GCSE PhysicsAQA, Edexcel and OCR
32 physics questions on forces and motion. Pick your answer, then tap to see if you were right and why. Every answer comes from the Show Working science bank, checked against the GCSE content every board in England teaches.
01 / Quiz yourselfTry it, then tap to check
Choose your answer before you open it. Then read why, so it sticks.
01 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: A Velocity
A scalar has a size (magnitude) only: distance, speed, mass, time and energy. A vector has a size and a direction: displacement, velocity, acceleration, force and weight.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.1.1 Scalar and vector quantities
02 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: A Zero
Distance is how far an object travels along its path, with no direction: a scalar. Displacement is measured in a straight line from the start to the finish, with a direction: a vector. Ending where you started means zero displacement.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.1.1 Distance and displacement
03 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: B Speed in a given direction
Speed tells you how fast something moves. Velocity is speed in a given direction, so it is a vector. Two objects at the same speed in different directions have different velocities.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.1.3 Velocity and 4.5.6.1.4 The distance-time relationship
04 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
The right order:
Walking is the slowest, then running, then cycling. A car on a motorway is several times faster than a cyclist, and sound in air is much faster again, about ten times faster than a motorway car.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.1.2 Speed
05 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: A They land at the same time
Near the Earth’s surface every object falling freely, with no air resistance, has the same constant acceleration, whatever its mass. Its speed keeps increasing, but its acceleration does not change.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.1.5 Acceleration
06 / Forces and motionHigher only
Answer: B Its velocity is changing
Velocity is speed in a given direction. An object going round a circle at a steady speed is always changing direction, so its velocity is always changing. A changing velocity means it is accelerating, so a resultant force must act on it.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.1.3 Velocity and 4.5.6.1.4 The distance-time relationship
07 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: C Total distance ÷ total time
Speed = distance ÷ time, measured in metres per second (m/s). Most objects do not move at a steady speed, so dividing the total distance by the total time gives the average speed.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.1.2 Speed
08 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: C They avoid errors from human reaction time
To find a speed, measure a distance and the time taken to cover it, then divide distance by time. A person starting and stopping a stopwatch adds reaction time errors; light gates time automatically, which matters most for short, fast runs.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.1.2 Speed
09 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: B Speed
The gradient (steepness) of a distance-time graph is the speed. A steeper line means a faster object, a straight sloping line means a steady speed, and a horizontal line means the distance is not changing: the object is still.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.1.3 Velocity and 4.5.6.1.4 The distance-time relationship
10 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: D Acceleration
The gradient of a velocity-time graph is the acceleration. A horizontal line means the velocity is not changing, so the object moves at a steady velocity; it is not standing still. Do not mix it up with a distance-time graph.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.1.5 Acceleration
11 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: B Change in velocity ÷ time taken
Acceleration is how quickly velocity changes: acceleration = change in velocity ÷ time taken, in metres per second squared (m/s²). Use the change in velocity, not the final velocity. An object that is slowing down is decelerating.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.1.5 Acceleration
12 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: C The driving force balances the resistive forces
Newton’s first law: if the resultant force on an object is zero, a still object stays still and a moving object keeps the same velocity (same speed, same direction). A car at a steady speed has its driving force balanced by friction and air resistance.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.2.1 Newton’s First Law
13 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: B A resultant force acts against its motion
The velocity of an object changes only if a resultant force acts on it. Speeding up, slowing down and changing direction all need a resultant force. Staying still or moving steadily in a straight line need none.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.2.1 Newton’s First Law
14 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: A To the right
Forces in opposite directions along a line partly cancel. Here the push is bigger than friction, so the resultant force acts to the right and the box accelerates to the right.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.1.4 Resultant forces
15 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: B It is equal to her weight
At first a falling object’s weight is much bigger than the air resistance, so it accelerates. Air resistance grows with speed until it equals the weight. Then the resultant force is zero and, by Newton’s first law, the object falls at a steady speed.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.1.5 Acceleration
16 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: B Resultant force = mass × acceleration
Newton’s second law: the acceleration of an object is proportional to the resultant force on it and inversely proportional to its mass. As an equation: resultant force = mass × acceleration. Double the force, double the acceleration; double the mass, half the acceleration.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.2.2 Newton’s Second Law
17 / Forces and motionHigher only
Answer: A How hard it is to change its velocity
Inertial mass measures how difficult it is to change an object’s velocity, including starting it moving from rest. It is defined as force ÷ acceleration: the bigger the inertial mass, the smaller the acceleration a given force produces.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.2.2 Newton’s Second Law
18 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: C Two interacting objects exert equal and opposite forces on each other
Newton’s third law: whenever two objects interact, the forces they exert on each other are equal in size and opposite in direction. If you push a wall, the wall pushes back on you just as hard.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.2.3 Newton’s Third Law
19 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: D The book’s gravitational pull on the Earth
The two forces in a third law pair are the same type of force and act on different objects. The book’s weight and the table’s push both act on the book; they balance, but they are not a pair. The pair to the Earth pulling the book is the book pulling the Earth.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.2.3 Newton’s Third Law
20 / Forces and motionHigher only
Answer: B Momentum = mass × velocity
Momentum = mass × velocity, measured in kilogram metres per second (kg m/s). Velocity has a direction, so momentum is a vector: momenta in opposite directions have opposite signs.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.7 Momentum
21 / Forces and motionHigher only
Answer: D Total momentum before equals total momentum after
In a closed system the total momentum before an event equals the total momentum after it: momentum is conserved. Skaters at rest have zero momentum, so after pushing apart their momenta are equal and opposite and still add up to zero.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.7 Momentum
22 / Forces and motionHigher only
Answer: C They move off together more slowly
Momentum is conserved, so the joined trolleys carry the same total momentum as the first trolley had. They now have twice the mass, so they must move more slowly, in the same direction.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.7 Momentum
23 / Forces and motionHigher only
Answer: C It increases the time taken for the driver’s momentum to change
In a crash the driver’s momentum must fall to zero either way. An airbag makes this take longer, so the momentum changes more slowly and the deceleration is smaller. The force on the driver equals the rate of change of momentum, so it is smaller too.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.7.3 Changes in momentum
24 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: D A longer reaction time
In the ruler-drop test, the further the ruler falls before you catch it, the longer your reaction time. A conversion table or the equations of motion turn the distance into a time. Repeating it several times and taking a mean gives a better result.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.3.1 Stopping distance and 4.5.6.3.2 Reaction time
25 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: C Being tired
Reaction time is how long a person takes to respond. It varies from person to person and is made longer by tiredness, alcohol, drugs and distractions such as a phone. Road and vehicle conditions do not change it.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.3.1 Stopping distance and 4.5.6.3.2 Reaction time
26 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: C Thinking distance plus braking distance
Stopping distance = thinking distance + braking distance. Thinking distance is covered while the driver reacts, before the brakes come on. Braking distance is covered while the brakes slow the vehicle to a stop.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.3.1 Stopping distance and 4.5.6.3.2 Reaction time
27 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: D Thinking distance
Tiredness, alcohol, drugs and distractions slow the driver’s reactions, so they increase the thinking distance. Wet or icy roads and worn brakes or tyres affect the braking distance. Mixing these up is a common mistake.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.3.3 and 4.5.6.3.4 Factors affecting braking distance
28 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: D The speed of the vehicle
During the reaction time the car moves at a steady speed, so double the speed gives double the thinking distance. Braking distance rises even faster, because the kinetic store depends on speed squared, so much more work must be done by the brakes.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.3.3 and 4.5.6.3.4 Factors affecting braking distance
29 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: C There is less friction between the tyres and the road
Braking distance depends on the grip between the tyres and the road and on the vehicle. Wet or icy roads, worn tyres and worn brakes all reduce how quickly the vehicle can slow down. A greater mass also needs a longer distance to stop.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.3.3 and 4.5.6.3.4 Factors affecting braking distance
30 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: A Braking distances are longer on wet roads
The Highway Code asks for at least a two-second gap on high-speed roads, at least double that on wet roads and up to ten times more on icy roads. Less grip means longer braking distances, so drivers need more room to stop safely.
Checked against The Highway Code, rules 103 to 158 (rule 126, stopping distances; rules 148 to 150, distractions), gov.uk
31 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: A Large forces act on their bodies
Force = mass × acceleration, so a large deceleration needs a large force, and large forces on the body cause injuries. A large braking force can also make the brakes overheat or the driver lose control of the vehicle.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.3.3 and 4.5.6.3.4 Factors affecting braking distance
32 / Forces and motionBoth tiers
Answer: A The car takes longer to stop, so the force is smaller
Crumple zones, seat belts and airbags all make people take longer to stop in a crash. The same change in speed over a longer time means a smaller deceleration, and so a smaller force on the body.
Checked against AQA GCSE Physics 8463 specification, 4.5.6.3.3 and 4.5.6.3.4 Factors affecting braking distance
02 / Longer answersMarked by levels
Write your answer first, on paper. Then open it and tick off the points you made. How 6-mark questions are marked.
6 marks / What affects stopping distanceBoth tiers
A driver sees a hazard in the road ahead and makes an emergency stop.
The stopping distance is the thinking distance added to the braking distance. The thinking distance is how far the car travels during the driver’s reaction time, before the brakes are applied. If the driver is tired, has drunk alcohol, has taken drugs or is distracted, for example by a phone, their reaction time is longer, so the thinking distance is greater. A higher speed also increases the thinking distance, because the car travels further in the same reaction time. The braking distance is how far the car travels after the brakes are applied until it stops. If the road is wet or icy, there is less friction between the tyres and the road, so the braking distance increases. Worn brakes or worn tyres reduce the braking force or the grip on the road, which also increases the braking distance. A car that is going faster, or that has a greater mass, has more kinetic energy, so the brakes must do more work to stop it and the braking distance is greater. Braking distance increases a lot as the speed increases, so stopping distances are much longer at high speed.
Alcohol, drugs, tiredness and distractions change the driver’s reaction time, so they affect the thinking distance, not the braking distance. Say which part of the stopping distance each factor changes.
6 marks / Dangers of large decelerationsBoth tiers
A car travelling fast has to stop suddenly, either by braking very hard or by crashing into a barrier.
Force is equal to mass multiplied by acceleration, so a large deceleration needs a large force. If a driver brakes very hard, the large braking force can make the brakes overheat, and it can make the tyres skid so that the driver loses control of the car. In a crash, the car and the people inside stop from a high speed in a very short time, so the deceleration is very large. This means very large forces act on the passengers, which can cause serious injuries. Crumple zones at the front and back of the car squash during a collision, so the car takes a longer time to stop. Seat belts stretch a little, so the passengers also slow down over a longer time, and they stop the passengers hitting the windscreen or the seat in front. When the car and passengers stop from the same speed over a longer time, the deceleration is smaller. Because force equals mass multiplied by acceleration, a smaller deceleration means a smaller force on each passenger, so their injuries are less serious.
Answers often say a crumple zone “absorbs the force”. Explain instead that it makes the stop take longer, so the deceleration is smaller and, because force equals mass times acceleration, the force is smaller.
6 marks / Forces on a falling skydiverBoth tiers
A skydiver jumps from a plane. Some time later she opens her parachute, and she then lands safely.
When the skydiver first jumps, she is moving slowly, so the air resistance on her is small and her weight is much bigger. There is a large downward resultant force, so she accelerates downwards. As her speed increases, the air resistance increases, so the resultant force gets smaller and her acceleration decreases. Eventually the air resistance becomes equal to her weight. The forces are then balanced and the resultant force is zero, so by Newton’s first law she keeps falling at a steady speed, called her terminal velocity. When she opens the parachute, its large surface area makes the air resistance suddenly much bigger than her weight. The resultant force is now upwards, so she decelerates, although she is still moving downwards. As she slows down, the air resistance gets smaller, until it is equal to her weight again. The resultant force is zero once more, so she falls at a new terminal velocity that is much lower than before. This lower speed lets her land safely.
When the parachute opens she does not go upwards: the resultant force is upwards, so she slows down while still falling. A steady speed means the forces are balanced, not that no forces act.
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