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Course: American System Physics
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American System Physics

A Physics Toolkit

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Representing Motion

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Accelerated Motion

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Forces in One Dimension

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Displacement and Force in Two Dimensions

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Motion in Two Dimensions

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Gravitation

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Rotational Motion

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Momentum and Its Conservation

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Energy and Its Conservation

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Thermal Energy

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States of Matter

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Vibrations and Waves

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Sound

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Fundamentals of Light

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Reflection and Refraction

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Interference and Diffraction

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Electrostatics

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Electric Current and Circuits

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Magnetic Fields

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Electromagnetic Induction and Electromagnetism

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Quantum Theory and the Atom

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Solid-State Electronics

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Nuclear and Particle Physics

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Quiz

2.3 How Fast? Speed and Velocity – Quiz

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How Fast? Speed and Velocity American Physics quiz: free practice for American System Physics. Work through this How Fast? Speed and Velocity American Physics quiz and get instant feedback on every answer. If you get stuck, review the 2.3 How Fast? Speed and Velocity — Notes lesson. More practice: American System Physics — all units. Syllabus: OpenStax free science textbooks.

  • Questions count: 50
  • Passing grade: A-
  • Time limit:
Start Quiz
1.
The velocity–time graph shows a tram on a straight track. What is its displacement in the 5 s shown?
Dr Dabour Hub Academy - figure 1
30 m
1.2 m
6 m
11 m
2.
A reversing car’s motion is shown on the velocity–time graph. What is its displacement over the 8 s?
Dr Dabour Hub Academy - figure 2
+20 m
−20 m
−3.2 m
+10.5 m
3.
A cyclist rides in a straight line as shown on the velocity–time graph. What is her average velocity for the 8 s?
Dr Dabour Hub Academy - figure 3
3.0 m/s
22 m/s
2.75 m/s
2.0 m/s
4.
A straight line (dashed) joins two points on the position–time curve of a sprinter. What is her average velocity between 1 s and 4 s?
Dr Dabour Hub Academy - figure 4
3.2 m/s
12 m/s
6.4 m/s
4.0 m/s
5.
A tangent is drawn at point P on the curved position–time graph of a braking bus. What is its instantaneous velocity at P?
Dr Dabour Hub Academy - figure 5
8.0 m/s
14 m/s
24 m/s
3.0 m/s
6.
The needle on a car’s speedometer points to 72 km/h, as shown. What does this reading tell you, in SI units?
Dr Dabour Hub Academy - figure 6
The instantaneous velocity is 20 m/s east
The instantaneous speed is 20 m/s
The average speed is 259 m/s
The instantaneous speed is 72 m/s
7.
A trolley carrying a card passes through a light gate, as shown. What is its instantaneous speed?
Dr Dabour Hub Academy - figure 7
80 m/s
0.20 m/s
0.80 m/s
8.0 m/s
8.
A traveller walks forward along a moving walkway at an airport, as shown. What is her velocity relative to the ground?
Dr Dabour Hub Academy - figure 8
0.5 m/s forward
1.0 m/s forward
1.5 m/s backward
2.5 m/s forward
9.
A car drives around the circular track shown at a steady 20 m/s; arrows show its motion at four points. Which statement is correct?
Dr Dabour Hub Academy - figure 9
Its speed is constant but its velocity is changing
Its speed and velocity are both constant
Its velocity is constant but its speed changes
Its average velocity for one lap is 20 m/s
10.
Students time a battery car over a measured 10.0 m track three times (table). What average speed should they report?
2.43 m/s
2.42 m/s
0.41 m/s
0.81 m/s
11.
A student converts four speeds (table). Which conversion is correct?
Row 1
Row 3
Row 2
Row 4
12.
A swimmer’s times for a 50 m pool are shown (table). She swims one length and back. What are her average speed and average velocity for the round trip?
0 m/s and 1.25 m/s
1.25 m/s and 1.25 m/s
2.5 m/s and 0 m/s
1.25 m/s and 0 m/s
13.
A family drives the two stages in the table in the same direction. What is the average speed for the whole trip?
60 km/h
52.5 km/h
90 km/h
105 km/h
14.
A trolley at the same point is timed through a light gate using cards of different lengths (table). Which value is the best estimate of its instantaneous speed there?
0.55 m/s (10 cm card)
0.50 m/s (1.0 cm card)
0.53 m/s (5.0 cm card)
The mean of all three results
15.
Three animals’ speeds are recorded in different units (table). Which is fastest?
The deer
The fox
The hare
They are all equal
16.
What is velocity?
Distance per unit time
Time per unit displacement
Speed without direction
Displacement per unit time
17.
Why does a speedometer show speed rather than velocity?
It gives no information about direction
It measures the average over the whole trip
It only works for straight roads
It measures displacement
18.
A train travels 4.5 km due north in 150 s. What is its average velocity?
30 m/s
30 m/s north
0.030 m/s north
33 m/s south
19.
A snail crawls 36 cm in 2.0 min. What is its average speed in m/s?
18 m/s
0.18 m/s
0.0030 m/s
0.30 m/s
20.
A passenger walks at 1.2 m/s toward the back of a train moving forward at 25 m/s relative to the ground. What is her velocity relative to the ground?
26.2 m/s forward
1.2 m/s backward
25 m/s forward
23.8 m/s forward
21.
A boat moves at 5.0 m/s relative to the water, heading straight upstream in a river flowing at 2.0 m/s. What is its velocity relative to the bank?
3.0 m/s upstream
7.0 m/s upstream
2.0 m/s downstream
5.0 m/s upstream
22.
On a velocity–time graph, what does a horizontal line above the time axis show?
The object is at rest
Constant positive velocity
The object is speeding up
Constant negative velocity
23.
A jogger runs 3.0 km east in 15 min, then 1.0 km west in 5.0 min. What is her average velocity in m/s?
3.3 m/s east
1.7 m/s west
1.7 m/s east
0.10 m/s east
24.
Why is the average speed for a trip usually greater than or equal to the magnitude of the average velocity?
Speed is measured in larger units
Velocity is always negative
Time is shorter for velocity
Distance travelled is always at least as large as the magnitude of the displacement
25.
To measure the average speed of a toy car, which set of steps is best?
Mark 10.0 m with a tape measure, time three runs, find the mean time, then divide 10.0 m by it
Time one run over an unmeasured distance
Measure the distance three times but time only once
Divide the time by the distance for one run
26.
Why are light gates often used instead of a hand-held stopwatch when timing a fast trolley?
They make the trolley move faster
They remove human reaction time, reducing random error in the times
They measure distance directly
They remove the need for a known distance
27.
A hiker’s speed is 1.5 m/s. What is this in km/h?
0.42 km/h
90 km/h
5.4 km/h
1500 km/h
28.
What does the word rate mean in physics?
The total amount of a quantity
The direction of motion
The distance between two points
How much a quantity changes per unit time
29.
The total distance travelled divided by the total time is the average _____.
velocity
speed
displacement
rate of position
30.
A speed of 9.0 m/s expressed in km/h is _____.
2.5 km/h
9.0 km/h
32 km/h
540 km/h
31.
A 2.5 cm card blocks a light gate for 0.010 s. The trolley’s speed is _____.
250 m/s
0.25 m/s
0.025 m/s
2.5 m/s
32.
An object moves from x = 12 m to x = 2.0 m in 4.0 s. Its average velocity is _____.
−2.5 m/s
+2.5 m/s
−3.5 m/s
−0.40 m/s
33.
A velocity–time graph that is a horizontal line shows _____ velocity.
increasing
constant
zero only
negative only
34.
Speed is a scalar and velocity is a vector. True or false?
True
False, both are vectors
False, speed is the vector
True only for straight-line motion
35.
Speed can take negative values. True or false?
True
False, because speed is the magnitude of velocity
True when moving west
False, because speed is always zero
36.
Dividing a motorway speed of 54 km/h by 3.6 shows that the vehicle covers 15 metres every second. True or false?
False, it is 194 m/s
False, it is 5.4 m/s
True
True only for cars
37.
A toy train’s speed of 250 cm/s is the same as 25 m/s. True or false?
True
False, it equals 0.25 m/s
True only on a track
False, because 250 cm/s = 2.5 m/s
38.
For a runner who completes one lap of a track and returns to the start, the average velocity is zero even though the average speed is not. True or false?
True
False, both are zero
False, both are non-zero
True only on a straight track
39.
To find how fast something moves at one instant, draw a tangent to its x–t curve and find the tangent’s slope. True or false?
False, it is the area under the graph
True
False, it is the slope of a chord
True only for straight graphs
40.
Average velocity equals the slope of the straight line joining two points on a position–time graph. True or false?
False, it equals the tangent slope
False, it equals the y-intercept
True
True only for curved graphs
41.
The area under a velocity–time graph equals the displacement. True or false?
False, it equals the acceleration
False, it equals the velocity
True only for negative velocities
True
42.
Constant velocity means equal displacements occur in equal time intervals in the same direction. True or false?
True
False, only the speed must be equal
False, the direction may change
True only for objects at rest
43.
Using a longer card with a light gate gives a better estimate of instantaneous speed. True or false?
True
False, because a longer card averages over a longer time
True only for slow trolleys
False, because card length has no effect
44.
Repeating a timing three times and using the mean reduces the effect of random reaction-time errors. True or false?
False, it removes systematic errors only
False, one timing is enough
True
True only with digital stopwatches
45.
A bird flying at 12 m/s relative to the air into a 5 m/s headwind moves at 17 m/s relative to the ground. True or false?
True
False, it moves at 5 m/s
True only at high altitude
False, because a headwind opposes it: 12 − 5 = 7 m/s
46.
The table shows that the go-kart moved at constant velocity. True or false?
True
False, it sped up
False, it slowed down
True only after 4 s
47.
Using the data in the table, the average velocity of the ferry from 0 to 40 min is 0.25 km/min west. True or false?
False, it is 0.25 km/min east
True
False, it is 0.50 km/min west
True only for the first 20 min
48.
Converting 3.0 minutes into seconds gives 180 s. True or false?
False, it is 0.05 s
False, it is 300 s
True
True only for times in a race
49.
Two cars have the same speed, so they must have the same velocity. True or false?
True
True only on a motorway
False, because speed and velocity have different units
False, because they could be moving in different directions
50.
A single timed run is enough to give a reliable average speed. True or false?
False, because repeats are needed to spot anomalies and reduce random error
True
True if the stopwatch is digital
False, because speed cannot be measured
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Part of Representing Motion — see every lesson and quiz in this unit.
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