Physics Notes (Practice

Questions)
Unit 1 : Movement and Position
Chapter 1 : Force and Motion

1) What is a Force ?
A force is a push or a pull. A force cannot be seen but
you can see how a force affects an object.

2) What is Distance?
Distance is a measure of how
far an object has travelled from its starting point,
or how far away it is. Distance is
the same as length and is measured in metres.

3) What is the Difference

between Distance and Displacement?
Displacement (like distance above) is also
a measure of
how far an object has travelled from its starting point
but displacement also tells you the direction of
the object.
Distance is a scalar and displacement is a vector.

4)What is Speed?
Speed is a measure of how fast an object is moving.
5) What is Velocity?
Velocity is similar to speed. It is also
a measure of how fast
an object is moving and is measured in m/s.
Velocity = Distance ÷ Time.
If an object is not moving then it is called stationary.
The speed or velocity of a stationary object is zero.

6) What is the Difference

between Velocity and Speed?
The difference between velocity and speed is that
velocity is 
speed in a certain direction. Speed is
a scalar and velocity is a vector. If
an object is moving in a straight line, then its speed
and velocity will be the same. If the moving object
stays at the 
same speed but changes direction then we say that
the velocity 
has changed (because the direction has changed) but
the speed 
has stayed the same. If the velocity in one
direction is positive
(for example, forwards at 10 m/s) then the velocity in
the opposite 
direction is negative (for example, backwards at
Note:
Some of the quantities (variables) that we have
talked about in the Forces and Motion chapter
are scalars and some are vectors.

1) What is the Difference between a Scalar and

a Vector?
A scalar (pronounced scay-lar) only
has magnitude (size).
A vector has both magnitude and direction.

Examples of scalars are
density, energy, length, mass, power, speed and temp
erature.

Examples of vectors are
acceleration, displacement, force, momentum, veloci
ty and weight.
How to Calculate Speed or Velocity.

How is the Velocity of an Object Calculated?

Either Speed or Velocity = Distance ÷ Time.

For example, if an object moving in a straight line

travels 25 metres in 5 seconds,
then its velocity = 25 ÷ 5
= 5 m/s.
You must always say what the units are! (in this case
m/s, called "metres per second"). Always check what
units are given in the question. If the time is given in
hours or minutes, then convert it to seconds before
doing the calculation.

7) What is Constant Velocity?

If an objects velocity does not change, we say that it
has a constant velocity. In the above example, we
are not told whether the object 
has a constant velocity, or whether
its velocity has changed during the 5 seconds. If
the velocity has changed, then the answer we have
calculated is an average velocity of 5 m/s. If
the velocity has not changed, then the object had
a constant velocity of 5 m/s. When an objects
9) What is the Equation for Acceleration?

Acceleration = Change in Velocity ÷ Time.

This equation is written as
a = (v-u) ÷ t
where a = acceleration
v = final velocity (the one it ended up with)
u = initial velocity (the one it started with)
t = time
(This equation is important!)

10) What are the Units of Acceleration?

The units of acceleration are m/s2 called
"metres per second squared".

11) What is Negative Acceleration?

If an object gets faster, it will have a positive
acceleration. If an 
Object gets slower, it will have
a negative acceleration
(this is sometimes called "deceleration“ but the term
"negative 
acceleration" is preferred).
How to Calculate Acceleration.
10) How is the Acceleration of an Object Calculated?

Acceleration = Change in Velocity ÷ Time.
a = (v-u) ÷ t
where a = acceleration
v = final velocity (the one it ended up with)
u = initial velocity (the one it started with)
t = time
This equation can be rearranged.

Example 1. If a car changes from 10
m/s to 30 m/s in 8 seconds,
what is its acceleration?
v = 30
u = 10
t = 8
       a = (30 - 10) ÷ 8
 = 20 ÷ 8
    = 2·5 m/s2
 what is its acceleration?
In this example,
the final velocity is zero because
the bicycle has stopped.
v = 0
u = 15
t = 10
       a = (0 - 15) ÷ 10
   = -15 ÷ 10
     = -1·5 m/s2
The acceleration is negative because
the bicycle has slowed down.

11) What is Constant Acceleration?

Acceleration is the rate of change of
an objects velocity.
The object is said to have constant acceleration if
it gets faster (or slower, or its direction changes) at
the same rate.line sloping upwards in the graph above
The straight
shows that the objects distance increases as time goes by.
The object has velocity because it is moving.
The straight line shows that it is a constant velocity.
gradient (slope) of the line shows how fast the object is g
The greater the slope, the bigger the velocity is.
mpare this with the velocity - time graph for constant velo
(*)
 hat is a Distance - Time Graph?
ance - time graph shows how an objects distance 
far it has gone) changes with time. The picture below sho
ce - time graph for an object that is stationary.

bove graph shows an object which is not moving (at rest)

raight horizontal line shows that its distance stays the sam
e goes by because it is not moving. The picture below sh
ce - time graph for an object with a constant velocity.

(*)
13) What are the Distance - Time Graphs
for Constant Velocity and 
Acceleration?
The picture below shows a distance - time graph for
an object with a constant velocity.

The straight line shows an object

moving with constant velocity.
Compare this with the graph on the previous
page and you
will see that the slope of the line is down rather
than up.
This means that the object is moving in
the opposite direction.
The slope of the line shows how
fast the object is moving.

14) What is the Distance - Time Graph

for Acceleration?

The curve in the above graph shows

that the objects velocity is changing as time goes by.
15) How can a Distance - Time Graph be used to
show the Motion of an Object?

You may be shown a graph like the one below and

be asked to describe the motion of the object.

In region A the object is moving with constant
velocity.
In region B the object is at rest (not moving).
In region C the object is again moving with
a constant velocity
but compared with region A

1. the object is moving more slowly because
the slope is less steep
2. the object is moving in the opposite direction
because distance 
is decreasing as time goes by.
16) What is a Velocity - Time Graph?
A velocity - time graph shows how
an objects velocity (how fast it
is moving) changes with time.
Velocity - Time Graphs for Constant
Velocity and Constant Acceleration.
The picture below shows a velocity - time graph for
an object with a velocity that does not change

The picture below shows a velocity - time graph

for an object with a velocity that increases at
a constant rate.
The straight line sloping upwards in the graph above
shows that the objects
velocity is increasing as time goes by. Increasing 
velocity is called acceleration.
17) What is Constant Acceleration?
The straight line in the graph above shows that
the velocity of the object has a constant acceleration.
This means that the velocity of
the object is changing at a constant rate.
The slope of the line in the graph above shows
1.  the acceleration is positive because
the line slopes upwards
2. how fast the acceleration is. The greater the slope,
the faster the acceleration is.
Velocity - Time Graphs for
Constant Negative Acceleration and Changing Acceleration.
The picture below shows a velocity - time graph
for an object with a velocity that decreases at a constant rate.

The straight line sloping downwards in the graph above

shows that the objects velocity is decreasing as time goes by.
This is called negative acceleration.
The straight line shows that it is constant negative acceleration.
The slope of the line shows
1. the acceleration is negative because the line slopes downwards
2. how fast the negative acceleration is.
The greater the slope, the faster the acceleration is.

The picture below shows a velocity - time graph

for an object with an acceleration that increases.

The curve in the above graph shows that the

acceleration is not constant because the slope is getting steeper.
It is changing acceleration that increases as time goes by.