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AP Physics 1 Kinematics — practice questions

Explore 111 free Kinematics questions in AP Physics 1 Physics. Open each question or exercise to read its content, reference answers and available explanation.

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Kinematics questions and exercises with answers

Showing questions 1–30 of 111.

Kinematics is defined as the study of motion:Read the answer and worked solution →Displacement is defined by magnitude and direction, whereas distance is defined by:Read the answer and worked solution →The total length of the path actually taken between two points is the:Read the answer and worked solution →The SI unit for velocity is:Read the answer and worked solution →Velocity is a vector quantity because it is defined using:Read the answer and worked solution →Elapsed time is calculated as:Read the answer and worked solution →A car's speedometer shows which quantity?Read the answer and worked solution →Average velocity is limited as a description because it says nothing about:Read the answer and worked solution →A car rounding a corner at constant speed is accelerating because:Read the answer and worked solution →The SI unit of acceleration is metres per second per second because acceleration is:Read the answer and worked solution →An acceleration of 8.33 metres per second squared due west means the velocity changes by:Read the answer and worked solution →Deceleration is best defined as acceleration that is:Read the answer and worked solution →An object with negative acceleration whose acceleration points the same way as its motion is:Read the answer and worked solution →A scalar such as temperature can be negative, and there the minus sign indicates:Read the answer and worked solution →A cyclist rides 3 km west then turns and rides 2 km east. The magnitude of the displacement is:Read the answer and worked solution →Measuring time at all depends on the fact that:Read the answer and worked solution →Vector or scalar?Read the answer and worked solution →Match each quantity to its meaningRead the answer and worked solution →True or false: describing motionRead the answer and worked solution →Work the cyclist's tripRead the answer and worked solution →Complete the motion definitionsRead the answer and worked solution →Kinematics only describes how objects move. The study of the forces that cause motion is:Read the answer and worked solution →A force is a push or pull that has both magnitude and direction, so it is a:Read the answer and worked solution →A diagram showing a body as a single point with only the external forces acting on it is a:Read the answer and worked solution →A stretched spring pulling back to its relaxed shape exerts a:Read the answer and worked solution →A hockey puck glides far on an air table because friction is nearly gone. This illustrates Newton's:Read the answer and worked solution →The property of a body to remain at rest or keep moving at constant velocity is called:Read the answer and worked solution →Inertia is measured by an object's:Read the answer and worked solution →A kilogram of cotton balls and a kilogram of gold have:Read the answer and worked solution →Newton's second law states acceleration is directly proportional to net external force and inversely proportional to:Read the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

Kinematics is defined as the study of motion:

  1. Without considering its causes
  2. Together with all its causes
  3. Only for falling objects
  4. Only along curved paths
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Correct answer: A. Without considering its causes

1. Physics separates describing motion from explaining it. 2. The formal study of physics begins with kinematics. 3. Kinematics is defined as the study of motion without considering its causes. 4. The causes, that is forces, arrive later with Newton's laws. _Source: OpenStax College Physics for AP(R) Courses 2e (CC BY 4.0), Ch 2 'Kinematics', sections 2.1-2.8_

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Displacement is defined by magnitude and direction, whereas distance is defined by:

  1. Magnitude alone
  2. Direction alone
  3. Neither of the two
  4. Both, but reversed
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Correct answer: A. Magnitude alone

1. The two words are not interchangeable in physics. 2. Displacement is defined by both direction and magnitude, so it is a vector. 3. Distance is defined only by magnitude, so it is a scalar. 4. That is why a round trip has zero displacement but a non-zero distance travelled. _Source: OpenStax College Physics for AP(R) Courses 2e (CC BY 4.0), Ch 2 'Kinematics', sections 2.1-2.8_

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The total length of the path actually taken between two points is the:

  1. Instantaneous speed
  2. Distance travelled
  3. Net displacement
  4. Average velocity
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Correct answer: B. Distance travelled

1. Displacement measures only where you ended up relative to where you began. 2. The distance travelled, however, is the total length of the path taken between the two marks. 3. A cyclist who rides 3 km west then 2 km east travels 5 km but is displaced only 1 km. 4. So distance is never smaller than the magnitude of displacement. _Source: OpenStax College Physics for AP(R) Courses 2e (CC BY 4.0), Ch 2 'Kinematics', sections 2.1-2.8_

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More Physics topics

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