MOTION GRAPHS

● The gradient of a displacement – time graph gives velocity

● The gradient of a velocity – time graph gives acceleration
● The area under the velocity – time graph gives the distance travelled

Motion graphs for uniform/constant acceleration (e.g. falling freely)

Motion graphs for uniform deceleration (e.g. rising freely)

Motion graphs for uniform acceleration and deceleration (e.g. ball thrown up in the air and caught when it comes back)
Relevant questions from past paper

1. Some students investigate the speed of cars. They measure the time it takes each car to travel a distance of 80 m.

(a) State two measuring instruments the students should use. (2)

(b)The table shows some of their results.

(i) State the colour of the slowest car. (1)

(ii) Calculate the speed of the black car. (2)

(iii) 20 miles per hour is approximately 9 m/s. Estimate the speed, in miles per hour, of the black car. (1)

(c) The distance-time graph for another car is shown below.

Describe what the graph shows about the speed of the car as it travels the 80 m. (2)
2. The photograph shows the beginning of a 100 m race

David wins the race. The graph shows David’s distance-time graph.
(a) Use the graph to find the distance David ran in the first 4 s. (1)

(b) David runs 100 m in a time of 9.80 s. Calculate his average speed. State the unit. (3)

(c) Explain why David’s average speed is less than his top speed. (2)

(1)

(1)
HOMEWORK

3. (a) A car driver sees a rabbit on the road. The driver makes an emergency stop after he sees the rabbit. The
figure shows the speed of the car from the time the driver sees the rabbit until the car stops.

(i)The distance travelled by the car from the time the driver first sees the rabbit to when car starts to slow down is the (1)

(ii) Calculate the distance that the car travels in 2.5 seconds. (3)

(iii) calculate the average speed of the car (2)

(b) Two students, Alice and Bob, carry out an experiment to measure the speed of cars. Alice paces out the
distance between two lamp posts. She records: ‘Distance between lamp posts = 20 paces’ Bob starts to count
when a car passes the first lamp post. He stops counting when he thinks it has passed the second lamp post.
He records: ‘My estimate for the time taken for the car to pass between the two lamp posts = 3’
Give three ways the students could improve their experimental procedure