AQA GCSE Physics (8463), Higher tier · Forces › Forces and motion › Describing motion along a line
Practise Speed. 13 exam-style questions plus unlimited generated ones on this subtopic, at up to four difficulty levels, with full mark schemes and a progress tracker. Free, no account needed.
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A student measures the average speed of a toy car as it travels across the floor. Name two measuring instruments the student needs.
A tape measure (or metre rule) and a stopwatch.
Priya travels to college. Priya walks 600 m to a bus stop at a speed of 1.5 m/s and then waits 3.0 minutes for the bus. The bus then travels 4.2 km to the college in 9.0 minutes. Calculate the time Priya takes to walk to the bus stop.
400 s
Write down the equation that links distance travelled (s), average speed (v) and time taken (t), rearranged to give the time.
\(t = \dfrac{s}{v}\)
Sample questions
Written for this site in the style of AQA exam questions. They are not taken from real past papers.
Question 1Easy4 marks
(a) Which of these is a typical speed for a person walking? Tick (✓) one box.[1]
0.15 m/s
1.5 m/s
15 m/s
150 m/s
(b) Which of these is a typical value for the speed of sound in air? Tick (✓) one box.[1]
33 m/s
330 m/s
3300 m/s
300 000 000 m/s
(c) A cyclist rides at a constant speed of 6.0 m/s for 45 s. Calculate the distance travelled by the cyclist. Use the equation: distance travelled = speed × time[2]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)Answer: 1.5 m/s
(b)Answer: 330 m/s
(c)Answer: 270 m
s = 6.0 × 45
270 (m)
Question 2Medium7 marks
Priya travels to college. Priya walks 600 m to a bus stop at a speed of 1.5 m/s and then waits 3.0 minutes for the bus. The bus then travels 4.2 km to the college in 9.0 minutes.
(a) Calculate the time Priya takes to walk to the bus stop.[2]
(b) Calculate Priya’s average speed for the whole journey, including the time spent waiting.[3]
(c) The average speed of the bus was 7.8 m/s. Explain why the speed of the bus must have been greater than 7.8 m/s for some of the journey.[1]
(d) Give a typical speed for a person running.[1]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)Answer: 400 s
t = 600 ÷ 1.5
400 (s)
(b)Answer: 4.3 m/s
total distance = 600 + 4200 = 4800 (m)
total time = 400 + 180 + 540 = 1120 (s)
average speed = 4800 ÷ 1120 = 4.3 (m/s)
(c)Answer: The bus slowed down or stopped at times, so to average 7.8 m/s it must have gone faster at other times.
the bus stopped or slowed down at times (e.g. at junctions, traffic lights or bus stops), so it must have travelled faster than the average at other times
(d)Answer: About 3 m/s.
3 m/s (allow 2–5 m/s)
Question 3Hard9 marks
During a thunderstorm, a student sees a flash of lightning and hears the thunder 4.5 s later. The speed of sound in air on that day is 340 m/s.
(a) Calculate the distance from the student to the lightning.[2]
(b) Explain why the time taken for the light to reach the student can be ignored.[1]
(c) The student’s timing could be up to 0.5 s too long or too short because of their reaction time. Calculate the range of possible distances to the lightning.[2]
(d) The student sees a second flash of lightning 2.0 minutes after the first flash. The thunder from the second flash is heard 3.0 s after it is seen. Assume that the storm moves in a straight line directly towards the student and that the speed of sound is still 340 m/s. Calculate the speed at which the storm is moving towards the student. Give your answer in km/h.[4]
Show the answer and mark scheme
(a)Answer: 1530 m
s = 340 × 4.5
1530 (m)
(b)Answer: Light travels so much faster than sound that it arrives almost instantly.
the speed of light is very much greater than the speed of sound, so the light arrives almost instantly
(c)Answer: Between 1360 m and 1700 m.
340 × 4.0 = 1360 (m) and 340 × 5.0 = 1700 (m)
between 1360 m and 1700 m
(d)Answer: 15 km/h (15.3 km/h) km/h
distance to the second flash = 340 × 3.0 = 1020 (m)
distance moved by the storm = 1530 − 1020 = 510 (m)