Kinematics — AS & A Level Physics (9702) questions by topic
Kinematics questions define displacement, compare average speeds across a two-stage motorway journey, contrast free-fall on Earth and Moon, and interpret a distance-time graph for an out-and-back walk, worth from 1 to 11 marks.
State and explain together, plus calculate, identify and deduce, top the command-word list: 'state and explain' demands a stated fact backed by a physical reason, not just the fact alone. 45 real questions from 2023 to 2025 papers make up this set. Submitting each attempt for instant marking catches a horizontal-velocity component mistaken for the full velocity, or a velocity-time graph area confused with acceleration, before it repeats.
What examiners look for
- Examiners repeatedly see the horizontal velocity component used as if it were the object's actual velocity in projectile questions.
- A common mistake is assuming acceleration and vertical velocity always point the same way, or using a right-angled triangle that wrongly assumes a straight-line path.
- Reports note some candidates give an incomplete answer, stating energy decreased rather than specifying kinetic energy decreased.
- The weakest candidates sometimes think the area under a velocity-time graph represents acceleration rather than displacement.
- Strong answers applying conservation of momentum to a collision usually get both the correct magnitude and the correct direction.
May–June 2025, Paper 11
An object is projected horizontally from a table at time t = 0. The object falls in a uniform gravitational field. Air resistance is negligible. Graphs P, Q, R and S are…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 12
A stone is thrown upwards and follows a curved path. Air resistance is negligible. Why does the path have this shape? A The stone has a constant horizontal acceleration and…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 13
A velocity–time graph for an object is shown. The object starts from rest and accelerates uniformly, then moves at constant velocity, then decelerates uniformly to rest. The graph…
Answer this question and get it marked →A feather falls from rest in a vacuum tube. The time taken to fall is 0.50 s. What is the length of the tube? A 1.2 m B 2.5 m C 4.9 m D 9.8 m
Answer this question and get it marked →Two coins X and Y are projected simultaneously from the edge of a table. Coin X is projected horizontally. Coin Y is projected at 30° above the horizontal with the same initial…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 14
A student cycles uphill from home to a shop, taking 10 minutes. The student then spends 5 minutes in the shop before cycling home downhill at twice the initial speed. Which graph…
Answer this question and get it marked →A ball is released from rest from a window at a height of 12 m above the ground. Air resistance is negligible. What is the time taken after release for the ball to reach the…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2025, Paper 21
May–June 2025, Paper 23
May–June 2024, Paper 11
The velocity of an object changes from an initial velocity u to a final velocity v. The vectors represent these velocities. (Vector u points horizontally to the right; vector v…
Answer this question and get it marked →An object is moving with initial velocity u. The object then moves with uniform acceleration a for time t until it reaches final velocity v. Which equation describes the motion of…
Answer this question and get it marked →An aircraft flies from London to Sydney in a time of 21 hours 40 minutes. The distance travelled is 17 000 km. What is the average speed of the aircraft? A 2.2 m s⁻¹ B 2.2 × 10⁷…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 12
Which statement is not correct? A Acceleration can be determined from the gradient of a velocity–time graph. B Acceleration is the rate of change of velocity. C Displacement can…
Answer this question and get it marked →The diagram shows a laboratory experiment in which a feather falls from rest in a long evacuated vertical tube of length L. The feather takes time T to fall from the top to the…
Answer this question and get it marked →A car travels along a straight horizontal road. The graph shows the variation of the velocity v of the car with time t for 6.0 s of its journey. The velocity is constant at 22 m…
Answer this question and get it marked →A ball collides with a wall. Before the collision, the ball moves with velocity 8 m s⁻¹ to the right. After the collision, it moves with velocity 3 m s⁻¹ to the left. What is the…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 13
The diagram shows a velocity–time graph for an object moving in a straight line. The velocity increases linearly from 0 at t = 0 to 12 m s⁻¹ at t = 4 s (passing through 3 m s⁻¹ at…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2024, Paper 21
May–June 2024, Paper 23
October–November 2024, Paper 11
An object is projected from horizontal ground at a velocity of magnitude u and angle theta to the horizontal. It hits the ground at a time t after it is projected. Assume air…
Answer this question and get it marked →A person, travelling on a motorway a total distance of 200 km, travels the first 90 km at an average speed of 80 km h^-1. Which average speed must be obtained for the rest of the…
Answer this question and get it marked →A toy parachute is dropped from a bridge and falls vertically through the air. The graph shows the distance travelled by the parachute against time. [Distance-time graph: region A…
Answer this question and get it marked →An object is dropped from rest on the Earth from a height of 2.0 m. The same object is dropped from rest on the Moon from twice the height. The acceleration of free fall on the…
Answer this question and get it marked →The graph shows how velocity v varies with time t for a bungee jumper. [Velocity-time graph: the curve rises from the origin through point P, reaches a maximum at point Q, then…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 12
The graph shows how the acceleration of an object moving in a straight line varies with time. The acceleration starts at zero, rises smoothly to a maximum and falls back to zero.…
Answer this question and get it marked →A stone falls vertically from rest. Air resistance is negligible. What is the speed of the stone when it has fallen through a distance of 0.40 m? A 2.0 m s^-1 B 2.8 m s^-1 C 3.9 m…
Answer this question and get it marked →A ball is thrown horizontally off a tall building. The ground is horizontal. Air resistance is negligible. Which statement about the motion of the ball is correct? A The…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2024, Paper 13
A boy throws a stone with a horizontal velocity of 10 m s^-1 from the top of a building. The height of the building is 8.0 m. The stone travels along a curved path until it hits…
Answer this question and get it marked →The graph shows the variation of velocity with time for a stone that falls from a bridge into a lake and sinks to the bottom of the lake. The velocity rises with decreasing…
Answer this question and get it marked →February–March 2023, Paper 12
A ball is kicked upwards at an angle of 45 degrees to horizontal ground. After a short flight, the ball returns to the ground. It may be assumed that air resistance is negligible.…
Answer this question and get it marked →The graph shows the variation with time t of the displacement s of an object. The displacement-time graph is a series of triangular pulses: s rises linearly from 0 to a maximum…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 11
One object moves directly from P to R. In a shorter time, a second object moves from P to Q to R (P, Q and R are three points in a plane, not collinear). Which statement about the…
Answer this question and get it marked →A ball is kicked so that it has an initial velocity of 12 m s^-1 at an angle of 50 degrees to horizontal ground. Assume that air resistance is negligible. What is the maximum…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 12
A ball travels from point X to point Y around a semicircular track of radius 1.0 m, as shown. X is at the top and Y is at the bottom of the semicircle, so X and Y are vertically…
Answer this question and get it marked →A rock is launched vertically upwards from the surface of the Earth and an identical rock is launched vertically upwards from the surface of Mars. Each rock is launched with an…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 13
Which equation, representing uniformly accelerated motion in a straight line, can be determined using only the definition of acceleration? A s = ut + (1/2)at^2 B s = (1/2)(u+v)t C…
Answer this question and get it marked →An object moves from rest with uniform velocity horizontally and uniform acceleration vertically. Which graph showing the variation with time of the displacement of the object…
Answer this question and get it marked →May–June 2023, Paper 23
A well has a depth of 36 m from ground level to the surface of the water in the well, as shown in Fig. 1.1. A student wishes to find the depth of the well. The student plans to…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 11
A parachutist falls from a stationary balloon at time t = 0. The velocity-time graph for the parachutist from time t = 0 until the time when he is just above the ground is shown;…
Answer this question and get it marked →A projectile is fired from point P with velocity V at an angle theta to the horizontal. It lands at point Q, a horizontal distance R from P, after time T. The acceleration of free…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 12
An astronaut on the Moon, where there is no air resistance, throws a ball. The ball's initial velocity has a vertical component of 8.00 m s^-1 and a horizontal component of 4.00 m…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 13
A student walks at a constant speed for a distance of 50 m in a time of 40 s. The student rests for a time of 10 s and then walks back to the starting point at a constant speed in…
Answer this question and get it marked →The time taken for an object to fall from rest through a certain distance on Mars is TM. The time taken for the same object to fall from rest through the same distance on Earth is…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 21
A trolley A moves along a horizontal surface at a constant velocity towards another trolley B which is moving at a lower constant speed in the same direction. Table 3.1 shows data…
Answer this question and get it marked →October–November 2023, Paper 23
A ball on horizontal ground is kicked towards a vertical wall. Fig. 2.1 (not to scale) shows the path of the ball. The ball has an initial velocity u at an angle of 38 degrees to…
Answer this question and get it marked →Other AS & A Level Physics topics
- Forces, density and pressure (120)
- Waves (89)
- Practical skills (86)
- Superposition (77)
- D.C. circuits (71)
- Work, energy and power (70)
- Deformation of solids (60)
- Physical quantities and units (54)
- Current of electricity (50)
- Particle physics (46)
- Nuclear physics (37)
- Dynamics (26)