Physics Chapter: Motion Notes

1. An object has moved through a distance. Can it have zero displacements? If yes, support your answer
with an example.
Ans: Yes, an object can have zero displacements even if it has moved through a distance. Example: If an
athlete runs around a circular path of radius 'r' and comes back to the initial point, then distance covered =
2πr, displacement = zero.
2. A farmer moves along the boundary of a square field of side 10 m in the 40s. What will be the magnitude
of displacement of the farmer at the end of 2minutes 20 seconds from his initial position?
Ans: Given, Side of the square field = 10 m, Perimeter of the square = 4 × 10 = 40 m
Time to complete one round = 40 s
Total time = 2 minutes 20 seconds = 2 × 60 + 20 = 140 s
Speed of the farmer = Perimeter / Time = 40 / 40 = 1 m/s
Distance covered in 140 s = 1 × 140 = 140 m
Number of complete rounds = Total distance / Perimeter = 140 / 40 = 3.5
After 3 complete rounds (120 m, 120 s), the farmer is back at the starting point (e.g., point A at (0,0)). In the
remaining 0.5 round (20 m, 20 s), the farmer moves halfway around the square.
Starting at A (0,0), the path is: A to B (10,0): 10 m B to C (10,10): 10 m
After 0.5 round, the farmer is at C (10,10).
The displacement is the straight-line distance from A (0,0) to C (10,10):
Displacement = √((10-0)² + (10-0)²) = √(100 + 100) = √200 = 10√2 ≈ 14.14 m
Magnitude of displacement = 14.14 m
3. Which of the following is true for displacement?
(a) It cannot be zero.
(b) Its magnitude is greater than the distance travelled by the object.
Ans:(a) False; Displacement can be zero if an object returns to its initial position after moving. For example,
an athlete running around a circular track and returning to the starting point has zero displacement.
(b) False; The magnitude of displacement is always less than or equal to the distance travelled.
Displacement equals distance only when the motion is in a straightline without reversing direction. For
example, in circular motion, displacement is zero when returning to the start, while distance is non-zero.
1. Distinguish between speed and velocity.

2. Under what condition(s) is the magnitude of the average velocity of an object equal to its average
speed?
Ans: Average speed measures the total distance covered over a specific time period, while average
velocity refers to the total displacement during that same time. The magnitudes of average speed and
average velocity will be equal when the total distance traveled matches the displacement.
3. What does the odometer of an automobile measure?
Ans: An odometer, also known as an odograph, is a device that calculates the distance an automobile has
travelled by measuring the circumference of the wheel as it rotates.
4. What does the path of an object look like when it is in uniform motion?
Ans: The path of the object will be a straight line at the instant of measurement when it is in uniform motion.
Q5. During an experiment, a signal from a spaceship reached the ground station in five minutes. What was
the distance of the spaceship from the ground station? The signal travels at the speed of light, which is 3 ×
108 ms-1.
Ans: Speed of signal = 3 × 10 ms Time in which signal reaches ground = 5 min = 5 × 60 = 300s
Distance of spaceship from the ground level = speed × time = 3 × 108 × 300 = 9 × 1010 m
Page No: 77
1. When will you say a body is in(i) Uniform acceleration (ii) Non-uniform acceleration?
Ans:(i) If an object travels in a straight line and its velocity increases or decreases by equal amounts in
equal intervals of time, then the body is said to be in uniform acceleration. Example: The motion of a freely
falling body.
(ii) If an object travels in a straight line and its velocity changes by unequal amounts in equal intervals of
time, then the body is said to be in non-uniform acceleration. Example: If a car is travelling along a straight
road and passes through a crowd, suffers an unequal change in velocity, in equal intervals of time.
2. A bus decreases its speed from 80 km h-1 to 60 km h-1 in 5 s. Find the acceleration of the bus.

Initial velocity, 𝑢=80u=80km/h

Final velocity, 𝑣=60v=60km/h

3. What can you say about the motion of an object if its speed-time graph is a straight line parallel to the
time axis?
Ans: If the speed-time graph is a straight line parallel to the time axis, the object is moving uniformly.

4. What is the quantity which is measured by the area occupied below the velocity-time graph?
Ans:

The area beneath the velocity-time graph corresponds to the area of the rectangle OABC, calculated as OA
multiplied by OC. Here, OA represents the object's velocity, and OC indicates time. Thus, the shaded area
can be expressed as: The area under the velocity-time graph = velocity × time.
By substituting the value of velocity as displacement divided by time into this equation, we find that the area
under the velocity-time graph represents the total displacement of the object.
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Q2. A train is travelling at a speed of 90 km h. Brakes are applied so as to produce a uniform acceleration
of 0.5 ms. Find how far the train will go before it is brought to rest.
Page No. 85
Q1. An athlete completes one round of a circular track of diameter 200 m in 40 s. What will be the distance
covered and the displacement at the end of 2minutes 20 s?
Ans: Here, the diameter of the circular track = 200 m.
The radius of the circular track, r = 100 m. Let the athlete start moving from A, which is treated as a
reference point.
Given: Diameter of the circular track = 200 m Radius, r = 100 m Time for one round = 40 s
Total time = 2 minutes 20 seconds = 2 × 60 + 20 = 140 s
Circumference of the track = 2πr = 2 × (22/7) × 100 = 4400/7 ≈ 628.57 m
Speed = Circumference / Time = 628.57 / 40 ≈ 15.71 m/s
Distance covered in 140 s = 15.71 × 140 ≈ 2200 m
Number of rounds = Distance / Circumference = 2200 / 628.57 ≈ 3.5
After 3 complete rounds, the athlete is back at the starting point (e.g., point A). After 0.5 round more, the
athlete is at the opposite point on the circular track (e.g.,point B, 180° from A). Since the track has a
diameter of 200 m, the displacement is the straight-line distance from A to B, which is the diameter:
Displacement = 200 m. Distance covered = 2200 m, Displacement = 200 m
Q4. A motorboat starting from rest on a lake accelerates in a straight line at a constant rate of 3.0 ms-2 for
8.0 s. How far does the boat travel during this time?
Ans: Given,
Q6. Figure below shows the distance-time graph of three objects A, B and C. Study the graph and answer
the following questions :(a) Which of the three is travelling the fastest?(b) Are all three ever at the same
point on the road?(c) How far has C travelled when B passes A?(d) How far has B travelled by the time it
passes C?

Ans: (a) since the slope of line B is the greatest, B is travelling at the fastest speed.(b) since the three lines
do not intersect at a single point, the three objects never meet at the same point on the road.(c) since there
are 7 unit areas of the graph between 0 and 4 on the Y axis, 1 graph unit equals 4/7 km.Since the initial
point of the object, C is 4 graph units away from the origin, Its initial distance from the origin is 4*(4/7)km =
16/7 kmWhen A passes B, the distance between the origin and C is 8kmTherefore, total distance travelled
by C in this time = 8 – (16/7) km = 5.71 km(d) the distance that object B has covered at the point where it
passes C is equal to 9 graph units. Therefore, the total distance travelled by B when it crosses C = 9*(4/7)
= 5.14 km
Q8. The speed-time graph for a car is shown in figure below.
Q9. State which of the following situations are possible and give an example for each of these.(a) An object
with a constant acceleration but with zero velocity.(b) An object moving in a certain direction with
acceleration in the perpendicular direction.(c) an object moving with acceleration but with uniform speed.
Ans: (a) When an object is thrown upwards, it comes to a momentary rest at the highest point. Thus
velocity is zero, but the acceleration due to the gravitational pull of the earth still acts upon it.(b) In a
uniform circular motion, the speed remains constant, but there is varying velocity as it changes its direction,
so there always be acceleration which is given by centripetal force.(c) When an object is thrown in the
forward direction, then during its motion in the horizontal direction, the acceleration due to the gravity of the
earth acts in the vertically downward direction.
Q10. An artificial satellite is moving in a circular orbit with a radius of 42250 km. Calculate its speed if it
takes 24 hours to revolve around the earth.
Ans: Satellite completes one round in 24 hours, The radius of the orbit r=42250 km
The circumference C of the orbit is given by:
C=2πr
Substituting the value of r:
C= 2×3.1416×42250 km
C≈ 265,571.6 km
Speed v = C/T
V= 265,571.6 km/24 hours
V ≈ 11, 065.48 km/h