Physics Core Course

Basic Questions

Student-kinematics

1. A particle is moving such that : x = 4t – 3, y = 3t2 + 5, z = 7 (where x, y and z are expressed in

metres)

(a) Find the position vector as function of time.

(b) What is the initial position?

(c) Find the displacement between t = 1 s and t = 2 s.

(d) Find the magnitude of the displacement vector between t = 1 s and t = 2 s.

(e) Find the magnitude of the average velocity between t = 1 s and t = 2 s.

[part A-page 7]
(2 marks)

2. A particle is moving such that: x = 2t3 – 5t + 3, y = 3t2 + 4t - 5, z = -t3 + 2t2 - 6 (where x, y and
z are expressed in metres).

(a) Find the velocity at t = 1 s.

[part A-page 8]

(b) Find the acceleration at t = 2 s.

[part A-page 9]

(c) Find the speed at t = 1 s.

[part A-page 8]

(d) Find the magnitude of the acceleration at t = 2 s.

[part A-page 9]
(2 marks)

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3. A body moves along a straight line. Its position from the origin at time t is given by the
equation : x = 2t2 – 8t + 5, where x is in metres and t is in seconds.

(a) Determine the nature of the motion.

[part B-page 10]

(b) Find the average velocity of the body in the interval from t = 0 to t = 2 s.

[part A-page 7]

(c) Find the velocity at t = 2 s.

[part B-page 10]

(d) At what time does the particle pass through the origin?

[part B-page 10]

(2 marks)

4. The speed of a bus travelling due South is uniformly reduced from 54.0 km/h to 36.0 km/h in a
distance of 62.5 m.

(a) What are the magnitude and direction of the acceleration?

(b) How long does it take to cover this distance?

If the bus keeps decelerating at the same rate :

(c) how long does it take to come to rest from 54.0 km/h?

(d) what distance does it cover?

[part B-page 11]

(2 marks)

5.

A car travelling at 80 km/h directly toward a lorry travelling at 30 km/h. At the instant the
vehicles are 55 km apart, a pigeon leaves the car, moving always with a constant speed of 48
km/h towards the lorry; on reaching the lorry, it flies straight back towards the car, and so on.
What total distance will the pigeon cover before the vehicles meet?

[part C-page 13]

(1 mark)

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6.

y north

east
O C x
θ

A car initially travelling eastward at A turns north by travelling in a circular path ABC at
uniform speed as shown in the diagram. The length of the arc ABC is 235 m, and the car
completes the turn in 36.0 s.

(a) Calculate the speed of the car.

[part D-page 17]

(b) Calculate the magnitude of the acceleration of the car.

[part D-page 18]

(c) Find the x component of the acceleration when θ = 350.

[trigonometry]

(d) Find the y component of the acceleration when θ = 350.

[trigonometry]
(2 marks)
7. At t = 0 a grinding wheel has an angular velocity of 24.0 rad/s. It has a constant angular
acceleration of 30.0 rad/s2 until a circuit breaker trips at t = 2.00 s.

(a) Calculate the angular velocity at t = 2.00 s.

(b) Through what angle did the wheel turn from t = 0 to t = 2.00 s?

From then on, it turns through 432 rad as it coasts to a stop at constant angular acceleration.

(c) Find the duration of this decelerating stage.

(d) What was its acceleration as it slowed down?

[part D-page 15]

(2 marks)

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8. A particle is moving in a circle of radius 60.0 cm. It started from rest, with a uniform angular
acceleration of 0.700 rads-2.

(a) Calculate its angular velocity at t = 4.00 s.

[part D-page 16]

(b) Find the magnitude of the tangential component of the acceleration.

[part D-page 15]

(c) Find the magnitude of the normal component of the acceleration at t = 4.00 s.

[part D-page 18]

(d) Calculate the magnitude of the acceleration at t = 4.00 s.

[part D-page 18]

(1 mark)

F
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H 4 JK.
9. The equation of motion of a particle is : x cm = 4 sin 8πt +

(a) Find the angular frequency, the period and the length of the line segment along which the
motion occurs.

[part E-page 21]

(b) What is the velocity of the particle at time t?

[part E-page 19]

(c) Determine the position of the particle at t = 0.

[part E-page 19]

(d) Determine the velocity of the particle at t = 0.

[part E-page 19]

(e) What is the acceleration of the particle at time t?

[part E-page 19]

(f) What is the velocity of the particle at x = ± √7 cm?

[part E-page 19]

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 (g) What is the maximum velocity of the particle?

[part E-page 19]

(2 marks)

10. A body moves in simple harmonic motion along a straight line of length 12 cm. At t = 0, the
body is at one extremity of the trajectory (in the positive sense). The body makes eight
complete oscillations per second.

(a) Write the equation of motion of the body.

[part E-page 21]

(b) Determine the velocity of the body at t = 1/8 s.

[part E-page 19]

(c) At what time does the body first pass through the position x = + 3 cm?

[part E-page 19]

(2 marks)

11. A body moves in simple harmonic rotational motion of amplitude 3.0 revolutions and of
frequency 1.5 Hz. At t = 0, θ = 3π radians.

(a) Determine the amplitude in radians.

(b) Find the angular frequency.

(c) What is the phase at t = 0?

(d) Determine the equation of motion.

(e) Find the angular velocity at time t.

(f) Find the angular velocity at t = 2.5 s.

[part F-page 24]

(2 marks)

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