Practice understanding speed, velocity, and acceleration using everyday motion examples.
Read each problem carefully. Show your work and include units when needed.
Describe and calculate how objects move
Physics - Grade 4-5
- 1
A student walks 20 meters in 10 seconds. What is the student's speed?
- 2
A toy car moves 15 meters east in 5 seconds. What is its velocity?
- 3
Circle the example that shows acceleration: a bike moving at the same speed in a straight line, a skateboard slowing down, or a book sitting on a desk. Explain your choice.
- 4
A runner travels 40 meters in 8 seconds. Calculate the runner's speed.
- 5
Two scooters are moving. Scooter A travels 30 meters in 10 seconds. Scooter B travels 30 meters in 5 seconds. Which scooter has the greater speed, and why?
- 6
A ball rolls north at 4 meters per second. Write this motion as a velocity.
- 7
A car starts from rest at a stop sign and begins moving faster. Is the car accelerating? Explain your answer.
- 8
A dog runs 24 meters in 6 seconds. What is the dog's speed?
- 9
A cyclist travels west at 7 meters per second. Is 7 meters per second the cyclist's speed or velocity? Explain.
- 10
A soccer ball is kicked and changes direction when it bounces off a wall. Did the ball accelerate during the bounce? Explain.
- 11
A train travels 100 meters in 20 seconds. What is the train's speed?
- 12
Which statement describes velocity: The turtle moves slowly, the turtle moves 1 meter per second east, or the turtle is green? Explain your answer.
- 13
Look at a distance and time table for a cart: after 1 second it has gone 2 meters, after 2 seconds it has gone 4 meters, after 3 seconds it has gone 6 meters, and after 4 seconds it has gone 8 meters. What is the cart's speed?
- 14
A bus is moving at 10 meters per second and then slows to 5 meters per second as it approaches a stop. Is this acceleration? Explain.
- 15
A paper airplane flies 12 meters south in 4 seconds. Find its speed and its velocity.