Unit A - Activity 4 - Problems

1. An object accelerates at 4.0 m s-2 from an initial velocity of 8.0 m s-1. Calculate
its displacement after 10 s.

2. A car accelerates at 6.0 m s-2, its initial velocity is 15 m s-1 and it travels a
distance of 200 m. Calculate its final velocity.

3. A trolley accelerates down a sloping ramp. Two light gates, spaced 0.50 m apart,
measure the velocities to be 0.20 m s-1 and 0.50 m s-1.

light gates

(a) Calculate the acceleration of the trolley.

(b) Calculate the time taken to travel between the light gates.

4. In an experiment to measure acceleration, a trolley was released five times down

a slope. The following values were obtained for the acceleration of the trolley.

0.125 m s-2 0.120 m s-2 0.126 m s-2 0.125 m s-2 0.130 m s-2

Calculate the average of these values and the approximate random uncertainty.

5. A rifle bullet has a speed of 320 m s-1 just as it enters a fixed block of soft wood.
The bullet comes to rest after penetrating 80 mm into the wood. Assuming that
the bullet decelerates uniformly, calculate the time taken for the bullet to come to
rest.

6. A sprinter starting from rest accelerates constantly over the first 5.0 s of a
100 m race and reaches a speed of 12 m s-1.

(a) Determine the distance that the sprinter moves during the fifth second.
(b) Assuming that the sprinter continues at 12 m s-1 until the finishing line,
determine the time taken to complete the whole 100 m.

7. In an experiment to find “g” (the acceleration due to gravity), a steel ball falls
from rest through a distance of 40.0 cm. The time taken was 0.29 s. Calculate
the value for “g” from these data.

8. A stone is dropped from a window 28.0 m above the ground. Calculate the
velocity of the stone when it is 10.0 m above the ground.
9. A ball is thrown upwards from a cliff as shown below. (Use acceleration due to
gravity as 10 m s-2)

4 m s-1

33 m

sea

(a) Calculate:
(i) the height of the ball above sea level after 2.0 s
(ii) the ball’s velocity after 2.0 s.

(b) Determine the total distance, travelled by the ball from launch to landing
in the sea.

10. A diver jumps upwards with an initial

vertical velocity of 3.00 m s-1 from a
diving board, which is 8.00 m above
the swimming pool. Determine the
vertical velocity that he enters the
pool with.

11. A helicopter is rising vertically at 10 m s-1 when a wheel falls off. The wheel hits
the ground 8.0 s later.

10 m s-1

wheel
falling off

Determine the height the helicopter was flying at when the wheel came off.
(Use acceleration due to gravity as 10 m s-2)