IGCSE Physics 1.2 Motion MCQs – 30 Practice Questions with Answers (Cambridge 0625)

Test yourself on Cambridge IGCSE Physics (0625) Section 1.2 Motion with 30 original practice questions covering speed, velocity, acceleration, motion graphs, free fall and terminal velocity. The questions cover both Core and Supplement material – Supplement-only questions are tagged [Supplement] – and every answer includes the full working.

Formula recap: average speed = distance ÷ time; acceleration = change in velocity ÷ time; gradient of a distance-time graph = speed; gradient of a speed-time graph = acceleration; area under a speed-time graph = distance travelled. Revise all the Section 1 formulas on our IGCSE Physics Formula Sheet.

Speed, Velocity & Acceleration

Q1. A cyclist travels a distance of 300 m in 25 s. What is her average speed?

  • (A) 0.083 m/s
  • (B) 12 m/s
  • (C) 25 m/s
  • (D) 7500 m/s
Show Answer

Answer: B – average speed = distance ÷ time = 300 ÷ 25 = 12 m/s.

Q2. A car travels at 72 km/h. What is this speed in m/s?

  • (A) 0.02 m/s
  • (B) 7.2 m/s
  • (C) 20 m/s
  • (D) 259 m/s
Show Answer

Answer: C – to convert km/h to m/s, divide by 3.6: 72 ÷ 3.6 = 20 m/s.

Q3. A bus accelerates uniformly from 5 m/s to 25 m/s in 4.0 s. What is its acceleration?

  • (A) 5.0 m/s2
  • (B) 6.25 m/s2
  • (C) 7.5 m/s2
  • (D) 20 m/s2
Show Answer

Answer: A – acceleration = change in velocity ÷ time = (25 − 5) ÷ 4.0 = 20 ÷ 4.0 = 5.0 m/s2.

Q4. Which quantity is a vector?

  • (A) distance
  • (B) mass
  • (C) speed
  • (D) velocity
Show Answer

Answer: D – velocity has both magnitude and direction, so it is a vector. Speed, distance and mass are scalars – they have magnitude only.

Q5. A train moves along a straight track at a constant speed of 30 m/s. What is its acceleration?

  • (A) 30 m/s2
  • (B) 9.8 m/s2
  • (C) 0 m/s2
  • (D) It cannot be found without the mass
Show Answer

Answer: C – the velocity is not changing (same speed, same direction), so the acceleration is zero.

Q6. A car’s speed decreases from 20 m/s to 8 m/s in 3.0 s. What is the magnitude of its deceleration?

  • (A) 9.3 m/s2
  • (B) 4.0 m/s2
  • (C) 12 m/s2
  • (D) 0.25 m/s2
Show Answer

Answer: B – change in speed = 20 − 8 = 12 m/s; deceleration = 12 ÷ 3.0 = 4.0 m/s2 (the acceleration is −4.0 m/s2).

Q7. A swimmer completes a 0.50 km race in 20 s. What is her average speed?

  • (A) 0.025 m/s
  • (B) 10 m/s
  • (C) 0.25 m/s
  • (D) 25 m/s
Show Answer

Answer: D – first convert the distance: 0.50 km = 500 m. Average speed = 500 ÷ 20 = 25 m/s. Forgetting the km-to-m conversion gives the trap answer 0.025 m/s.

Q8. The reading on a car’s speedometer shows the car’s

  • (A) instantaneous speed
  • (B) average speed for the whole journey
  • (C) average velocity
  • (D) acceleration
Show Answer

Answer: A – a speedometer shows the speed at that moment (the instantaneous speed), not an average over a journey.

Q9. An athlete runs exactly one lap of a 400 m track in 80 s, finishing where she started. What is her average speed?

  • (A) 0 m/s
  • (B) 0.2 m/s
  • (C) 5 m/s
  • (D) 32 m/s
Show Answer

Answer: C – average speed = total distance ÷ total time = 400 ÷ 80 = 5 m/s. (Her average velocity is zero because her displacement is zero, but speed uses distance.)

Q10. A car travels at a constant speed of 15 m/s around a circular roundabout. Which statement is correct? [Supplement]

  • (A) Its velocity is constant because its speed is constant
  • (B) Its acceleration is zero
  • (C) Its velocity changes only if its speed changes
  • (D) Its velocity changes because its direction changes, so it is accelerating
Show Answer

Answer: D – velocity is a vector. The direction changes continuously on the roundabout, so the velocity changes and the car has an acceleration even though its speed is constant.

Motion Graphs

Q11. On a distance-time graph, the gradient of the line represents

  • (A) speed
  • (B) acceleration
  • (C) total distance travelled
  • (D) velocity change
Show Answer

Answer: A – gradient = distance ÷ time, which is the speed. A steeper line means a greater speed.

Q12. A distance-time graph for a bus is a horizontal straight line for 2 minutes. During this time the bus is

  • (A) accelerating
  • (B) moving at constant speed
  • (C) stationary
  • (D) moving backwards
Show Answer

Answer: C – the distance from the start is not changing, so the gradient (speed) is zero and the bus is stationary.

Q13. A speed-time graph shows a car’s speed increasing uniformly from 0 to 20 m/s in 5.0 s. What is the car’s acceleration?

  • (A) 100 m/s2
  • (B) 4.0 m/s2
  • (C) 0.25 m/s2
  • (D) 25 m/s2
Show Answer

Answer: B – on a speed-time graph, acceleration = gradient = 20 ÷ 5.0 = 4.0 m/s2.

Q14. A trolley accelerates uniformly from rest. Its speed-time graph is a triangle reaching 12 m/s at 6.0 s. How far does the trolley travel in these 6.0 s?

  • (A) 72 m
  • (B) 2.0 m
  • (C) 144 m
  • (D) 36 m
Show Answer

Answer: D – distance = area under the speed-time graph = 0.5 × base × height = 0.5 × 6.0 × 12 = 36 m.

Q15. A car’s speed-time graph rises uniformly from 0 to 10 m/s in 2.0 s, then stays at 10 m/s for a further 6.0 s. What total distance does the car travel in the 8.0 s?

  • (A) 70 m
  • (B) 80 m
  • (C) 60 m
  • (D) 50 m
Show Answer

Answer: A – distance = area under the graph = triangle (0.5 × 2.0 × 10 = 10 m) + rectangle (10 × 6.0 = 60 m) = 70 m. This is the area of a trapezium.

Q16. A distance-time graph curves upwards, becoming steeper and steeper. The object is

  • (A) moving at constant speed
  • (B) speeding up (accelerating)
  • (C) slowing down
  • (D) moving at constant acceleration of zero
Show Answer

Answer: B – the gradient is increasing, and gradient = speed, so the speed is increasing.

Q17. A speed-time graph is a horizontal straight line at 15 m/s for 10 s. Which statement is correct?

  • (A) The acceleration is 15 m/s2
  • (B) The object travels 1.5 m
  • (C) The acceleration is zero and the speed is constant
  • (D) The object is slowing down
Show Answer

Answer: C – the gradient of the line is zero, so acceleration = 0; the object moves at a constant speed of 15 m/s (and travels 15 × 10 = 150 m).

Q18. On a distance-time graph, a curve whose gradient gradually decreases to zero shows an object that is

  • (A) speeding up
  • (B) moving at constant speed
  • (C) moving backwards
  • (D) slowing down to a stop
Show Answer

Answer: D – the gradient (speed) falls to zero, so the object decelerates until it stops.

Q19. A lift moves at a constant speed of 8 m/s for 4.0 s. Using the area under its speed-time graph, how far does it travel?

  • (A) 32 m
  • (B) 2.0 m
  • (C) 12 m
  • (D) 0.5 m
Show Answer

Answer: A – the area is a rectangle: distance = 8 × 4.0 = 32 m.

Q20. A speed-time graph for a falling ball curves, with the gradient decreasing gradually. To find the distance travelled, a student should [Supplement]

  • (A) read the final speed from the graph
  • (B) find the area under the curve, for example by counting squares
  • (C) calculate the gradient at the end of the graph
  • (D) multiply the final speed by the total time
Show Answer

Answer: B – for non-uniform acceleration the triangle/trapezium rules do not apply exactly, but the distance is still the area under the speed-time curve, which can be estimated by counting squares.


Free Fall & Terminal Velocity

Q21. Close to the Earth’s surface, an object falling freely (with negligible air resistance) accelerates at approximately

  • (A) 1.0 m/s2
  • (B) 9.8 m/s2
  • (C) 98 m/s2
  • (D) a value that depends on its mass
Show Answer

Answer: B – the acceleration of free fall, g, is about 9.8 m/s2 near the Earth (0625 questions often use 10 m/s2), and it is the same for all objects when air resistance is negligible.

Q22. A stone is dropped from rest from a cliff. Taking g = 10 m/s2 and ignoring air resistance, what is its speed after 3.0 s?

  • (A) 3.3 m/s
  • (B) 45 m/s
  • (C) 30 m/s
  • (D) 90 m/s
Show Answer

Answer: C – v = g × t = 10 × 3.0 = 30 m/s.

Q23. A ball is dropped from rest. Taking g = 10 m/s2 and ignoring air resistance, how far does it fall in 2.0 s?

  • (A) 10 m
  • (B) 40 m
  • (C) 5 m
  • (D) 20 m
Show Answer

Answer: D – the average speed during the fall is (0 + 20) ÷ 2 = 10 m/s, so distance = average speed × time = 10 × 2.0 = 20 m.

Q24. A falling object reaches terminal velocity when

  • (A) the air resistance equals its weight, so the resultant force is zero
  • (B) its weight becomes zero
  • (C) the air resistance becomes zero
  • (D) its acceleration reaches a maximum
Show Answer

Answer: A – air resistance grows with speed until it balances the weight. The resultant force is then zero, so the object stops accelerating and falls at a constant (terminal) velocity.

Q25. A parachutist falls at terminal velocity and then opens her parachute. She slows down at first because

  • (A) her weight suddenly increases
  • (B) her weight suddenly decreases
  • (C) the air resistance becomes greater than her weight
  • (D) the air resistance becomes zero
Show Answer

Answer: C – the open parachute greatly increases air resistance at that speed, so resistance exceeds weight and the resultant force acts upwards, decelerating her until a new, lower terminal velocity is reached.

Q26. A skydiver jumps from a plane. Which describes her acceleration as she approaches terminal velocity?

  • (A) It stays at 9.8 m/s2 the whole time
  • (B) It decreases gradually to zero
  • (C) It increases gradually
  • (D) It is zero from the moment she jumps
Show Answer

Answer: B – as her speed rises, air resistance rises, so the resultant force and acceleration fall. At terminal velocity the acceleration is zero.

Q27. A ticker-timer makes 50 dots per second on a tape pulled by a trolley. The dots on the tape get further and further apart. This shows the trolley is

  • (A) moving at constant speed
  • (B) slowing down
  • (C) stationary between dots
  • (D) speeding up
Show Answer

Answer: D – the time between dots is fixed (0.02 s), so a bigger gap means a bigger distance travelled in the same time – the speed is increasing.

Q28. In a light-gate experiment, a card of length 0.10 m interrupts a light beam for 0.050 s. The measured speed of the card is

  • (A) 2.0 m/s
  • (B) 0.005 m/s
  • (C) 0.5 m/s
  • (D) 5.0 m/s
Show Answer

Answer: A – speed = length of card ÷ interruption time = 0.10 ÷ 0.050 = 2.0 m/s.

Q29. A steel ball and a feather are dropped together inside a tube from which all the air has been removed. What is observed?

  • (A) The ball falls much faster than the feather
  • (B) The feather falls faster than the ball
  • (C) They fall together with the same acceleration
  • (D) The feather does not fall at all
Show Answer

Answer: C – in a vacuum there is no air resistance, so all objects fall with the same acceleration, g, regardless of mass or shape.

Q30. Two identical parachutes carry different loads: a 60 kg person and a 90 kg person. Both jump from the same height. Ignoring the mass of the parachutes, which statement about terminal velocity is correct? [Supplement]

  • (A) The heavier person has a greater terminal velocity, because a larger air resistance is needed to balance the larger weight, and resistance grows with speed
  • (B) Both reach exactly the same terminal velocity
  • (C) The lighter person has the greater terminal velocity
  • (D) Neither reaches terminal velocity
Show Answer

Answer: A – terminal velocity is reached when air resistance = weight. The heavier person needs more resistance, which only occurs at a higher speed, so their terminal velocity is greater.

Keep revising: work through the other IGCSE Physics sections from the Physics MCQs hub, and keep the IGCSE Physics Formula Sheet (Cambridge 0625) open while you practise – Cambridge gives no formula sheet in the exam, so these equations must be memorised.

All questions on this page are original practice questions written for QuaidianPoint. They are not Cambridge past-paper questions and this page is not affiliated with Cambridge Assessment International Education.