Motion Notes

short answer type

Question 1.
The phenomenon of motion was placed on a sound scientific footing by two scientists. Write
their names.
Answer:
Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton.

Question 2.
Are rest and motion absolute or relative terms?
Answer:
They are relative terms.

Question 3.
Suppose a ball is thrown vertically upwards from a position P above the ground. It rises to the
highest point Q and returns to the same point P. What is the net displacement and distance
travelled by the ball?
Answer:
Displacement is zero. Distance is twice the distance between position P and Q.

Question 4.
Which speed is greater: 30 m/s or 30 km/h?
Answer:
30 m/s

Question 5.
What do you mean by 2 m/s2?
Answer:
The velocity of the body increases by 2 m/s after every second.

Question 6.
Can uniform linear motion be accelerated?
Answer:
No

Question 7.
Define one radian.
Answer:
It is the angle which is subtended at the centre by an arc having a length equal to the radius of
the circle.

Question 8.
What is the relation between linear velocity and angular velocity?
Answer:
Linear velocity = Angular velocity × Radius of circular path.
Question 9.
Give an example when we infer the motion indirectly.
Answer:
We infer the motion of air by observing the movement of dust particles or leaves and
branches of trees, or simply by feeling the blowing air on our face.

Question 10.
What is essential to describe the position of an object?
Answer:
We need to specify a reference point called the origin.

Question 11.
What is the simplest type of motion?
Answer:
Motion in a straight line.
Question 12.
What indicates the motion of the earth?
Answer:
The phenomenon like day and night indicates the motion of the earth.

Question 13.
If the displacement of a body is zero, is it necessary that the distance coyered by it is also
zero?
Answer:
No. When the body comes back to the same position after travelling a distance, its
displacement is zero though it has travelled some distance.

Question 14.
Can the displacement be greater than the distance travelled by an object?
Answer:
No, it is always either equal to or less than the distance travelled by the object.

Question 15.
When do the distance and displacement of a moving object have the same magnitude?
Answer:
The magnitude of distance and displacement of a moving object are same when the object
moves along the same straight line in the same fixed direction.

Question 16.
Does the speedometer of a car measure its average speed?
Answer:
No. It measures its instantaneous speed.

Question 17.
A body is moving with a velocity of 10 m/s. If the motion is uniform, what will be the
velocity after 10 s?
Answer:
As the motion is uniform, the velocity remains 10 m/s after 10 s.

Question 18.
Can a body have constant speed but variable velocity?
Answer:
Yes, e.g. a body in uniform circular motion has constant speed but due to the change in the
direction of motion, its velocity changes at every point.

Question 19.
When is the acceleration taken as negative?
Answer:
Acceleration is taken as negative if it is in the direction opposite to the direction of velocity.

Question 20.
What is uniform acceleration?
Answer:
Acceleration of an object is said to be uniform if it travels in a straight line and its velocity
increases or decreases by equal amounts in equal intervals of time.For example, motion of a
freely falling body.

Question 21.
Give an example of non-uniform acceleration.
Answer:
A car is travelling along a straight road increases its speed by unequal amounts in equal
intervals of time.

Question 22.
How are the distances travelled by an object related to the time taken when an object travels
equal distances in equal intervals of time?
Answer:
In this case, distance travelled by the object is directly proportional to the time taken.

Question 23.
What would be acceleration of a body if its velocity-time graph is a line parallel to the time
axis?
Answer:
Zero, as the body possesses uniform velocity.

Question 21.
Give an example of non-uniform acceleration.
Answer:
A car is travelling along a straight road increases its speed by unequal amounts in equal
intervals of time.

Question 22.
How are the distances travelled by an object related to the time taken when an object travels
equal distances in equal intervals of time?
Answer:
In this case, distance travelled by the object is directly proportional to the time taken.

Question 23.
What would be acceleration of a body if its velocity-time graph is a line parallel to the time
axis?
Answer:
Zero, as the body possesses uniform velocity.

24. The phenomenon of motion was placed on a sound scientific footing by two scientists.
Write their names.
Answer: Galileo Galilei and Isaac Newton.

25. Are rest and motion absolute or relative terms?

Answer: They are relative terms.

26. Suppose a ball is thrown vertically upwards from a position P above the ground. It rises to
the highest point Q and returns to the same point P. What is the net displacement and distance
travelled by the ball?
Answer: Displacement is zero. Distance is twice the distance between position P and Q.

27: Which speed is greater: 30 m/s or 30 km/h?

Answer: 30 m/s

28.What do you mean by 2 m/s2?

Answer: The velocity of the body increases by 2 m/s after every second.

29: Can uniform linear motion be accelerated?

Answer: No

30. Define one radian.

Answer: It is the angle which is subtended at the centre by an arc having a length equal to the
radius of the circle.

31: What is the relation between linear velocity and angular velocity
Answer: Linear velocity = Angular velocity x Radius of circular path.

2/3 marks
Question 1.
Give an example of a body which may appear to be moving for one person and stationary for
the other.
Answer:
The passengers in a moving bus observe that the trees, buildings as well as the people on the
roadside appear to be moving backwards. Similarly, a person standing on the roadside
observes that the bus (along with its passengers) is moving in forward direction. But, at the
same time, each passenger in a moving bus or train observes, his fellow passengers sitting
and not moving. Thus, we can tell that motion is relative.

Question 2.
How can we describe the location of an object?
Answer:
To describe the position of an object we need to specify a reference point called the origin.
For example, suppose that a library in a city is 2 km north of the railway station. We have
specified the position of the library with respect to the railway station i.e., in this case, the
railway station acts as the reference point.

Question 3.
What do you mean by average speed? What are its units?
Answer:
Average speed is defined as the average distance travelled per unit time and is obtained by
dividing the total distance travelled by the total time taken.
The unit of average speed is the same as that of the speed, that is, ms-1.

Question 4.
What is the difference between uniform velocity and non-uniform velocity?
Answer:
Uniform velocity: An object with uniform velocity covers equal distances in equal intervals
of time in a specified direction, e.g., an object moving with speed of 40 kmh-1 towards west
has uniform velocity.

Non-uniform velocity: When an object covers unequal distances in equal intervals of time in
a specified direction, or if the direction of motion changes, it is said to be moving with a non-
uniform or variable velocity, e.g., revolving fan at a constant speed has variable velocity.

Question 7.
How will the equations of motion for an object moving with a uniform velocity change?
[NCERT Exemplar]
Answer:
Acceleration a = 0, v = u
So, the equations of motion will become
s = ut
v2 – u2 = 0
Question 9.
A particle is moving in a circular path of radius r. What would be the displacement after half a
circle?
Answer:
Displacement = AB
= Shortest distance between initial and final positions
= r + r = 2r

10. Differentiate between distance and displacement.

Answer:

11. What are the uses of a distance-time graph?

Answer:
The various uses of a distance-time graph are as follows:

 It tells us about the position of the body at any instant of time.

 From the graph, we can see the distance covered by the body during a particular
interval of time.
 It also gives us information about the velocity of the body at any instant of time.

12. Draw a velocity versus time graph of a stone thrown vertically upwards and then coming
downwards after attaining the maximum height
Answer:
During upward motion, acceleration = -g and during downward motion acceleration = + g.
Times of upward and downward motion is equal. Also initial and final velocities are equal
to (𝑔𝑇2).

13. How will you show that the slope of displacement-time graph gives velocity of the body ?
Answer:

The adjoining figure shows the displacement-time graph for a body moving with uniform
velocity. Clearly, it covers distance s1 and s2 at times t1 and t2 respectively.

14. What are the characteristics of distance-time graph for an object moving with a non-
uniform speed?
Answer:
The characteristics of distance-time graph for a non-uniform speed are:

 It is always a curve (parabola).

 The speed of the moving object at any point is given by the slope of the tangent
to the curve at that point.

15. Given below is the velocity-time graph for the motion of the car. What does the nature of
the graph show ? Also find the acceleration of the car.

Answer:
The nature of the graph shows that velocity changes by equal amounts in equal intervals of
time. For a uniformly accelerated motion, velocity-time graph is always a straight line.
As we know, acceleration is equal to the slope of the graph
16. Give an example of a body which may appear to be moving for one person and stationary
for the other.

Answer: The passengers in a moving bus observe that the trees, buildings as well as the
people on the roadside appear to be moving backwards. Similarly, a person standing on the
roadside observes that the bus (along with its passengers) is moving in forward direction. But,
at the same time, each passenger in a moving bus or train observes, his fellow passengers
sitting and not moving. Thus, we can tell that motion is relative.

17. How can we describe the location of an object?

Answer: To describe the position of an object we need to specify a reference point called the
origin. For example, suppose that a library in a city is 2 km north of the railway station. We
have specified the position of the library with respect to the railway station i.e., in this case,
the railway station acts as the reference point.

18. What do you mean by average speed? What are its units?
Answer: Average speed is defined as the average distance travelled per unit time and is
obtained by dividing the total distance travelled by the total time taken. The unit of average
speed is the same as that of the speed, that is, ms-1.

19. What is the difference between uniform velocity and non-uniform velocity?

Answer: Uniform velocity: An object with uniform velocity covers equal distances in equal
intervals of time in a specified direction, e.g., an object moving with speed of 40km h-
1
towards west has uniform velocity.

Non-uniform velocity: When an object covers unequal distances in equal intervals of time in
a specified direction, or if the direction of motion changes, it is said to be moving with a non-
uniform or variable velocity, e.g., revolving fan at a constant speed has variable velocity.

20. What are the uses of a distance-time graph?

Answer: The various uses of a distance-time graph are as follows:

(a) It tells us about the position of the body at any instant of time.
(b) From the graph, we can see the distance covered by the body during a particular interval
of time.
(c) It also gives us information about the velocity of the body at any instant of time.

21. A cyclist cycles for t second at a speed of 3 m/s and then for the same time at a speed of 5
m/s along a straight road due north. What is the average speed of the cyclist?

Answer: You may compute arithmetic mean to compute average speed.

Alternately,
Total Time taken = 2t seconds
Total Distance covered = 3t + 5t= 8tm
22. When will you say a body is in (i) uniform acceleration? (ii) nonuniform acceleration?

Answer: (i) A body is said to be in uniform acceleration if it travels in a straight line and its
velocity increases or decreases by equal amounts in equal intervals of time.

(ii) A body is said to be in nonuniform acceleration if the rate of change of its velocity is not
constant in equal intervals of time.

Long answer type

Question 1.
With the help of a graph, derive the relation v = u + at.
Answer:
Consider the velocity-time graph of an object that moves under uniform acceleration as
shown in the figure (u ≠ 0).
From this graph, we can see that initial velocity of the object (at point A) is u and then it
increases tow (at point B) in time t. The velocity changes at a uniform rate a. As shown in the
figure, the lines BC and BE are drawn from point B on the time and the velocity axes
respectively, so that the initial velocity is represented by OA, the final velocity is represented
by BC and the time interval t is represented by OC. BD = BC – CD, represents the change in
velocity in time interval t.
Question 2.
Deduce the following equations of motion:
(i) s = ut + (1/2)at2
(ii) v2 = u2 + 2as
Answer:
(i) Consider a body which starts with initial velocity u and due to uniform acceleration a, its
final velocity becomes v after time t. Then, its average velocity is given by

Question 4.

w2 respectively. Prove that the heights reached by them would be in the ratio of 𝑢12:𝑢22.
Two stones are thrown vertically upwards simultaneously with their initial velocities u] and
(Assume upward acceleration is —g and downward acceleration to be +g). Answer: