Describing Motion Around Us in Science

Updated on July 5, 2026 | By Learnzy Academy

Describing Motion Around Us introduces the basic concepts of motion and helps students understand how objects move in everyday life. The chapter explains different types of motion, such as linear, circular, and periodic motion. Students learn about distance, displacement, speed, velocity, and acceleration, and how these quantities describe the movement of objects. It also introduces the use of graphs to represent motion in a simple way. The chapter helps students compare different kinds of motion and understand their real-life applications. By studying motion, students develop a strong foundation for learning more advanced concepts in physics.

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List of question on "Describing Motion Around Us"

  1. Give an example of a situation where an object travels a considerable distance but its displacement is zero.
  2. Why do objects thrown upwards eventually fall back down? Relate this to acceleration.
  3. How would a distance-time graph differ from a velocity-time graph for an object moving with uniform speed in a straight line?
  4. A body moves 6m towards East and then 8m towards North. If it takes 2 seconds for this motion, calculate its average velocity.
  5. What is the nature of the velocity and acceleration in uniform circular motion?
  6. Assertion (A): An object can have varying speed but constant velocity. Reason (R): Velocity depends on both speed and direction, so if speed varies, velocity must also vary.
  7. A motorboat starting from rest on a lake accelerates in a straight line at a constant rate of 3.0 m/s² for 8.0 s. How far does the boat travel during this time?
  8. Draw a rough distance-time graph for a car accelerating from rest.
  9. Why is acceleration considered a vector quantity?
  10. A stone is thrown upwards with an initial velocity of 40 m/s. Taking g = 10 m/s², what is the maximum height reached by the stone?
  11. If two trains are moving in the same direction with the same speed, what is the relative velocity of one train with respect to the other?
  12. A body's velocity changes from 10 m/s to 40 m/s in 5 seconds. What is its average acceleration?
  13. An object moves in a straight line. Its velocity-time graph first shows a positive constant velocity, then drops to zero, and then shows a negative constant velocity of the same magnitude. Describe the object's motion.
  14. Assertion (A): The speedometer of a car measures its instantaneous speed. Reason (R): Speedometer measures the distance covered per unit time.
  15. What is the difference between instantaneous velocity and average velocity in uniform circular motion?
  16. A free-falling object covers a distance of 45 m in the last second of its fall. If it started from rest, what is the total height from which it fell? (Take g = 10 m/s²)
  17. What does a straight line with a negative slope in a velocity-time graph represent?
  18. Give two examples of motion where the acceleration of the object is zero.
  19. A bus starts from rest with an acceleration of 2 m/s² for 10 seconds. Then it moves with a constant velocity for 10 seconds. Finally, it decelerates at 4 m/s² to come to rest. Calculate the total distance covered.
  20. When you are sitting in a moving train, why do trees outside appear to be moving backwards?
  21. An object traveling at 30 m/s starts to decelerate at a rate of 3 m/s². How much time will it take to come to a complete stop?
  22. Can the direction of acceleration be opposite to the direction of velocity? Provide an example.
  23. A velocity-time graph for a car shows a rectangle with height 15 m/s and width 10 s. What is the displacement of the car?
  24. Why are safety belts crucial in vehicles, especially during sudden stops or collisions? Relate this to a concept of motion.
  25. How would a velocity-time graph look for an object undergoing increasing acceleration?
  26. Distinguish between uniform and non-uniform motion with respect to speed and distance.
  27. A car travels the first half of a journey at an average speed of 40 km/h and the second half at an average speed of 60 km/h. What is the average speed for the entire journey?
  28. Assertion (A): An object undergoing free fall experiences uniform acceleration. Reason (R): The force of gravity acting on an object during free fall is constant (neglecting air resistance).
  29. A car traveling at a high speed requires a longer braking distance. Which equation of motion best explains this phenomenon?
  30. How does a distance-time graph for non-uniform speed appear?
  31. Explain why a body moving with uniform speed in a circular path is said to be undergoing accelerated motion.
  32. A car accelerates uniformly from 10 m/s to 20 m/s in 5 seconds. What distance does it cover in this time?
  33. A stone is thrown vertically upwards and reaches a maximum height. What is its instantaneous velocity at the highest point?
  34. If the slope of a distance-time graph is decreasing, what does it signify about the motion of the object?
  35. Which pair of quantities consists of one scalar and one vector quantity?
  36. A car moving at 20 m/s applies brakes and comes to rest in 10 seconds. Calculate the deceleration (retardation) of the car.
  37. What does the area under a velocity-time graph represent?
  38. Identify a scenario where an object experiences non-uniform velocity but uniform acceleration.
  39. What is the significance of the slope of a velocity-time graph?
  40. A train starting from rest accelerates uniformly and attains a speed of 36 km/h in 5 minutes. Calculate the distance traveled by the train during this period.
  41. A car travels from point A to point B, then turns around and travels halfway back to point A. Compare the total distance covered and the magnitude of its displacement.
  42. A velocity-time graph shows a horizontal line above the time axis. What does this indicate about the object's motion?
  43. Assertion (A): An object can have zero velocity but non-zero acceleration. Reason (R): When an object is thrown vertically upwards, at its highest point, its velocity is zero but acceleration due to gravity is still acting on it.
  44. An athlete runs along a circular track with a constant speed. Is the athlete's motion an example of accelerated motion? Justify your answer.
  45. A stone is dropped from a height. If its velocity after 2 seconds is 19.6 m/s, what is the acceleration due to gravity? (Assume initial velocity is 0 m/s).
  46. Under what condition can the magnitude of displacement be equal to the total distance covered by an object?
  47. The distance-time graph for an object is a straight line passing through the origin. What can be inferred about the object's motion?
  48. A bicycle starting from rest accelerates uniformly to a velocity of 18 km/h in 5 seconds. Calculate its acceleration in m/s².
  49. A car travels at a constant speed of 60 km/h in a straight line. Which of the following statements about its motion is INCORRECT?
  50. A person walks 10 m East, then 5 m North, and finally 10 m West. What is the magnitude of their displacement from the starting point?