3.02a Kinematics language: position, displacement, velocity, acceleration

188 questions

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Edexcel M1 Q4
11 marks Moderate -0.8
4. The position of an aeroplane flying in a straight horizontal line at constant speed is plotted on a radar screen. At 2 p.m. the position vector of the aeroplane is \(( 80 \mathbf { i } + 5 \mathbf { j } )\), where \(\mathbf { i }\) and \(\mathbf { j }\) are unit vectors directed east and north respectively relative to a fixed origin, \(O\), on the screen. Ten minutes later the position of the aeroplane on the screen is \(( 32 \mathbf { i } + 19 \mathbf { j } )\). Each unit on the screen represents 1 km .
  1. Find the position vector of the aeroplane at 2:30 p.m.
  2. Find the speed of the aeroplane in \(\mathrm { km } \mathrm { h } ^ { - 1 }\).
  3. Find, correct to the nearest degree, the bearing on which the aeroplane is flying.
OCR MEI M1 Q4
6 marks Moderate -0.8
4 A particle moves along a straight line through an origin O . Initially the particle is at O .
At time \(t \mathrm {~s}\), its displacement from O is \(x \mathrm {~m}\) and its velocity, \(v \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\), is given by $$v = 24 - 18 t + 3 t ^ { 2 }$$
  1. Find the times, \(T _ { 1 } \mathrm {~s}\) and \(T _ { 2 } \mathrm {~s}\) (where \(T _ { 2 } > T _ { 1 }\) ), at which the particle is stationary.
  2. Find an expression for \(x\) at time \(t\) s. Show that when \(t = T _ { 1 } , x = 20\) and find the value of \(x\) when \(t = T _ { 2 }\).
OCR MEI M1 Q3
5 marks Moderate -0.5
3 A particle moves along a straight line containing a point O . Its displacement, \(x \mathrm {~m}\), from O at time \(t\) seconds is given by $$x = 12 t - t ^ { 3 } , \text { where } - 10 \leqslant t \leqslant 10$$ Find the values of \(x\) for which the velocity of the particle is zero.
OCR MEI M1 Q2
6 marks Moderate -0.5
2 The acceleration of a particle of mass 4 kg is given by \(\mathbf { a } = ( 9 \mathbf { i } - 4 t \mathbf { j } ) \mathrm { m } \mathrm { s } ^ { 2 }\), where \(\mathbf { i }\) and \(\mathbf { j }\) are unit vectors and \(t\) is the time in seconds.
  1. Find the acceleration of the particle when \(t = 0\) and also when \(t = 3\).
  2. Calculate the force acting on the particle when \(t = 3\). The particle has velocity \(( 4 \mathbf { i } + 2 \mathbf { j } ) \mathrm { m } \mathrm { s } { } ^ { 1 }\) when \(t = 1\).
  3. Find an expression for the velocity of the particle at time \(t\).
OCR MEI M1 Q3
7 marks Moderate -0.3
3 The position vector, \(r\), of a particle of mass 4 kg at time \(t\) is given by $$\mathbf { r } = t ^ { 2 } \mathbf { i } + \left( 5 t - 2 t ^ { 2 } \right) \mathbf { j }$$ where \(\mathbf { i }\) and \(\mathbf { j }\) are the standard unit vectors, lengths are in metres and time is in seconds.
  1. Find an expression for the acceleration of the particle. The particle is subject to a force \(\mathbf { F }\) and a force \(12 \mathbf { j } \mathbf { N }\).
  2. Find \(\mathbf { F }\).
OCR MEI M1 Q1
8 marks Moderate -0.8
1 Force \(\mathbf { F } _ { 1 }\) is \(\binom { 6 } { 13 } \mathrm {~N}\) and force \(\mathbf { F } _ { 2 }\) is \(\binom { 3 } { 5 }\), where \({ } _ { 0 }\) and \(\binom { 0 } { 1 }\) are vectors east and north respectively.
  1. Calculate the magnitude of \(\mathbf { F } _ { 1 }\), correct to three significant figures.
  2. Calculate the direction of the force \(\mathbf { F } _ { 1 } - \mathbf { F } _ { 2 }\) as a bearing. Force \(\mathbf { F } _ { 2 }\) is the resultant of all the forces acting on an object of mass 5 kg .
  3. Calculate the acceleration of the object and the change in its velocity after 10 seconds.
AQA M2 2008 January Q2
8 marks Moderate -0.8
2 A particle moves in a straight line and at time \(t\) it has velocity \(v\), where $$v = 3 t ^ { 2 } - 2 \sin 3 t + 6$$
    1. Find an expression for the acceleration of the particle at time \(t\).
    2. When \(t = \frac { \pi } { 3 }\), show that the acceleration of the particle is \(2 \pi + 6\).
  1. When \(t = 0\), the particle is at the origin. Find an expression for the displacement of the particle from the origin at time \(t\).
AQA M2 2008 January Q4
9 marks Standard +0.3
4 A particle moves in a horizontal plane under the action of a single force, \(\mathbf { F }\) newtons. The unit vectors \(\mathbf { i }\) and \(\mathbf { j }\) are directed east and north respectively. At time \(t\) seconds, the position vector, \(\mathbf { r }\) metres, of the particle is given by $$\mathbf { r } = \left( t ^ { 3 } - 3 t ^ { 2 } + 4 \right) \mathbf { i } + \left( 4 t + t ^ { 2 } \right) \mathbf { j }$$
  1. Find an expression for the velocity of the particle at time \(t\).
  2. The mass of the particle is 3 kg .
    1. Find an expression for \(\mathbf { F }\) at time \(t\).
    2. Find the magnitude of \(\mathbf { F }\) when \(t = 3\).
  3. Find the value of \(t\) when \(\mathbf { F }\) acts due north.
AQA M2 2011 January Q1
10 marks Moderate -0.3
1 The velocity of a particle at time \(t\) seconds is \(\mathbf { v } \mathrm { m } \mathrm { s } ^ { - 1 }\), where $$\mathbf { v } = \left( 4 + 3 t ^ { 2 } \right) \mathbf { i } + ( 12 - 8 t ) \mathbf { j }$$
  1. When \(t = 0\), the particle is at the point with position vector \(( 5 \mathbf { i } - 7 \mathbf { j } ) \mathrm { m }\). Find the position vector, \(\mathbf { r }\) metres, of the particle at time \(t\).
  2. Find the acceleration of the particle at time \(t\).
  3. The particle has mass 2 kg . Find the magnitude of the force acting on the particle when \(t = 1\).
AQA M2 2012 January Q2
10 marks Standard +0.3
2 A particle, of mass 50 kg , moves on a smooth horizontal plane. A single horizontal force $$\left[ \left( 300 t - 60 t ^ { 2 } \right) \mathbf { i } + 100 \mathrm { e } ^ { - 2 t } \mathbf { j } \right] \text { newtons }$$ acts on the particle at time \(t\) seconds.
The vectors \(\mathbf { i }\) and \(\mathbf { j }\) are perpendicular unit vectors.
  1. Find the acceleration of the particle at time \(t\).
  2. When \(t = 0\), the velocity of the particle is \(( 7 \mathbf { i } - 4 \mathbf { j } ) \mathrm { ms } ^ { - 1 }\). Find the velocity of the particle at time \(t\).
  3. Calculate the speed of the particle when \(t = 1\).
AQA M2 2013 January Q2
11 marks Standard +0.3
2 A particle moves in a horizontal plane. The vectors \(\mathbf { i }\) and \(\mathbf { j }\) are perpendicular unit vectors in the horizontal plane. At time \(t\) seconds, the velocity of the particle, \(\mathbf { v } \mathrm { m } \mathrm { s } ^ { - 1 }\), is given by $$\mathbf { v } = 12 \cos \left( \frac { \pi } { 3 } t \right) \mathbf { i } - 9 t ^ { 2 } \mathbf { j }$$
  1. Find an expression for the acceleration of the particle at time \(t\).
  2. The particle, which has mass 4 kg , moves under the action of a single force, \(\mathbf { F }\) newtons.
    1. Find an expression for the force \(\mathbf { F }\) in terms of \(t\).
    2. Find the magnitude of \(\mathbf { F }\) when \(t = 3\).
  3. When \(t = 3\), the particle is at the point with position vector \(( 4 \mathbf { i } - 2 \mathbf { j } ) \mathrm { m }\). Find the position vector, \(\mathbf { r }\) metres, of the particle at time \(t\).
AQA M2 2006 June Q1
12 marks Moderate -0.8
1 A particle moves in a horizontal plane, in which the unit vectors \(\mathbf { i }\) and \(\mathbf { j }\) are directed east and north respectively. At time \(t\) seconds, its position vector, \(\mathbf { r }\) metres, is given by $$\mathbf { r } = \left( 2 t ^ { 3 } - t ^ { 2 } + 6 \right) \mathbf { i } + \left( 8 - 4 t ^ { 3 } + t \right) \mathbf { j }$$
  1. Find an expression for the velocity of the particle at time \(t\).
    1. Find the velocity of the particle when \(t = \frac { 1 } { 3 }\).
    2. State the direction in which the particle is travelling at this time.
  2. Find the acceleration of the particle when \(t = 4\).
  3. The mass of the particle is 6 kg . Find the magnitude of the resultant force on the particle when \(t = 4\).
AQA M2 2007 June Q3
11 marks Moderate -0.3
3 A particle has mass 800 kg . A single force of \(( 2400 \mathbf { i } - 4800 t \mathbf { j } )\) newtons acts on the particle at time \(t\) seconds. No other forces act on the particle.
  1. Find the acceleration of the particle at time \(t\).
  2. At time \(t = 0\), the velocity of the particle is \(( 6 \mathbf { i } + 30 \mathbf { j } ) \mathrm { m } \mathrm { s } ^ { - 1 }\). The velocity of the particle at time \(t\) is \(\mathbf { v } \mathrm { m } \mathrm { s } ^ { - 1 }\). Show that $$\mathbf { v } = ( 6 + 3 t ) \mathbf { i } + \left( 30 - 3 t ^ { 2 } \right) \mathbf { j }$$
  3. Initially, the particle is at the point with position vector \(( 2 \mathbf { i } + 5 \mathbf { j } ) \mathrm { m }\). Find the position vector, \(\mathbf { r }\) metres, of the particle at time \(t\).
AQA M2 2010 June Q1
3 marks Easy -1.2
1 A particle moves along a straight line through the origin. At time \(t\), the displacement, \(s\), of the particle from the origin is given by $$s = 5 t ^ { 2 } + 3 \cos 4 t$$ Find the velocity of the particle at time \(t\).
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AQA M2 2013 June Q1
6 marks Easy -1.2
1 A particle, of mass 3 kg , moves along a straight line. At time \(t\) seconds, the displacement, \(s\) metres, of the particle from the origin is given by $$s = 8 t ^ { 3 } + 15$$
  1. Find the velocity of the particle at time \(t\).
  2. Find the magnitude of the resultant force acting on the particle when \(t = 2\).
Edexcel M4 2017 June Q1
8 marks Standard +0.8
  1. \hspace{0pt} [In this question the horizontal unit vectors \(\mathbf { i }\) and \(\mathbf { j }\) are due east and due north respectively.]
A ship \(A\) has constant velocity \(( 4 \mathbf { i } + 2 \mathbf { j } ) \mathrm { kmh } ^ { - 1 }\) and a ship \(B\) has constant velocity \(( - \mathbf { i } + 3 \mathbf { j } ) \mathrm { km } \mathrm { h } ^ { - 1 }\). At noon, the position vectors of the ships \(A\) and \(B\) with respect to a fixed origin \(O\) are \(( - 2 \mathbf { i } + \mathbf { j } ) \mathrm { km }\) and \(( 5 \mathbf { i } - 2 \mathbf { j } ) \mathrm { km }\) respectively. Find
  1. the time at which the two ships are closest together,
  2. the length of time for which ship \(A\) is within 2 km of ship \(B\).
Edexcel M4 2018 June Q5
11 marks Standard +0.8
5. A horizontal square field, \(P Q R S\), has sides of length 75 m . Ali is at corner \(P\) of the field and Beth is at corner \(Q\) of the field. Ali starts to walk in a straight line along the diagonal of the field from \(P\) to \(R\) at a constant speed of \(1.5 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\). Beth sees Ali start to walk, waits 10 seconds, and then walks from \(Q\) to intercept Ali. Beth walks in a straight line at a constant speed of \(2 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\). Find
  1. the time from the instant Beth leaves \(Q\) until the instant that she intercepts Ali,
  2. the direction Beth should take.
Edexcel M4 Q6
12 marks Challenging +1.8
6. Two particles \(P\) and \(Q\) have constant velocity vectors \(\mathbf { v } _ { P }\) and \(\mathbf { v } _ { Q }\) respectively. The magnitude of the velocity of \(P\) relative to \(Q\) is equal to the speed of \(P\). If the direction of motion of one of the particles is reversed, the magnitude of the velocity of \(P\) relative to \(Q\) is doubled. Find
  1. the ratio of the speeds of \(P\) and \(Q\),
  2. the cosine of the angle between the directions of motion of \(P\) and \(Q\).
Edexcel M5 2013 June Q1
7 marks Moderate -0.3
  1. A particle moves in a plane in such a way that its position vector \(\mathbf { r }\) metres at time \(t\) seconds satisfies the differential equation
$$\frac { \mathrm { d } ^ { 2 } \mathbf { r } } { \mathrm {~d} t ^ { 2 } } - 2 \frac { \mathrm {~d} \mathbf { r } } { \mathrm {~d} t } = \mathbf { 0 }$$ When \(t = 0\), the particle is at the origin and is moving with velocity \(( 4 \mathbf { i } + 2 \mathbf { j } ) \mathrm { m } \mathrm { s } ^ { - 1 }\).
Find \(\mathbf { r }\) in terms of \(t\).
OCR MEI Further Mechanics B AS 2021 November Q2
8 marks Standard +0.8
2 A particle, Q , moves so that its velocity, \(\mathbf { v }\), at time \(t\) is given by \(\mathbf { v } = ( 6 t - 6 ) \mathbf { i } + \left( 3 - 2 t + t ^ { 2 } \right) \mathbf { j } + 4 \mathbf { k }\), where \(0 \leqslant t \leqslant 6\).
  1. Explain how you know that Q is never stationary. When Q is at a point A the direction of the acceleration of Q is parallel to the \(\mathbf { i }\) direction. When Q is at a point B the direction of the acceleration of Q makes an angle of \(45 ^ { \circ }\) with the \(\mathbf { i }\) direction.
  2. Determine the straight-line distance AB .
OCR MEI Further Mechanics B AS Specimen Q1
12 marks Standard +0.3
1 A particle, P , has velocity \(v \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\) at time \(t\) seconds given by \(\mathbf { v } = \left( \begin{array} { c } 6 \left( t ^ { 2 } - 3 t + 2 \right) \\ 2 ( 1 - t ) \\ 3 \left( t ^ { 2 } - 1 \right) \end{array} \right)\), where \(0 \leq t \leq 3\).
  1. Show that there is just one time at which P is instantaneously at rest and state this value of \(t\). P has a mass of 5 kg and is acted on by a single force \(\mathbf { F }\) N.
  2. Find \(\mathbf { F }\) when \(t = 2\).
  3. Find an expression for the position, \(\mathbf { r } \mathrm { m }\), of P at time \(t \mathrm {~s}\), given that \(\mathbf { r } = \left( \begin{array} { c } - 5 \\ 2 \\ 6 \end{array} \right)\) when \(t = 0\).
WJEC Unit 4 2024 June Q8
7 marks Standard +0.3
  1. Three forces \(\mathbf { F } _ { 1 } , \mathbf { F } _ { 2 }\) and \(\mathbf { F } _ { 3 }\) are acting on an object of mass 3 kg such that
$$\begin{aligned} & \mathbf { F } _ { 1 } = ( \mathbf { i } + 8 c \mathbf { j } + 11 c \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { N } , \\ & \mathbf { F } _ { 2 } = ( - 14 \mathbf { i } - c \mathbf { j } - 12 \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { N } , \\ & \mathbf { F } _ { 3 } = ( ( 15 c + 1 ) \mathbf { i } + 2 c \mathbf { j } - 5 c \mathbf { k } ) \mathrm { N } , \end{aligned}$$ where \(c\) is a constant. The acceleration of the object is parallel to the vector \(( \mathbf { i } + \mathbf { j } )\).
  1. Find the value of the constant \(c\) and hence show that the acceleration of the object is \(( 6 \mathbf { i } + 6 \mathbf { j } ) \mathrm { ms } ^ { - 2 }\).
  2. When \(t = 0\) seconds, the object has position vector \(\mathbf { r } _ { 0 } \mathrm {~m}\) and is moving with velocity \(( - 17 \mathbf { i } + 8 \mathbf { j } ) \mathrm { ms } ^ { - 1 }\). When \(t = 4\) seconds, the object has position vector \(( - 13 \mathbf { i } + 84 \mathbf { j } ) \mathrm { m }\). Find the vector \(\mathbf { r } _ { 0 }\).
Edexcel FM2 AS 2021 June Q4
11 marks Standard +0.8
  1. A particle \(P\) moves on the \(x\)-axis. At time \(t\) seconds, \(t \geqslant 0 , P\) is \(x\) metres from the origin \(O\) and moving with velocity \(v \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\) in the direction of \(x\) increasing, where
$$v = 5 \sin 2 t$$ When \(t = 0 , x = 1\) and \(P\) is at rest.
  1. Find the magnitude and direction of the acceleration of \(P\) at the instant when \(P\) is next at rest.
  2. Show that \(1 \leqslant x \leqslant 6\)
  3. Find the total time, in the first \(4 \pi\) seconds of the motion, for which \(P\) is more than 3 metres from \(O\)
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Edexcel FM2 AS 2022 June Q4
10 marks Standard +0.3
  1. A particle \(P\) moves on the \(x\)-axis. At time \(t\) seconds the velocity of \(P\) is \(v \mathrm {~ms} ^ { - 1 }\) in the direction of \(x\) increasing, where
$$v = \frac { 1 } { 2 } \left( 3 \mathrm { e } ^ { 2 t } - 1 \right) \quad t \geqslant 0$$ The acceleration of \(P\) at time \(t\) seconds is \(a \mathrm {~ms} ^ { - 2 }\)
  1. Show that \(a = 2 v + 1\)
  2. Find the acceleration of \(P\) when \(t = 0\)
  3. Find the exact distance travelled by \(P\) in accelerating from a speed of \(1 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\) to a speed of \(4 \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\)
Edexcel FM2 AS 2023 June Q2
8 marks Standard +0.3
  1. A particle \(P\) is moving along the \(x\)-axis.
At time \(t\) seconds, \(t \geqslant 0 , P\) has acceleration \(a \mathrm {~ms} ^ { - 2 }\) and velocity \(v \mathrm {~m} \mathrm {~s} ^ { - 1 }\) in the direction of \(x\) increasing, where $$v = \mathrm { e } ^ { 2 t } + 6 \mathrm { e } ^ { t } - k t$$ and \(k\) is a positive constant.
When \(t = \ln 2\), \(a = 0\)
  1. Find the value of \(k\). When \(t = 0\), the particle passes through the fixed point \(A\).
    When \(t = \ln 2\), the particle is \(d\) metres from \(A\).
  2. Showing all stages of your working, find the value of \(d\) correct to 2 significant figures.
    [0pt] [Solutions relying entirely on calculator technology are not acceptable.]