Worksheet 2.

2
Acceleration problems
Solve some more problems involving acceleration.
1 The diagram shows the speed–time graphs for four cars.

The table shows four descriptions, one for each car.

Car Description How you know

moving at constant
velocity

speeding up with
constant acceleration

slowing down with

constant acceleration

moving with varying

acceleration

© Cambridge University Press 2014 IGCSE ® Physics

Worksheet 2.2  1
 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.

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 8.0 m/s in a straight line. It accelerates with an

acceleration of 1.0 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.

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 University Press 2014 IGCSE ® Physics

Worksheet 2.2  2
5 Read the following description of a car’s motion.
A car started off from the traffic lights. Its acceleration was 2.0 m/s2. It
continued to accelerate until it reached a speed of 18 m/s. Then it
travelled at this speed for 20 s.
a How long did it take the car to reach a speed of 18 m/s?
b Draw a speed–time graph to show the car’s motion.
c How far did the car travel during the journey described above?

© Cambridge University Press 2014 IGCSE ® Physics

Worksheet 2.2  3