SPH3U: Physics Kinematics Practice Test

*Disclaimer: Do not interpret this to represent what to exactly expect on your unit test! It is simply another study aid for you
to use and to see the approximate length of a typical unit test.

Multiple Choice [___/10] 4. A sprinter travels around a 400 8. A car travels 35 km [North] in
m oval track four complete 30 minutes and then hits a
1. A ball is thrown to the north times. Her distance and traffic jam and spends 1.5 hours
and is experiencing projectile displacement are, respectively, travelling 16.7 km/h [North].
motion. What are the are The average velocity of the car
directions of the acceleration a. 0, 0 is:
and instantaneous velocity, b. 1600 m, 0 a. 43.35 km/h [North]
respectively, of the ball at c. 0, 1600 m b. 51.7 km/h [North]
maximum height (e.g., the peak d. 1600 m, 1600 m [forward] c. 16.7 m/s [North]
of its trajectory)? e. 100 m, 0 d. 8.34 m/s [North]
a) north, north e. 0
b) up, north 5. If a car travelling at 60.0 km/h
c) down, north [S] stops in a time of 3.50 s, its 9. A ball is thrown up in the air
d) north, down acceleration is: and then caught at the same
e) down, down a. 4.77 m/s2 [S] height. The acceleration is 9.8
b. 4.77 m/s2 [North] m/s2 [down]:
2. A cyclist cycles 40.0 km c. 16.7 m/s2 [S] a. on the way up
[North] and then 30.0 km d. 16.7 m/s2 [North] b. on the way down
[East]. The total time taken for e. 17.1 m/s2 [S] c. at the peak of its trajectory
the trip is 1.00 h. What is its d. two of A, B, and C are correct
average velocity? 6. Which of the following objects e. all of A, B, and C are correct
a) 50 km/h [37o East of North] are in “free-fall”?
b) 70 km/h [37o East of North] a. a ball that was thrown 10. A boy throws a ball straight up
c) 35 km/h [37o East of North] horizontally off a second floor balcony and
d) 15 km/h [37o East of North] b. a ball that was thrown at an it then lands on the ground.
e) None of these choices angle above horizontal Neglecting air resistance, the
c. a ball that was thrown at an magnitude of velocity is
3. A car is travelling west and angle below horizontal greatest:
approaching a stop sign. As it d. a ball that was dropped a. just after it leaves the boy’s
is slowing to a stop, the e. all of the above hand
directions associated with the b. at the peak of the ball’s
object’s velocity and 7. A baseball player is trying to trajectory
acceleration, respectively, are determine her maximum c. just before it hits the ground
a. [W], [E] throwing distance. She must d. it remains the same throughout
b. [W], [W] release the ball: the motion
c. [E], [E] a. straight up e. impossible to tell without
d. [E], [W] b. horizontally knowing the angle of projection
e. There is not enough c. at an angle of 45o
information to tell. d. so it has maximum speed
e. at an angle between 45o and 90o

Written Answer

1. Can an object ever be accelerating and experiencing an instantaneous velocity of 0 m/s? Explain. [___/2]
Yes, in any one-dimensional situation where an object is changing directions from forward to
backward. The most common example is throwing a ball straight up into the air. At the peak, the
2
instantaneous velocity is 0 m/s even though the acceleration is constantly 9.8 m/s [down].

2. Is it possible to have an average velocity of 0 for some motion but an average speed of 120 km/h for that motion? Provide
a quantitative example. [___/2]
yes, if a car goes 60 km forward for ½ hour, then backward at 60 km/h for ½ hour there is no
displacement, so no average velocity for the trip but the speed has been 60/0.5 = 120 km/h on
average.

3. Sketch an impossible position-time graph and explain why it is impossible. Then, sketch an impossible velocity-time graph
and explain why it is impossible. [___/2]

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 Graph 1 shows cusps which imply velocity going from forward to backwards instantly. Graph 2 shows
the object disappearing and then becoming infinitely big (occupying many positions at once). Graph 3
shows going backward in time. Graph 2 shows object going from a big forward velocity instantly to a
small forward velocity.

4. To get to the net, a soccer ball must travel 35 m [South]. If one player kicks it 25 m [East], what displacement must be
achieved by the second player’s kick? [___/5]
Given: ∆dnet = 35 m in y dimension, ∆dplayer1 = 25 m
Required: ∆dplayer2 = ?
Analysis/Solution:
North is up.
We can use the Pythagorean Theorem and tangent to find the necessary vector:

o
Applying the Pythagorean Theorem we have ∆dplayer2 = 24.5 m, and the missing angle is 54.5 (tan
inverse of 35/25)
o
Paraphrase: Therefore, the second displacement is 24.5 m [54.5 West of South].

5. A newspaper delivery boy throws a newspaper toward a porch which is 1.25 m below the height of his hand and 12 m in
front of him when he releases the paper. Given that he throws the paper with a velocity of 25.0 m/s [horizontal], find:
[___/8]
(a) the maximum height of the paper’s trajectory
(b) the time it takes for the paper to reach the ground
(c) the acceleration when the paper is only 1 m from the ground
(d) the horizontal range of the paper (does it make it to the porch?)
(a) 1.25 m, then it starts to drop into parabolic flight
0.5 0.5
(b) ∆t = (2d/a) = [(2) (-1.25)/-9.8] = 0.505 s
(c) -9.8 m/s/s
(d) ∆d = v ∆t = (25) (.505) =12.6 m/s

6. A rocket powered sled accelerates a jet pilot in training from rest to 270 km/h in 12.1 s. Find: [___/6]
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 (a) the average acceleration of the sled
(b) the time it takes to reach the speed limit on the highway, 100 km/h
(c) the distance travelled
2
a) a = ∆v / ∆t = (180 m/s) (12.1) =6.2 m/s [forward]
b) ∆t = ∆v / a = (27.8 m/s) / (6.2) = 4.5 s
c) ∆d = ½ (v1 + v2 ) =½ (0 + 180) (12.1) = 1089 m or 1.09 km

7. Use the velocity-time graph below to answer the questions that follow:

(a) Describe the motion of the

object (use words and numbers):
(i) from 0.0 s to 30.0 s
Constant velocity of 2.0 m/s
[East] and then speeds up to
3.5 m/s [east] from 20 to 25
s.

(ii) from 35.0 s to 60.0 s

Constant velocity of 6.0 m/s
[East] and then slows down
to 1 m/s [east].

(b) How do the motions of the

object from 20.0 s to 35.0 s and
50.0 s to 60.0 s compare?
20.0 s to 35.0 s – increasing
velocity to the east
50.0 s to 60.0 s – decreasing
velocity to the east (could
say slowing down or
experiencing a westward
acceleration as well)

(c) What is the velocity of the object at 10.0 s?

2.0 m/s

(d) What is the acceleration of the object at 30.0 s? Does this represent the maximum magnitude of acceleration of the
object?
2
a = slope = 6.0 m/s - 2.0 m/s [east] / 35.0 s– 20.0 s = 0.26666 = 0.27 m/s [east], but the negative
acceleration is larger

(e) What is the displacement of the object after the first 20.0 s?
Displacement = area = (20.0 s) (2.0 m/s [East]) = 40.0 m [East]

8. While driving to work at 25 m/s [E], Jamaal sees a squirrel run out onto the street in front of him chasing an errant nut. Not
wanting to hit the squirrel, Jamaal applies the brakes for 2.00 s to slow the car down over the next 37.0 m and allows the
squirrel enough time to get out of the way. (5 marks)
a. What is the acceleration of the car?
Given:
v1  25 m/s [E]
Δt = 2.00 s
d  37 m [E]
Required:
a ?
Solution:
at 2
d  v1t 
2
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 2d 2v1 2(37m[ E ]) (2)(25m / s[ E ])
a     6.5m / s 2 [ E ]
t 2 t (2.00s)2 2.00s
The acceleration of the car is -6.5 m/s2 [E].
b. What is the car’s final velocity?
Required:
v2  ?
Solution:
v2  v1  at  25m / s[ E ]  (6.5m / s)(2.00s)  12m / s[ E ]
The car’s final velocity is 12 m/s [E].
9. Consider the graph below (6 marks):

a. What is the average velocity between t = 0 s and t = 25 s?

b. What is the total distance travelled?

{(0 s to 4 s = 12m) (4s to 8s = 6m) (8s to 13s = 8m) (13s to 16s = 0m) (16s to 19s = 6m) (19s to
21s = 12m) (21s to 25s = 4m)} 12m+6m+8m+0m+6m+12m+4m = 48m.
c. What is the total displacement?
{(0 s to 4 s = +12m) (4s to 8s = +6m) (8s to 13s = 0m) (13s to 16s = -8m) (16s to 19s = -6m) (19s
to 21s = +12m) (21s to 25s = +4m)} 12m+6m+8m+0m-6m+12m+4m = 20m.
d. During which time interval is the object moving the fastest?
Section with the steepest slope = 19 s to t = 21 s.

e. During which time interval is the object not moving?

Section with the horizontal line t = 13 s to t = 16 s.

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