A.1 Kinematics questions for IB Physics

122 questions on Kinematics, written by Augment in the style of IB exam papers. Six of them are below in full, to answer on paper.

IB Physics
Part of A Space, time and motion
SL and HL

Questions by paper and level

SL and HL questions are for students at either level. HL only questions cover what only HL students study.

Paper	SL and HL	HL only	All
Paper 1A	37	2	39
Paper 1B	8	1	9
Paper 2	53	21	74
Every paper	98	24	122

Counted on 10 November 2026

Questions to try

Written by Augment in the style of IB exams, not past papers. Answer them on paper, then check each one against its markscheme with a free account.

Question 1 · PHY-00001Paper 1A · 1 mark

A ball is thrown vertically upwards. Air resistance is negligible. Which is correct about the ball at its highest point?

A
Its velocity and acceleration are both zero.
B
Its velocity is zero and its acceleration is $9.8 m s^{- 2}$ downwards.
C
Its velocity is zero and its acceleration is zero.
D
Its velocity is maximum and its acceleration is zero.

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Question 2 · PHY-00192Paper 1B · 12 marks

A group of students investigate the motion of a steel ball that leaves the edge of a horizontal bench. The ball is released from different points on a short ramp, so that it leaves the edge horizontally with different speeds $v$ . Just before the edge the ball passes through a light gate, which records the time $Δ t$ for which the ball blocks the beam. The ball lands on carbon paper on the floor, and the students measure the horizontal distance $d$ from the point on the floor vertically below the edge of the bench to the mark made by the ball.

Side view: a ball rolls down a short ramp onto a bench, passes through a light gate and leaves the edge horizontally. A dashed curve shows its path to carbon paper on the floor. The fall height H and horizontal distance d are marked.

The ball falls through a vertical height $H = (0.885 \pm 0.005) m$ . The diameter of the ball is $(25.0 \pm 0.1) mm$ , and the students calculate $v$ from $v = \frac{diameter}{Δ t}$ .

$Δ t$ / ms ± 0.1 ms	$v$ / m s^-1	$d$ / m ± 0.02 m
30.5	0.82	0.36
23.8	1.05	0.45
19.1	1.31	0.56
15.6	1.60	0.69
13.4	1.87	0.79
11.8	2.12	0.91

(a)(i)
Calculate the absolute uncertainty in $v$ for the reading $Δ t = 15.6 ms$ .
2 marks
(a)(ii)
Explain why the students expect $d$ to be proportional to $v$ .
2 marks
(b)(i)
The graph shows the variation of $d$ with $v$ . A line of best fit through the origin has been drawn.
Determine, using the graph, the time of flight of the ball.
2 marks
(b)(ii)
Hence determine a value for the acceleration of free fall $g$ .
2 marks
(c)
The students estimate that the percentage uncertainty in the gradient of the graph is 3 %. Deduce whether their value of $g$ is consistent with the accepted value of $9.8 {m s}^{- 2}$ .
2 marks
(d)
Suggest one improvement to the method, with a reason.
2 marks

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Question 3 · PHY-00004Paper 2 · 7 marks

A cyclist of total mass 80 kg rides along a straight, level road. The graph shows how her velocity $v$ changes with time $t$ .

Velocity-time graph: velocity rises uniformly from 0 to 16 m/s over 4 s, stays at 16 m/s until 10 s, then falls uniformly to 0 at 14 s. — Velocity–time graph for the cyclist.

(a)
Calculate her acceleration during the first 4.0 s.
2 marks
(b)
Determine the total distance travelled.
2 marks
(c)(i)
Calculate her maximum kinetic energy.
1 mark
(c)(ii)
Calculate the average power with which she gains kinetic energy in the first 4.0 s.
2 marks

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Question 4 · PHY-00007Paper 1A · 1 mark

A delivery robot in a warehouse moves 30 m due east along a straight aisle. It then moves 40 m due west along the same aisle. What are the distance travelled by the robot and its displacement from its starting point?

A
distance 10 m; displacement 70 m west
B
distance 70 m; displacement 10 m west
C
distance 70 m; displacement 10 m east
D
distance 70 m; displacement 50 m west

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Question 5 · PHY-00193Paper 1B · 11 marks

A group of students measure the acceleration of free fall. A small steel ball is held by an electromagnet at a height $h$ above a hinged trapdoor. When the electromagnet is switched off, an electronic timer starts. The timer stops when the ball hits the trapdoor.

A clamp stand holds an electromagnet with a steel ball below it. The height h is marked from the bottom of the ball to a hinged trapdoor below. Wires connect the electromagnet and the trapdoor to a timer.

The height $h$ is measured with a metre rule to ± 0.002 m. The time for each height is measured three times. For $h = 0.600 m$ the three readings are 0.362 s, 0.367 s and 0.359 s.

(a)
Calculate the mean time for $h = 0.600 m$ and its absolute uncertainty.
2 marks
(b)
The students expect that $h = \frac{1}{2} g t^{2}$ . They plot a graph of the mean time $t$ against $\sqrt{h}$ . The error bars show the uncertainty in $t$ ; the uncertainty in $\sqrt{h}$ is too small to show.
Outline why the students plotted $t$ against $\sqrt{h}$ .
2 marks
(c)(i)
State the unit of the gradient of the graph.
1 mark
(c)(ii)
Determine, using the graph, a value for $g$ .
3 marks
(d)
The line of best fit does not pass through the origin. State the value of the intercept on the $t$ axis and suggest a reason for it.
2 marks
(e)
Explain why the effect in (d) does not change the value of $g$ obtained from the graph.
1 mark

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Question 6 · PHY-00197Paper 2 · 6 marks

A lift (elevator) carries passengers upwards from the ground floor of a building. The graph shows the variation with time $t$ of the velocity $v$ of the lift.

Velocity-time graph for a lift: v rises in a straight line from 0 at t = 0 to 2.4 m/s at t = 1.6 s, stays at 2.4 m/s until t = 7.6 s, then falls in a straight line to 0 at t = 9.6 s.

(a)
Calculate the acceleration of the lift during the first 1.6 s.
1 mark
(b)(i)
Determine the distance travelled by the lift.
2 marks
(b)(ii)
The floors of the building are 3.12 m apart. Deduce the floor at which the lift stops.
1 mark
(c)
Sketch a graph to show the variation with $t$ of the acceleration $a$ of the lift from $t = 0$ to $t = 9.6 s$ . Take upwards as positive.
2 marks

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