Ac vity 2.

2 Measuring speed

Activity 2.2
Measure the speed of a cyclist or runner in the
school grounds.

In athletics contests, runners are usually timed from the time

when the race starts to when they cross the finishing line.
Knowing how far they have run, it is simple to calculate their
average speed in the race:
distance travelled
speed =
time taken

You will need:

• timer, e.g. watch, stopwatch or stopclock
• metre rule
• long tape measure

FINISH

START

Cambridge O Level Physics © Cambridge University Press 2012 Chapter 2: Activity sheet 1
Task
Your task is to measure the speed of someone moving quickly in the
school grounds. They may be running or cycling. You should try to
develop a method that is as accurate as possible.

What to do
1 Decide on two points between which they must run or cycle.
2 Decide how to measure this distance.
3 Decide how you will measure the time they take.

Points to consider
• Should the runner/cyclist travel a short distance or a
long distance?
• How accurately can you measure the distance they move?
• How accurately can you measure the time taken?
• How will you record your measurements and calculate
the results?

Work with a partner, who makes the same measurements as you.

Compare your results and try to explain any differences. This may help
you to refine your technique.
Now compare your method with the methods developed by other
members of the class. How can you decide whose is best?

Cambridge O Level Physics © Cambridge University Press 2012 Chapter 2: Activity sheet 2
 Ac vity 2.3 Measuring speed in the lab

Activity 2.3
Use lab equipment to measure the speed of a
moving trolley or toy car.

There are many experiments you can do in the lab if you

can measure the speed of a moving trolley or toy car. The picture
shows how to do this using one or two light gates connected
to an electronic timer (or to a computer).

to timer
START control

to timer infrared beam

STOP control

peg breaks
infrared beam

STOP
START

interrupt
card

to timer

On the left, the peg attached to the trolley breaks the beam of
one light gate to start the timer. It breaks the second beam to
stop the timer. The timer then shows the time taken to travel the
distance between the two light gates.

Cambridge O Level Physics © Cambridge University Press 2012 Chapter 2: Activity sheet 3
On the right, the leading edge of the ‘interrupt card’ breaks the
beam to start the timer. The timer stops when the trailing edge
passes through the beam.

You will need:

• laboratory trolley (or freely running toy car)
• trolley runway or ramp
• card, scissors, sticky tape
• one or two light gates
• data-logger and computer

Method
Start by checking that you can use one or two light gates to
determine the speed of the trolley. Then try the following:
1 Place a book under one end of a long plank to form a long,
gently sloping ramp.
2 Place the trolley at the top end of the ramp, and release it
so that it runs down the slope. (Make sure that someone
or something is positioned to catch the trolley at
the lower end.)
3 Measure the speed of the trolley close to the foot of the slope.
4 Increase the slope of the ramp by adding books. How does the
speed of the trolley depend on the height of the end of
the ramp?

Cambridge O Level Physics © Cambridge University Press 2012 Chapter 2: Activity sheet 4
AcAcvity
vity2.4
2.4 Speed against me graphs

Activity 2.4
Solve some more problems involving speed
against time graphs.

For a speed against time graph:

• the steeper the slope, the greater the acceleration
• distance travelled = area under speed against time graph.

Questions
1 The graph shows how the speed of a car changed as it travelled
along a road.

40

30
Speed / m/s

20

10

0
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
Time / s

a What was the car’s speed at the start?

b How fast was the car travelling after 10 s?
c How can you tell from the graph that, after 15 s, the car
reached a steady speed?
d What was the car’s speed after 15 s?
e How far did the car travel during the first 15 s?
f How far did the car travel during the first 30 s?

Cambridge O Level Physics © Cambridge University Press 2012 Chapter 2: Activity sheet 5
 2 The table shows how a train’s speed changed during part of
its journey.

Speed / m/s 30 30 30 25 20 15
Time / s 0 20 40 60 80 100

a Draw a speed against time graph using the data in the table.
b Describe in words the motion of the train.
c From your graph, deduce the distance travelled by the train
in 100 s.

Cambridge O Level Physics © Cambridge University Press 2012 Chapter 2: Activity sheet 6
AcAcvity
vity2.4
2.5 Accelera on problems

Activity 2.5
Solve some more problems involving
acceleration.

Questions
1 The diagram shows the speed against time graphs for four cars.
The table shows four descriptions, one for each car.
A

C
Speed

Time

Car Description How you know

moving at constant velocity

speeding up with constant acceleration
slowing down with constant
acceleration
moving with varying acceleration

Copy the table and write A, B, C or D in the first column to

show which car’s motion corresponds to each description.
In the last column, indicate how you know.

Cambridge O Level Physics © Cambridge University Press 2012 Chapter 2: Activity sheet 7
 2 A car is initially stationary. It sets off and reaches a speed of
20 m/s in 12.5 s. Calculate its acceleration.
3 A car is travelling at 8 m/s in a straight line. It accelerates with
an acceleration of 1 m/s2.
a By how much will its speed increase in 10 s?
b What will its speed be after 10 s?
4 The graph shows how the velocity of an aircraft changed as it
followed a straight path through the air.

250

200
Velocity / m/s

150

100

50

0
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Time / s

a What was the aircraft’s velocity at the start?

b After how long did the aircraft reach a steady velocity?
c What was this velocity?
d Calculate the aircraft’s acceleration during the first 100 s of
the section of its journey represented by the graph.
e Calculate the distance travelled by the aircraft during the
600 s of its journey represented by the graph.

Cambridge O Level Physics © Cambridge University Press 2012 Chapter 2: Activity sheet 8