleration — Page 1 of 2

Name _____________________________________ Date __________________ Period ________

DERIVING THE EQUATION OF MOTION FOR CONSTANT ACCELERATION

An object starts moving at a speed v0 in the +x direction with a constant acceleration a, also in the +x direction.
After t seconds, it reaches a speed v.
Below is a velocity vs. time graph for this scenario.

velocity

vx

v0x

time
0 t

First, write the equation of the line above in slope-intercept form with appropriate physics variables.

Now, use what we learned about finding displacement (x – x0) from velocity vs. time graphs to derive an equation
for the position of the object as a function of time. The equation should be in terms of x0, v0x, a, and t only.
Show all work.
Accelerated Physics Deriving the Equation of Motion for Constant Acceleration — Page 2 of 2

Derive the commonly used kinematics equation vx2 = v0x2 + 2a(x – x0) by eliminating t from the equation of
constant acceleration.
 Accelerated Physics Constant Acceleration (1-D) Problem Set — Page 1 of 4

Name _____________________________________ Date __________________ Period ________

PROBLEM SET: CONSTANT ACCELERATION (1-D)

Directions: Show all work on a separate piece of paper. Box your final answer. Don’t forget to include units.

1. A spittlebug called the froghopper (Philaenus spumarious) is believed to be the best jumper in the animal
world. It pushes off with muscular rear legs for 0.0010 s, reaching a speed of 4.0 m/s. Determine its
acceleration during this launch.

2. An automobile engineer found that the impact of a truck colliding at 16 km/h with a concrete pillar caused the
bumper to indent only 6.4 cm as the truck stopped. Determine the acceleration of the truck during the collision.

3. You are designing an airport. One kind of airplane that might use this airfield must reach a speed of at least
27.8 m/s before takeoff and can accelerate at 2.00 m/s2. What minimum length must the runway have?

4. How long does it take a car to cross a 28.0-m wide intersection after the light turns green, if the car
accelerates from rest at a constant 1.90 m/s2?

5. A sports car moving at constant velocity travels 120 m in 5.0 s. If it then brakes and comes to a stop in 4.0
s, what is the magnitude of its acceleration (assumed constant) in m/s2.

6. A car slows down uniformly from a speed of 28.0 m/s to rest in 8.00 s. How far did it travel in that time?

7. In coming to a stop, a car leaves skid marks 65.0 m long on the highway. Assuming the car slowed down at
a rate of 4.00 m/s2, estimate the speed of the car just before braking.

8. The fastest server in women's tennis is Venus Williams, who recorded a serve of 130 mi/h (209 km/h) in
2007. If her racquet pushed on the ball for a distance of 0.10 m, what was the average acceleration of the
ball during her serve? What was the time interval for the racquet-ball contact?

* 9. The changing velocity of a car is represented in the velocity vs. time graph shown.
a. Describe everything you can about the motion of the car using
the graph.
b. What is the displacement of the car between times 10 s and 20 s?
c. What was the average speed of the car over the entire 20-second
interval?

83 4.0×103 6.0 150 112 193 22.8 1.7×104 14 0.0034 5.43

 Accelerated Physics Constant Acceleration (1-D) Problem Set — Page 2 of 4

10. The changing velocity of a car is represented in the

velocity vs. time graph shown.
a. Describe everything you can about the motion
of the car using the graph.
b. What is the displacement of the car between
times 0 s and 45 s? What is the distance
traveled?
c. What is the average velocity of the car during all
70 s? What is the average speed?

* 11. A driver is traveling at 18.0 m/s when she sees a red light ahead. Her car is capable of slowing down at a
rate of 3.65 m/s2. If it takes her 0.350 s to hit the brakes and she is 45.0 m from the intersection when she
sees the light, how far will she have traveled from the time she sees the red light? Does she stop in time?

* 12. A 75-m long train begins uniform acceleration from rest. The front of the train has a speed of 21 m/s when
it passes a railway worker who is standing 180 m from where the front of the train started. What will be the
speed of the last car as it passes the worker?

* 13. A jogger with a constant velocity of 4.00 m/s runs by a stationary dog. Precisely 1.00 s after the jogger
passes, the dog begins to chase her. If the dog’s acceleration is 1.50 m/s2. . .
a. for how much time has the dog been running when it catches up to the jogger?
b. how far away from the spot where the dog was sitting has the jogger gone at this time?

* 14. Two trains are 8.7 km apart on parallel tracks. They both start from rest and accelerate toward each other.
The first train has an acceleration of 1.7 m/s2, and the second has an acceleration of 2.9 m/s2. How much
time will pass before the trains reach other?

**15. Car A is heading east at 30. m/s and Car B is heading west at 20. m/s. Suddenly, as they approach each other,
they see a one-way bridge ahead. They are 100 m apart when they each apply the brakes. Car A's speed
decreases at 7.0 m/s each second and Car B decreases at 9.0 m/s each second. Do the cars collide? If so, where?

* 16. You are driving in your car on a two-lane road approaching a red light. A Porsche is stopped at the light in
the right lane, but there is no car in the left lane, so you pull into the left lane traveling at 11.2 m/s. When
you are 15.0 m from the stop line, the light turns green. You sail through the green light at a constant
speed of 11.2 m/s and pass the Porsche, which accelerated from rest at a constant rate of 3.00 m/s2
beginning at the moment the light turned green.
a. How far from the stop line are you when you pass the Porsche?
b. How far from the stop line does the Porsche pass you?

6.19 50.7 23 25 4.59 28.8 375 62 1.1 9.6 225 49.0

 Accelerated Physics Constant Acceleration (1-D) Problem Set — Page 3 of 4

17. You accidentally drop an eraser out of the window of an apartment 15 m above the ground.
a. How long will it take for the eraser to the reach the ground?
b. What speed will it have just before it reaches the ground?
c. If you multiply the time interval answer from a and the speed answer from b, why is the result much
more than 15 m?

18. The Steamboat Geyser in Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming is capable of shooting its hot water up from
the ground with a speed of 48.0 m/s. How high can this geyser shoot?

19. A stone is dropped form the top of a cliff. It is seen to hit the ground below after 3.55 s. How high is the cliff?

20. A giraffe, who stands 6.00 m tall, bites a branch off a tree to chew on the leaves, and he lets the branch fall
to the ground. How long does it take the branch to hit the ground?

21. A ball player catches a ball 3.40 s after throwing it vertically upward. With what speed did he throw the
ball? What maximum height did the ball reach?

22. A kangaroo jumps straight up to a vertical height of 1.45 m. How long was it in the air before returning to
the ground?

23. A stone is thrown vertically upward from the ground with a speed of 24.0 m/s.
a. How fast is it moving when it is at a height of 13.0 m?
b. How much time is required to reach this height?
c. Why are there two answers to b?

24. Perhaps sometimes in the future, NASA will develop a program to land a human being on Mars. If you were
the first Mars explorer and discovered that when you dropped a hammer it took 0.68 s to fall 0.90 m to the
ground, what would you calculate for the gravitational acceleration on Mars?

* 25. Galileo dropped a light rock and a heavy rock form the Leaning Tower of Pisa, which is about 55 m high.
Suppose that Galileo dropped one rock 0.50 s before the second rock. With what initial velocity should he
throw the second rock so that it reaches the ground at the same time as the first rock?

* 26. A helicopter is ascending vertically with a speed of 5.40 m/s. At a height of 105 m above the Earth, a
package is dropped from the helicopter. How much time does it take for the package to reach the ground?
[Hint: What is the initial velocity of the package?]

14.2 4.28 1.11 61.8 3.9 0.620 1.7 17

5.3 16.7 118 1.09 5.21 17.9

 Accelerated Physics Constant Acceleration (1-D) Problem Set — Page 4 of 4

* 27. A rocket is fired from rest straight up from the ground so that it has an acceleration of 24.2 m/s2. After 3.90
s, the motor turns off but the rocket continues to coast upward (think: what is the acceleration at this
point?). What maximum altitude does the rocket reach?

* 28. A rocket rises vertically, from rest, with an acceleration of 3.20 m/s2 until it runs out of fuel at an altitude of
775 m. After this point, its acceleration is that of gravity, downward.
a. What is the speed of the rocket when it runs out of fuel?
b. How long does it take to reach this point?
c. What maximum altitude does the rocket reach?
d. How much time (total) does it take to reach maximum altitude?
e. What is the speed of the rocket just before it crashes into the ground?
f. How long (total) is it in the air?

** 29. Roger sees water balloons fall past his window. He notices that each balloon strikes the sidewalk 0.83 s
after passing his window. Roger’s room is on the third floor, 15 m above the sidewalk.
a. How fast are the balloons traveling when they pass Roger’s window?
b. Assuming the balloons are being released from rest, from what floor are they being released? Each
floor of the dorm is 5.0 m high.

** 30. A falling stone takes 0.310 s to travel past a window 2.20 m tall. From what height above the top of the
window did the stone fall?

** 31. Two golf balls are thrown upward from the same spot 1.15 s apart. The first ball is thrown with an initial
speed of 15.0 m/s and the second with an initial speed of 12.0 m/s. At what height do they collide?

** 32. A rock is dropped from a sea cliff, and the sound of it striking the ocean is heard 3.00 s later. If the speed of
sound is 343 m/s, how high is the cliff?

33. A student drops a tennis ball from a classroom window 13.0 m above the ground. At that instant, another
student on the ground launches another ball straight up directly toward the dropped ball with an initial
speed of 15.0 m/s. The upward ball is launched from shoulder height of 1.00 m above the ground.
a. Sketch the position vs. time curves of both balls on the same graph.
b. How long does it take before the two balls collide?
c. How far above the ground are the balls when they collide?
d. When the balls hit, is the ball that was thrown upward moving up or down, or is it at rest?

70.4 7.32 22.0 1.59 9.86 639 40.7 14

43.7 29.2 142 0.800 1030 5