Unit 1: Space, Time and Motion

Topic 1.2: Forces and Momentum Questions

Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB Physics SL Topic 1.2. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.

1State1 mark
Aimnova practice
State what is meant by the static friction force acting on an object.
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2State1 mark
Aimnova practice
State what is meant by the terminal velocity of an object falling through a fluid.
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3Calculate2 marks
Aimnova practice
A 2.5 kg block sliding on a frictionless surface speeds up from 3.0 m s⁻¹ to 11 m s⁻¹ along a straight line.

Calculate the impulse delivered to the block.
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4Calculate2 marks
Aimnova practice
A 0.45 kg ball experiences a single net force of 6.0 N.

Calculate the magnitude of its acceleration.
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5Calculate2 marks
Aimnova practice
A single force of 200 N acts on a trolley at 52° above the horizontal.

Calculate the horizontal and vertical components of this force.

(cos 52° = 0.62, sin 52° = 0.79)
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6State1 mark
Aimnova practice
State what is meant by an object being in translational equilibrium.
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7Identify2 marks
Aimnova practice
A cork floats at rest, partly submerged, on the surface of still water.

Identify the two forces acting on the cork and state the relationship between their magnitudes.
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8State2 marks
Aimnova practice
State what is meant by the momentum of an object, and explain why momentum is a vector quantity.
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9State2 marks
Aimnova practice
State Newton's first law of motion.
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10State1 mark
Aimnova practice
State Archimedes' principle.
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11Calculate2 marks
Aimnova practice
A solid brass cylinder of volume 4.0 × 10⁻⁴ m³ is fully submerged in water of density 1.0 × 10³ kg m⁻³ (g = 9.8 N kg⁻¹).

Calculate the buoyancy force on the cylinder.
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12Determine2 marks
Aimnova practice
A 0.45 kg ball travelling at 14 m s⁻¹ is caught by a fielder and brought to rest in 0.060 s.

Determine the magnitude of the average force the fielder's hands exert on the ball.
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13State1 mark
Aimnova practice
State the condition that must be met for the total momentum of a system of objects to be conserved during a collision.
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14State2 marks
Aimnova practice
A satellite moves in a circular orbit around a planet at a constant speed.

State the direction of the net force acting on the satellite, and state why the satellite is accelerating even though its speed does not change.
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15Explain3 marks
Aimnova practice
Explain why a hot-air balloon rises even though the hot air inside it still has mass and weight.
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16Estimate3 marks
Aimnova practice
Identical blocks are placed on two horizontal surfaces.

On surface A the coefficient of static friction is 0.50; on surface B it is 0.20.

The normal force on each block is 29 N.
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17Determine3 marks
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A 3.0 kg block is driven up a smooth vertical wall by a constant force of 45 N pushing straight up.

Taking g = 9.8 m s⁻², determine the block's acceleration up the wall.
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18Show that2 marks
Aimnova practice
An iceberg of volume 1.3 × 10⁶ m³ floats in seawater.

Ice has density 9.2 × 10² kg m⁻³ and seawater 1.03 × 10³ kg m⁻³ (g = 9.8 N kg⁻¹).

Show that the mass of the iceberg is about 1.2 × 10⁹ kg.
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19Determine4 marks
Aimnova practice
In an experiment a student measures the friction force on a sliding block as 6.0 N when the normal force is 24 N.
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20Calculate3 marks
Aimnova practice
Two ice-hockey pucks slide head-on toward each other on frictionless ice.

Puck A has mass 0.16 kg and velocity +3.0 m s⁻¹; puck B has mass 0.16 kg and velocity −1.0 m s⁻¹.

They collide and stick together.

Calculate the velocity of the combined pucks after the collision.
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